Abstract
Shared governance is considered an innovative management process model that includes shared decision-making between all members of the healthcare workforce and focuses on nurses’ control over their practice and accountability of care. One specific tool that measures shared governance perceptions of nurses is the RN-focused Index of Professional Governance (IPNG). The objective of this study was to assess reliability and add to the validity of the IPNG by further establishing the construct validity and correlating the scale scores to measures of satisfaction obtained from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (or NDNQI) survey. There were 76 respondents representing six units in one hospital. We reported high reliability for each one of the six subscale scores as well as for the total score (Cronbach alphas of 0.94 and higher). Construct validity was supported by the invariance of the scores across age groups along with schooling and experience levels. Concurrent validity was supported by a correlation of the IPNG score with job enjoyment (r = 0.437, p = 0.002) and the desire to recommend the hospital as a place of employment (r = 0.442, p = 0.001). The IPNG should also be tested in other healthcare professionals as its scoring ability can compare management, units and departments.
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