As the nursing department of St. John’s Riverside Hospital, we officially launched our journey toward Pathway to Excellence®. With the support of our Tipton Health partners and the generosity of $4.9MM Mother Cabrini grant, we are well on our way. This is a statewide effort to support hospitals serving economically challenged and underserved communities.
We established a CNO Advisory Group that brings together clinical nurses from across the hospital to ensure their voices help shape our direction. This group, along with many others, has been essential to our success.
Our nurses are also deeply engaged in true shared governance, a challenging but incredibly meaningful transformation. Several work groups have been actively advancing key initiatives, including Nurse Well-Being, Interprofessional Collaboration, Nurse Leader Work Environment, and Shared Governance.
Our co-chairs from the standing core councils, Nursing Practice, Nurse Well-Being, and Quality & Safety, are integral to the coordinating Council. Our clinical nurses, nurse leaders, and interprofessional partners continually collaborate and motivate those around them. As a team, our nurses’ dedication, passion, and commitment to excellence fuel this journey.
Nursing Excellence at SJRH
This funding supports SJRH’s efforts to strengthen the nursing workforce, enhance professional practice environments, reduce burnout, and improve recruitment and retention. It also advances SJRH’s journey toward Pathway to Excellence® designation by reinforcing shared decision-making, nurse engagement, and a healthy work environment.
Since receiving this support, nursing leaders, clinical nurses, and interprofessional partners have made meaningful progress in building the structures, processes, and culture that support nursing excellence, with key accomplishments and next steps outlined below.
- Shared Decision-Making
- Leadership
- Safety
- Quality
- Well-Being
- Professional Development
NURSES ARE OUR ANCHOR
Our Professional Practice Model (PPM)
Our Professional Practice Model (PPM) represents the roots of professional nursing at St. John’s Riverside Hospital by symbolizing the beliefs, values, theories, and systems that we base our practice on.
The creation and enculturation of a PPM for an organization gives even more significance to the work being done and lays out a framework for professional nursing practice, as well as giving standards that our nurses are to be held up to. This professional practice model was created by the Chief Nursing Officer Advisory Board, a group of our nurses, who are closing the gap between the bedside and the boardroom. This PPM serves as the foundation of nursing care and encourages our nurses to practice to the top of their license.
Nursing Shared Governance at SJRH
Shared Governance ensures nurses at all levels have a voice in decisions affecting nursing practice, patient care, and the work environment. This model promotes engagement, shared accountability, and supports SJRH’s journey toward Pathway to Excellence® designation.
The Shared Governance Steering Council established SJRH’s decision-making structure, including councils focused on quality and safety, nursing practice, and nurse wellbeing, along with unit-based practice councils. Through these groups, nurses partner with leadership and interprofessional colleagues to influence care at the point of care.
Shared governance strengthens collaboration, transparency, and a culture where every nurse’s voice matters.
