Purpose for the program:  To improve patient and nurse satisfaction on the postpartum and gynecology nursing unit through an improved positive practice environment.

Proposed change:

Transformational leadership creates a culture of nurse autonomy, shared governance and professional competence. The goal was to improve and sustain nurse satisfaction and patient satisfaction on the postpartum and gynecology unit. The results were possible through extraordinary courage, a skill and spirit, which was the energy that created a significant difference in achieving extraordinary results. Transformational leadership ties nurse emotion and passion to their skill level. This leadership style raises human conduct and improves personal aspirations to improve the professional nurse practice environment. The postpartum and gynecology unit developed four professional practice councils to create a culture of autonomy and shared governance. The council created an avenue of individual accountability and professional contribution to move the practice environment from mediocre to positive. The essence of the process was to get the right people engaged and to create revolutionary results through an evolutionary process. Each council provides an opportunity for every staff member to participate and improve clinical knowledge and improve nursing excellence. The four councils included:  professional practice, professional development, professional research, and professional quality. The council’s objectives included but were not limited to: improve professional relationships, shared-governance, evidenced-based practice implementation, commitment to nursing excellence, autonomy and professional accountability, staff nurse leadership, judgment and action, motivation and recognition, nursing competence, professional growth and development, teaching and mentoring, coaching and learning, improved patient satisfaction and improved employee satisfaction.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:

The results were extraordinary. The employee satisfaction went from 4.10 with low employee participation to 4.77 with high employee participation. The council work helped move the postpartum/gynecology patient satisfaction by increasing all eight HCAHP domains to the ninetieth percentile with a composite score of 90.

Implications for nursing practice:

Transformational leadership allows nurses to connect to their inner drive, be autonomous, self-determined, self-drive and create a safe positive practice environment for nurses and patients. The postpartum/gynecology unit created a culture of disciplined professionals that used disciplined thinking and disciplined action to meet the rigorous clear set expectations and standards as it relates to customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.

Keywords:

Transformational Leadership

Shared Governance

Nurse Autonomy

Professional Practice Councils

Improved Patient and Nurse Satisfaction