Staff nurse perceptions of empowerment six years after implementation of shared governance

Nature of the study: The purpose of this comparative, descriptive study was to (a) measure perceptions of nurse empowerment six years after the implementation of a nursing shared leadership structure and (b) compare the results to a previous study, done by Hargreaves (2007). Methods: The surveys used were the CWEQ-II and the Psychological Empowerment Survey. Two additional questions were added to the demographics section: (a) if the respondent is or has been involved with Nursing Shared Leadership, and (b) if the respondent is or has participated in the hospital's new graduate Versant program. Results: Structural empowerment components opportunity, information, resources and informal power were found to have increased from year one to year six. Statistically significant changes in psychological empowerment were in meaning and competence. Psychological empowerment variables selfdetermination and impact were significant for nursing shared governance members. Among Versant residents, opportunity, informal power, competence and impact were statistically relevant.