Interdisciplinary shared governance: A literature review

Abstract

Objective: Interdisciplinary shared governance (IDSG) is important in healthcare to achieve quality and excellence in patient care. Initially adopted in healthcare facilities for the nursing discipline, the recent trend is to expand it to include other disciplines. This paper examined the factors that affect interdisciplinary collaboration that effect successful implementation of an IDSG model.

Methods: A literature review on SG, interdisciplinary collaboration, and factors that may potentially influence its successful implementation was conducted.

Results: The review of the literature identified several factors grouped under three major themes that affect IDSG. The first theme was individual factors that include the subthemes provider attitude, beliefs, interpersonal skills, and status quo. The second theme was shared factors that includes both individual as well as organizational factors. They include physician-nurse relationships, clear goals and vision, motivation, trust and respect, and team functional skills. Finally, the organizational factors refer to those that impact the working environment and influence decision making by members of the various interdisciplinary teams. These factors include organizational structure, organizational culture, leadership, education, resources, professional boundary, and role ambiguity.

Conclusions: The IDSG requires that groups in different disciplines make informed decisions pertaining their work environment as well as those towards patient’s care.