Nurses Should be Key Leaders in Board Governance

Source: HealthLeaders Media

HealthLeaders Media editor Rebecca Hendren recently wrote about the lack of nurse representation on health system boards of governance. A University of Iowa study found that, out of 2,046 voting board members covering 201 health systems, only 2.4 percent were nurses. The Iowa study recommends that board governance include nurses. Hendren talked to Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior adviser for nursing, who asks, “"How can an organization that is all about delivering high-quality patient care not have a nurse on the board?" Hassmiller also is director of the RWJF Initiative on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine.

• Learn about CCNA’s Nurses on Boards project.