What particular value will the nurse representative bring to the board unique and different from that already presented? Nursing provides the highest amount of patient contact care, providing care at the bedside throughout out the patient’s entire stay in the hospital. Fran Roberts, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, makes an excellent point when she describes a nurses perspective of a hospital from the inside out, offering a view that no other healthcare provider can (Roberts, 2014). Dr. Roberts goes on to explain that this unique perspective provides insight that no other board members can bring to the table, such as what it 's like to work short staffed, at what point patient safety becomes compromised, and experiences that no one can offer other than another nurse (Roberts, 2014). With the board commonly consisting of several members of the community as well as physicians, it is helpful with a nurse on the board to …show more content…
Nurses bring an expertise and experience that addresses every one of those roles expected from boards. In 2009 there was a Gallup poll among national opinion leaders such as university faculty, insurance executives, corporate executives, health services leaders, government leaders, and industry thought leaders. The results of that poll not only identified the opinion of those leaders that felt nurses needed to have more influence in areas of patient care and safety but also found that the general opinion of nurses was one of the most trusted sources of health information (Institute of Medicine, 2011). The IOM goes on to say that due to nurses regular connection to patients as well as their unique understanding of the science of medicine, this provides a unique capacity to undertake a leadership role in the boardroom.