Factors Associated With Success and Breakdown of Shared Governance

Shared governance (SG), a process for empowering nurses in practice settings, has been widely used for decades. However, despite enthusiasm for the concept, the process is not always successful or falters after successful initiation. To assist nursing leaders trying to implement or maintain SG processes, the author summarizes literature on both human and structural factors that contribute to the success or breakdown of SG practice models. Barriers to implementation and strategies to support implementation, as well as enculturation of SG, are discussed.