Ryan graduated from his BSN program about 18 months ago and has been working on a surgical unit in a large Magnet™ hospital. He belongs to his state nurses association and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN). He recently moved to another town for graduate school and took a job in a small community hospital. The new chief nursing officer is trying to create a shared governance structure. The nursing staff seems disinterested in participating in such a governance structure. Some of them complain that they do not want to “think” about nursing beyond what they have to do at the bedside. Ryan served on the practice council at the hospital where he worked after graduation. The nurses he works with now are discouraging him from volunteering to serve on one of the new councils being formed to implement shared governance. He is frustrated by his colleagues’ lack of interest in participating in decision making about nursing care. He wonders if this is the right place for him to work while in his graduate program. Although this hospital is closely affiliated with the school of nursing where he is a graduate student, the nurses on his unit openly challenge the wisdom of his decision to pursue a graduate degree.

What resources should Ryan use to gain support for his desire to participate in the new shared governance structure?
If Ryan wants to test the job market to find a position in a more positive nursing work environment, what resources can he use?
Ryan has been subjected to a lot of questions and negative comments by some of the senior staff nurses about his graduate studies. They tend to negate the importance of advancing one’s nursing education. How can he redirect their comments?