Tell me about your team – who’s on it?

Our team comprises nursing leadership (manager, CNC, NPDP, AA) and any clinical staff on our unit who are interested in participating. We have two co-chairs: one RN (myself) and one HCA (Nora Hill). We recognized the value of having perspectives from both roles leading our council and hoped this would engage staff members across all roles. This approach has been incredibly helpful in addressing PINs that are more relevant to the HCA or HUC roles.

How does shared governance work within your team – do you have a board, do you huddle?

Physical Team Board: We have a physical board located in our conference room but leverage Microsoft Teams and email to communicate and provide updates to our teams.

How We Huddle: We hold monthly team council meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month – a cadence and commitment we’ve found works best for our group. We post PINS and discussion notes from previous meetings in the conference room so everyone has the opportunity to review and participate.

Can you give me an example of any problems, ideas or needs that your team has worked on?

We’ve had several wins so far:

Staff resiliency with comfort care patients: 4B handles a significant amount of end-of-life care, which can be challenging for staff, particularly those new to our unit. A PIN suggested that we provide additional resources and support for staff during this process. This led us to invite the Supportive Oncology and Survivorship (SOS) team to speak at our fall staff meeting and to offer a quarterly resiliency workshop for team members of both 4A and 4B.

Flu shot workflow: This year, 4B was the default unit for HCH employees to receive their flu shots, which placed a strain on the charge RN. To improve workflow, one PIN suggested moving the process to outpatient spaces. Now, staff receive their flu shots at the fast-track clinics, which has been a significant improvement for us.

After hours food options for patients: This Level 2 PIN prompted our manager to coordinate with the kitchen staff to ensure sandwiches are regularly stocked for patients who arrive after the kitchen closes or who are hungry after hours.

Room stripping workflow: We identified issues and delays in delegating the workflow for the discharge and admit process. Our HCAs and CNCs collaborated to create a room stripping guide for sorting supplies during the process, as well as a room stripping workflow guide for the HUCs.

What impact (if any) has it made on the team?

Our unit had a long-running Clinical Practice Council (CPC) to address similar issues, but it functioned more like a group that required "joining" or becoming an official "member." Although everyone was welcome, the CPC's formal structure sometimes created the perception of barriers to entry for staff. The shared governance model, however, frequently reminds all staff that they are invited to participate and share their voice.