In a shared governance context, what is the primary purpose of presenting a gap in chemotherapy administration procedures to the council?

• A. To address practice gaps and lead change
• B. To assign blame to staff
• C. To circumvent proper protocol
• D. To delay patient care

Answer: (A)

In shared governance, frontline professionals come together to improve care by identifying and addressing gaps in practice. Presenting a gap in chemotherapy administration procedures to the council serves to surface where current practices don’t meet evidence-based standards and to drive organizational change. The aim is to analyze why the procedures aren’t meeting goals, develop targeted improvements, allocate needed resources, and oversee the implementation of those changes. This collaborative process strengthens patient safety and standardizes high-quality care across the team.

It isn’t about assigning blame to staff, bypassing proper protocol, or delaying patient care. Those outcomes would undermine a culture of learning and safety. Instead, the council uses the gap as a starting point for root-cause analysis, policy updates, training, checklists, and measurement of outcomes so improvements stay on track.