Amplifying nursing's voice through a staff-management partnership.

Recommendations to decrease the nursing shortage often identify the need to strengthen nurses' autonomy and control in hospitals but do not describe specific mechanisms to accomplish this goal. The Nurse Practices Committee provides a forum for staff nurses and nurse executives at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to jointly make decisions about resource allocation. Committee members agree that this work has strengthened relationships by fostering mutual understanding, respect, and trust. As a result, nursing management and staff partners can advocate for patients and nurses with a single, more powerful voice.