Assessment of professional nursing governance on nurses in a multi-cultural setting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: Health-care institutions constantly strive to enhance the care environment and promote staff satisfaction. Engaging nurses through shared governance helps achieve these institutional goals. Aim: This Saudi study aimed to assess the current status of professional nursing governance on nurses at King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 247 nurse participants chosen by the convenience sampling technique. Data were collected using the Index of Professional Nursing Governance tool. Results: Staff nurses practiced the first level of shared governance with a mean score of 196.9 ± 49.7, showing they had primary decision-making responsibilities. The dimension with the lowest score was 'goal-setting and conflict resolution' (19.6 ± 6.12). Years of nursing experience was a statistically significant (P = 0.002) factor in governance. Conclusion: Nurse participants practiced shared governance in their given setting. However, their below-par score for “goal-setting and conflict resolution” underscores the need for professional development.