Management and Implementation of Change in Nursing

Overview

Among the industries that continuously change, healthcare is one of them. It has the ability to adapt quickly and effectively. It can be either the innovation of new technologies or some kind of change in the patient care protocols, the healthcare experts are responsible for navigating these changes with precision. But how can it be done? Well, this is where the concept of management and implementation of change in nursing takes place. It’s essential to make sure that these transitions lead to better patient care support and a strong healthcare support team.

In this guide, we’ll understand change management in nursing, specifically focusing on nursing and offering practical guidance for successfully implementing these initiatives.

Understanding Change Management in Nursing

Wondering what change management in nursing means? It refers to a careful and well-structured approach that can change the current practices into new ways and technologies. It’s an important thing in healthcare management that aims to improve the efficiency and the overall quality of patient care.

To sum up, good change management in healthcare is guided by management rules that give priority to patient safety, quality care, as well as employee engagement. Thus, these important elements guide the strategies. Also, they not only implement these changes but also ensure they work for a long time.

I hope you understand the change management in nursing. Now we’ll move forward to find out its importance.

The Importance of Change Management in Nursing

Do you wonder why change is important? Well, it becomes essential when individuals or teams cannot keep up with the ever-changing needs of a company. This concept allows the company to achieve its goals. When it comes to the healthcare sector, lives are at risk. Thus, the chances for successful change management are high.

If you’re a nursing student, let me tell you that nurse leaders such as nurse managers or clinical specialists play an important role in making any change successful in the workplace. They have to understand the changes, check that their team and nursing staff are implementing it, and make sure that it is improving patient care. This information can be helpful for your assignment writing task. However, it would be hard to work on a difficult topic. Therefore, you can get help from the best nursing assignment writing service and ask them to write your assignment.

Here’s what you may expect as a result of implementing these changes:

Implementing Patient Outcomes

If the changes work well, they can result in better patient care. For example, a theory was published that highlighted the importance of implementing Electronic Health Records (EHR). It was stated that it could lead to a 52% reduction in medical errors and tell how technology can improve in improving patient care.

Improved Quality Care

What would be the point of making any changes without improving the quality of care offered to the patients? The concept of change management focuses on improving the healthcare sector. Thus, they make sure to improve the quality of care they offer to the patients. By constantly checking and working on their strategies, they try their best to provide the best care to the patients.

Better Employee Engagement

Would making a change in an organization possible without the support of the working staff? Absolutely no! It’s not only about passing some rules from the upper management, it’s more than that. It’s the employees who contribute to making a change successful. Hence, engaging staff in this process that owns these changes is important. When an employee feels involved and important in their workplace, they embrace it and make sure to give their best.

Lewin’s Change Management Model

Do you know that nurse leaders follow a model? Yes, it’s right. It’s the Lewin’s Change Management Model. It’s one of the key tools that was created by Kurt Lewin. It shows how change management can be widely used in the healthcare sector.

It consists of three main stages:

1. Unfreezing: It’s the first stage that helps to prepare an organization’s staff and employees for the change. This shares the importance and need for a change as well as discussing the vision of it. In addition, they also discuss any possible issues that might occur during the process.
2. Changing: Here comes the most important part which is when the change is being implemented. The nurse leaders work day and night to make sure that their staff is well-trained and can support the new happenings.
3. Refreezing: This is when the change is deeply rooted in the daily routine of the people. Now, it’s the time to keep track of it and monitor how it is helping to improve. Moreover, it’s perfectly fine to make any adjustments according to the situation that can make things much better.

Key Strategies for Nurses for Successful Change Management

The nurse leaders have to work in front and make sure that their teams are working perfectly with the newly implemented changes in the system. For that, they can work by using some major key strategies, they are:

• Effective Communication: Usually, it’s not easy to immediately adapt to a new change and make sure to work on it daily. It takes time. The cherry on top can be when there’s no good communication between the team. This will result in poor work quality and the change would not work as it should. Thus, it’s important to have clear and consistent communication between the nurse leaders and their team.
• Supportive Culture: Do you think that a lack of supportive culture can help positively? The answer is no! Hence, to make a change work, it’s essential to create a supportive culture. It will lead to a positive attitude towards change and help in growth. Nurse leaders have to take a step forward and make sure to take these necessary steps.

Final Words

Change management is the key to improving certain elements of a company, especially in the healthcare sector. In this guide, we have discussed why management and implementation are important and how to effectively work on them. Nurse leaders play a crucial role in this process and they make sure to provide positive results such as better patient care, improved quality of care, etc.