Researchers call for action to engage nurses on health care boards

Scholars writingin Nursing Economic$ built a strong case for including more nurses on the governing boards of health care organizations. Grounding their perspective in academic case studies and theories of governance, they argue that board effectiveness is key to organizational success and that board composition is a key determinant of board effectiveness. Because today’s health care organizations face “daunting challenges” whose solutions will involve nursing services, nurse leaders can bring pertinent knowledge and expertise to the table and provide insight into the consumer perspective, the article stated. The authors noted that only 2% to 6% of seats on health care organization governing boards are currently held by nurses. The article included recommendations for increasing their presence on these boards. (Nursing Economic$ article, July/Aug. 2019)