title: Structural empowerment and the nursing practice environment in Magnet® organizations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of shared governance and its relationship with nursing practice environments in Magnet® organizations.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Structural empowerment is a core Magnet model component illustrated through shared governance. A paucity of literature exists describing it and its relationship to the nursing practice environment in Magnet organizations.
  
  
  METHODS
  E-mail surveys of Magnet chief nursing officers and leaders of their organization's nursing practice council were conducted using the Index of Professional Nursing Governance (IPNG) and the nursing Work Index-Revised (NWI-R).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In Magnet organizations, the primary governance distribution is shared governance, with most subscales in the IPNG within the shared governance range. Total and subscale scores on the NWI-R ranged from 1.35 to 1.48, with significant, positive correlation between total IPNG score and total NWI-R score (r = 0.416, P < .001), as well as the NWI-R and IPNG subscales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides new evidence that demonstrates the positive relationship between shared governance and the nursing practice environment in Magnet organizations.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Senior Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer (Dr Clavelle), Scottsdale Healthcare, Arizona; Senior Partner (Dr Porter-O'Grady), Tim Porter-O'Grady Associates, Atlanta, Georgia; Executive Director (Dr Drenkard), American Nurses Credentialing Center, Silver Springs, Maryland.
authors.forename: Joanne T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Clavelle
authors.forename: Tim Porter
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: O'Grady
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Drenkard
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D006075:Governing Board; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000523:psychology*; D011209:Power, Psychological