How clinical nurses can operationalize the walk aspect of the talk, the values and beliefs inherent in control of nursing practice and a patient-centered culture.

To “walk the talk”—putting values into action, leading by example, practicing what you preach—is a best practice related to 2 of the 8 attributes or work processes identified by staff nurses as essential to a healthy work environment. These 2 attributes, control of nursing practice and a culture in which concern for the patient is paramount, are the focus of this article. Another commonality of these 2 essential attributes is that they are the only 2 of the 8 that have as many departmental/hospital-wide implications as they do unit-focused implications. Nurses cannot control practice or engage in activities related to a patient-centered culture at the unit level unless parallel sanction and endorsement for these activities exist at the organizational level. After clarifying and illustrating...

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