Clinical Decision Making of Staff Nurses

A qualitative analysis of the satisfaction of nurses with clinical decision making, the nature of the decision making, nurses' involvement in the process and factors that influence decision‐making behavior is presented. The data were obtained from interviews conducted with physicians and nurses as a part of a study of nurse turnover and vacancy in hospitals. Staff nurse involvement in decision making is described as being interdependent; nurses reported general satisfaction with their involvement, while physicians generally resisted the decision‐making discretion of nurses. Nurses on specialized and critical care units were more satisfied than were nurses who worked on general medical‐surgical units. Trust and control were central issues. Implications for considering what knowledge, skill and decisional authority are needed for patient care are discussed.