Shared clinical decision-making experiences in nursing: a qualitative study

Background Shared decision making (SDM) is a patient-centered nursing concept that emphasizes the autonomy of patients. SDM is a co-operative process that involves information exchange and communication between medical staff and patients for making treatment decisions. In this study, we explored the experiences of clinical nursing staff participating in SDM. Methods This study adopted a qualitative research design. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 nurses at a medical center in northern Taiwan. All interview recordings were transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was performed to analyze the data. Results The findings yielded the following three themes covering seven categories: knowledge regarding SDM, trigger discussion and coordination, and respect of sociocultural factors. Conclusions The results of this study describe the experiences of clinical nursing staff participating in SDM and can be used as a reference for nursing education and nursing administrative supervisors wishing to plan and enhance professional nursing SDM in nursing education.

Automated summary

This qualitative research study examined the experiences of 21 nurses participating in Shared Decision Making (SDM) in a medical center in northern Taiwan. The findings revealed that nurses focused on SDM knowledge, trigger discussion and coordination, as well as respect for sociocultural factors during the process. These results can be used for nursing education and to enhance professional nursing SDM in clinical practice.