Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment

Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment

Health care organizations are continuously immersed in change from the emergence of new policies, to promote quality care and improve patient safety to keeping pace with the rapid growth in knowledge and best practices. Establishing a solid framework for planning and implementing change is a wise move, as it provides a foundation for the extensive coordination that will be needed to successfully facilitate the change.

For this Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment, you propose a change at the department or unit level and develop a plan for guiding the change effort.

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To prepare:

· Review Chapter 8 in the course text. Focus on Kurt Lewin’s change theory, and contrast it with other classic change models and strategies.

· Reflect on problems, inefficiencies, and critical issues within a specific department, unit, or area in your organization or one with which you are familiar. Select one issue as a focal point for this assignment, and consider a change that could be made to address the issue. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

· Think about how the change would align with the organization’s mission, vision, and values as well as relevant professional standards.

· Using one of the change models or strategies discussed in Chapter 8, begin formulating a plan for implementing the change within the department/unit. Outline the steps that you and/or others should follow to facilitate the change effort. Align these steps to the change model or strategy you selected.

· Determine who should be involved in initiating and managing the change. Consider the skills and characteristics that are necessary to facilitate this change effort.

To complete:

Write a 3- to 5-page Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:

· Identify a problem, inefficiency, or issue within a specific department/unit.

· Describe a specific, realistic change that could be made to address the issue. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

· Summarize how the change would align with the organization’s mission, vision, and values as well as relevant professional standards.

· Identify a change model or strategy to guide your planning for implementing the change. Provide a rationale for your selection.

· Outline the steps that you and/or others would follow to facilitate the change. Align these steps to your selected change model or strategy.

· Explain who would be involved in initiating and managing this change. Describe the skills and characteristics that would be necessary to facilitate the change effort.

                                                                   Learning Resources

Required Readings

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

• Review Chapter 7, “Strategic and Operational Planning”
• Chapter 8, “Planned Change”

This chapter explores methods for facilitating change and the theoretical underpinnings of implementing effective change Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

McAlearney, A., Terris, D., Hardacre, J., Spurgeon, P. Brown, C.,  Baumgart, A.,  Nyström, M. (2014). Organizational coherence in health care organizations: Conceptual guidance to facilitate quality improvement and organizational change. Quality Management in Health Care, 23(4), 254–267 doi: 10.1097/QMH.0b013e31828bc37d

An international group of investigators explored the issues of organizational culture and Quality Improvement (QI) in different health care contexts and settings. The aim of the research was to examine if a core set of organizational cultural attributes are associated with successful QI systems.

Mitchell, G. (2013). Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing Management – UK, 20(1), 32–37. doi: 10.7748/nm2013.04.20.1.32.e1013

Shirey, M. R. (2013). Lewin’s Theory of Planned Change as a strategic resource. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(2), 69–72. doi:10.1097/NNA.0b013e31827f20a9

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2012g). Organizational dynamics: Planned change and project planning. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Optional Resources

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

• Chapter 9, “Time Management”

Batras, D., Duff, C., & Smith, B. J. (2014). Organizational change theory: implications for health promotion practice. Health Promotion International, Retrieved from MEDLINE with Full Text, EBSCOhost

This article reviews select organizational change models to identify the most pertinent insights for health promotion practitioners. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

Planned Change in a Department

In recent times, record keeping in health care institutions has evolved from manual systems to Electronic Health Record (EHR).  Through EHR, clinicians provide patient information through a digital concept. Besides, these records contain both administrative and clinical dates. Digital record management has revolutionized records management in most health institutions.  The system improves patient care and outcomes.  Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment. Additionally, the new technology promotes patient-centeredness, education and communication. Despite these immense developments, records management departments in healthcare face risks related to EHR. Notably, there is uneven standardization of EHR equipment across the healthcare organizations. Besides, there is potential negligence of data and unauthorized access to patient information. The clinicians in the departments also portray laxity in accepting EHR due to issues of productivity, slow work flow, and inadequate support. Alike, physicians feel that the new system interferes with the manner in which they organize their thoughts on patient treatment and care. Therefore, there is a need for change in how clinicians manage data using EHR system. The purpose of this paper is to address challenges a health organization managers face in trying to manage technological change, and the solution to this problem in regards to Kurt Lewin’s Three-Step Change model.

