SHINE: Salem Health is Inter-professional and Nursing Excellence
The Salem Hospital professional practice model is designed to promote shared leadership and decision making. The structure allows nursing front-line staff to work collaboratively with interprofessional partners to continuously improve clinical practice and outcomes for our patients... This includes evidence-based clinical practice standards, staff engagement and satisfaction, and workflow/environment improvements. SHINE is based on the principles of partnership, equity, accountability and ownership. Professional governance empowers the interprofessional staff to define, implement and maintain current practice standards and to implement the vision and strategic plan for excellent patient care.
The aims of professional governance:
- Drive accountability to the level of front-line staff
- Provide a vehicle for staff to share in decision-making
- Engage staff in innovative and collaborative problem-solving and strategy development
- Encourage discussion and resolution of clinical operational issues
Professional governance is practiced through established councils in each of the following areas:
Professional Governance Steering Council
The Professional Governance Steering Council is responsible for assuring that the SHINE professional practice model and professional governance structure is effective in achieving superior clinical excellence performance as evidenced by empirical outcomes. The council provides leadership and direction to unit and department councils, Practice Council (PC), Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Council, Professional Growth and Development (PG&D) Council, Informatics Council (IC), Magnet Steering Council (MSC) and House-wide Staffing Council (HWSC).
Practice Council
The purpose of the Practice Council is to oversee the development, implementation and evaluation of practice standards in accordance with regulatory requirements, evidence-based literature and practice, and professional organization guidelines. The council ensures interprofessional collaboration and decision-making on clinical practice issues that impact patients, staff and the work environment.
Evidence Based Practice
The Evidenced Based Practice Council is a decision-making, advising and coordinating body accountable for promoting research and the use of evidence-based practice to assure excellent patient care and clinical outcomes. This council assists in the research process, fosters and supports investigative role development among staff and disseminates results of investigative activities.
Professional Growth and Development
The Professional Growth & Development Council provides a forum to address issues, explore strategies that promote a practice environment that supports and enhances professional achievement and role development, recognize contributions to our mission, and foster the recruitment and retention of talented clinical staff.
Informatics Council
The Informatics Council is responsible for collaborating with clinical nurses, other disciplines, and the Clinical Informatics Department regarding informatics functionality and workflows. The council evaluates and recommends changes to optimize the electronic medical record based on hospital and department goals, objectives and improvement initiatives. The council provides a forum for interprofessional discussion of common application function issues, feedback on enhancement requests or project work, and sharing of best practice ideas.
Unit/department councils (UDC)
There are 42 UDCs dedicated to supporting optimal patient outcomes and a healthy work environment in their respective units and departments. Members use interprofessional collaboration and shared decision making for consensus on practice changes. UDCs focus on clinical excellence improvements within the scope of their respective unit/department patient population and the services they provide.
House-wide Staffing Council
This council is dedicated to promote the health and safety of our patients by ensuring that the hospital is adequately staffed to meet the health care needs of our patients. They focus on the evaluation and modification of a nursing service staffing plan whose primary consideration is the provision of safe, quality care and adequate nursing staffing based on nationally recognized and evidence-based standards and guidelines. The council additionally ensures compliance with Oregon Nurse Staffing Law.
Magnet Steering Council
The Magnet Steering Council will support all aspects of our Magnet journey by providing oversight of clinical excellence standards and performance on nurse sensitive indicators, conducting gap analysis of domain standards (TL, SE, EP, NK) and ensuring timelines for initiatives that close these gaps are met, removing any barriers to the continued evolution of our Magnet culture, and communicating a cohesive picture of how clinical excellence integrates with our Salem Health Management System.
In 2016 Salem Hospital launched “Professional Governance Day” whereby all councils meet on the same day. This includes an Education/Best Practice Sharing session where frontline staff learn about leadership development topics, Lean tools/principles, performance improvement projects from across the hospital, along with a variety of other topics. This new structure has assisted the evolution to ensure greater interconnectedness, communication and coordination between all councils and leadership.
