Shared Leadership Structure
To promote professional nursing practice, nurse autonomy and decision-making across all service areas, six councils modeled on a Shared Leadership concept exist.
Four are multidisciplinary councils that include representatives across all clinical disciplines, including staff nurses who comprise a majority of the council membership. These councils facilitate decision-making and creative innovation resulting in an enhanced work environment and/or improved patient outcomes.
- Clinical Information Systems Council
- Clinical Practice Council
- Education Council
- Professional Standards Council
Two additional councils comprised exclusively of nurses support the shared decision-making model of governance.
- Advance Practice Nurse Council
- Clinical Nurse Leadership Council
Leadership Councils
Clinical Information Systems Council (CIS)
The CIS supports the improvement and implementation of electronic clinical applications and related patient care solutions.
Clinical Practice Council (CPC)
The CPC defines, develops and operationalizes appropriate evidence-based clinical practices and systems for patient care areas, reviews and recommends new products, and identifies patient and family education standards.
Education Council (EC)
The EC provides oversight and guidance for educational activities including the inter-professional residency program, development of competencies, and conference planning.
Professional Standards Council (PSC)
The PSC is responsible for fostering an environment that promotes professional behavior and employee engagement, and a positive work environment.
Advance Practice Nurse Council (APN)
The APN council is a forum for advanced practice providers to network with one another and discuss practice updates and trends, institutional changes, legislation, community events and outreach, research and evidence based practice projects and opportunities, and engage in educational offerings.
Clinical Nurse Leadership Council (CNLC)
The CNLC is an RN advisory committee that works directly with the chief nursing officer to addresses work environment and staffing issues exclusive to professional nursing practice.
Unit Based Joint Practice Teams
Collaboration with Unit Based Joint Practice Teams and Medical Executive Committee Clinical Subcommittees
Each patient care area is managed by a Unit Based Joint Practice Team (UBJPT) that is co-led by a physician and hospital leader, most often a nurse, with front line staff from all clinical disciplines on the team. The UBJPTs are supported by the Shared Leadership councils which provides an opportunity for bidirectional communication between the two groups regarding safety, clinical, educational, or professional practice issues that may arise.
The hospital’s Medical Executive Clinical Subcommittees of the Children’s Medical Executive Committee provides a connection to the overall medical staff governance structure. Nurses are representatives of each committee and clinical (direct care) nurses are members of the Pharmacy, Diagnostics & Therapeutics Committee, and the Pain & Sedation Committee. The UBJPT co-leaders comprise the Hospital Operations Committee, which is responsible for implementing organization-wide standards of inter-professional practice through the CTS operating system.