Mission and Vision of Health Organizations

The mission of a health organization is to provide consistent access to healthcare services for all people regardless of economic status and ability. The vision is to develop a healthy community, while the core values are built on respect and empathy. The change aligns with the vision, mission, and values of the health organization, as efficiency in EHR promotes patient outcome. The main objective of any health care organization is to save life and sustain wellness in the society. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

Change Model

For efficient change in the health organization, all departments must participate in training on the function and use of EHR. According to Kurt Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory, the initial step in implementing change is to unfreeze the present situation. The unfreezing process entails overcoming individual resistance, and preventing any forces that create an unfriendly work environment. The procedure also entails motivating the participants to embrace and trust on the need for a change. Manchester et al. (2014) posit that Lewin’s second step involves persuading employees to support a new strategy for work .The employees are also fortified to view the problem from a positive perspective. The employees are also allowed to air their suggestions and solutions towards the problem. The third step involves refreezing, and happens after implementation of change. This stage is important, as it prevents employees from resisting change. This stage is important as it allows employees to integrate new values that relate to change. The refreezing stage stabilizes the new equilibrium by balancing both restraining and balancing forces.

Steps for Change

The rationale for Lewin’s Three-Step-Theory is that change in health organizations is crucial and inevitable. The theory explains the efficiency in which leaders are able to modify their structures and processes. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment. According to Geer, Anast-May and Gurley (2014), Lewin’s perspective clearly describes the stages of organizational change. The three stages depict the experiences that clinicians undergo in the quest of adapting to a new technology in records management. The model also provides cautionary processes that ensure a successful implementation of a new technology. Additionally, the theory provides a constructive framework that informs management of organizational change in all its three stages.

Initiation and Management of Change

Through the application of Kurt Lewis model, all departments must gain skills on the use of electronic data system. A training program must be availed to all employees on all e-records.  All care givers must be informed on the need to embrace technological change for efficiency, as explained in the first phase of Kurt’s theory. First, the executive team should be trained, as they are in charge of supervision. The training involves an actual operation of the electronic machine. Besides, the health care givers must know the legal employees, who have access to information to avoid data breach. Medical practices demand that health organizations must preserve patient information. Alike, modification of patient data leads to legal consequences. Health care leaders must develop policies that address documentation and retention of records. The second step is the actual use of the electronic devices in all departments (Bischoff, 2014). This should be done with the help of a professional in IT. The expert will be in charge of guiding employees on big data, patient records, and internet use. The healthcare givers must comply with the policy provisions related to data management. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

The executive leaders in a health organization are responsible for communicating change to other employees. The leaders begin by creating awareness on the need for change. Caregivers from different departments deliberate and provide their view on the same technology. Besides, they are responsible for facilitating training activities, which bridges the old and the new way of operations (Hayes, 2014). Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment. In other cases, it would be prudent for the organization to hire a technology expert, whose duty is to educate others on operations and functions of the e-record device. Moreover, the leaders are responsible for measuring change, to check on the success in the implementation of a need technology. Apart from gauging success, the executive team also determines a corrective system that aids in identifying any areas that require improvement. After a successful implementation, each individual is accountable for their actions in handling both patient and administrative records.

In conclusion, managing change remains as one of the most tedious tasks in any organization. However, since change brings about smooth running of activities, administrators must show commitment. According to Kurt Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory, implementation of change follows distinct procedures. Particularly, management of electronic records in a health care institution needs succinct training and expert guidance and opinion. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.

References

Bischoff, K. (2014). Electronic health records and rural hospitals.Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=auchs

Geer, G. C., Anast-May, L., & Gurley, D. K. (2014). Interns perceptions of administrative internships: Do principals provide internship activities in areas they deem important?. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 9(1), n1.Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1024113

Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-jMdBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Hayes,+J.+(2014).+The+theory+and+practice+of+change+management.+Palgrave+Macmillan.&ots=51Te9xoCQw&sig=lZ1VIzC6qsO7JotG1CXcrO6tqfk Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment

Manchester, J., Gray-Miceli, D. L., Metcalf, J. A., Paolini, C. A., Napier, A. H., Coogle, C. L., & Owens, M. G. (2014). Facilitating Lewin’s change model with collaborative evaluation in promoting evidence based practices of health professionals. Evaluation and program planning, 47, 82-90.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2014.08.007. Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit Assignment.