Relationship Based Care (RBC) is a culture transformation model and an operational framework that improves safety, quality, patient satisfaction, and staff satisfaction by improving every relationship within an organization. RBC is the way we provide care for our patients, their families and each other. RBC identifies three essential relationships for the provision of humane and compassionate health care. These three relationships are the nurse’s relationship with the patient/family, relationships among colleagues, and the nurse’s relationship with self. It includes principles that shape caring behaviors, and these principles guide the transformation of infrastructure, processes, systems, and practices to support caregivers in all disciplines in creating therapeutic relationships with patients and families.

At UCLA Health, RBC is carried out through professional governance. This includes Unit Practice Councils (UPC’s), facility and system councils and a coordinating council. Professional governance is a leadership structure that enables health care providers to influence decisions that affect their practice by empowering them to contribute collaboratively as decision makers regarding the nursing practice environment. Professional governance provides UPCs’ a framework that aligns nursing with the organization's overall goals and empowers all nurses to play an important role within our organizations’ strategic plan. In professional governance, each team member is called forth to be a Transformational Leader and helps achieve the Mission, Vision and Values of UCLA Health.