The practice of changes in the healthcare system is the natural process of transition from obsolete methods to the newer and modern principles of medical care. At the same time, innovations often affect not only treatment and care procedures but also the working regimes of employees and managers. Today, when the pace of change in healthcare is particularly fast, the need to adapt to updated duties forces the leaders of various medical institutions to monitor the professional activity of subordinates carefully.
Regarding the scope of nursing work, various innovative leadership practices have significant implications for both staff and its management. Following the contemporary concept of change is an essential task in the field of healthcare and, in particular, a nursing practice since both leaders and employees themselves can extract valuable experience through the implications of the renewed course of activity.
Importance of the Concept of Change
Constantly emerging trends replacing outdated operating principles are a natural process for many areas, including the healthcare sector. Innovations here are the result of well-thought-out solutions aimed primarily at improving the quality of assistance to the population and encouraging people to increase their literacy regarding the principles of preventing health problems. According to Roussel, Harris, and Thomas (2016), “health care is a moving target with forces for change impacting outcomes for quality, safety, and value-added care” (p. 4).
Consequently, the task of the management of individual medical institutions is to ensure the most rapid and convenient transition to new working principles. In the context of nursing practice, such operations, as a rule, provide for reorganizations in a labor regime and responsibilities assigned to employees. The competent implementation of all changes is an important step in the healthcare environment and for nursing leadership and management.
Importance for Healthcare
Despite the professional orientation of many reforms affecting nursing activities, changes occur not only directly in the work process but also in cultural, educational, and some other aspects of practice. Boyal and Hewison (2016) note that the importance of such transformations lies in improving the quality of care and, consequently, the satisfaction of the population with medical services. Therefore, the pursuit of sound innovation contributes to enhancing employees’ competence in inpatient care.
Importance for Nursing Leadership and Management
Any innovations are inevitably reflected in the work of nursing leadership and management. Boyal and Hewison (2016) argue that reforms aimed at achieving specific objectives and implementing approved action plans reveal the potential of those who control the work of subordinates. In other words, when regulating the outcomes of nurses’ work, the heads of individual departments receive an opportunity to develop personal leadership skills. Therefore, changes are important to enhance professionalism and improve valuable attainments.
Implications of Change on Nursing Leadership
When changes in the system of nursing care occur, it has certain consequences not only for the staff and its duties but also for the management of the nursing personnel. Strategic decisions promoted to improve performance, expand the range of subordinates’ responsibilities, or reorganize the current mode of operation will inevitably affect leadership activity. As a rule, all transformations have a positive impact since the control of any operations implies an increase in managerial activity.
According to Roussel et al. (2016), the heads of nursing communities should have a clear vision of upcoming innovations, which allows them to analyze the workflow timely, make necessary adjustments, and gain valuable skills that may be useful in the future. If leaders do not fulfill their duties effectively, it will harm the results of the work of the entire medical facility. Therefore, the change regime implies the adaptation of a particular leadership style to avoid losing authority among subordinates and deteriorating performance indicators.
If the nursing care regime changes, leaders are forced to tighten control over the implementation of new practices and approaches. In the case of the ineffectiveness or irrelevance of certain reforms, responsible persons are to inform the senior management about the consequences of updated care programs implementation and potentially effective practices to adjust the working process. However, staff involvement in corrective work is also a significant task.
In their research, Boyal and Hewison (2016) note “the importance of a “nursing voice” to inform board-level decisions and maintain a focus on patient care” (p. 37). Leadership control implies not only evaluating the results of changes but also analyzing subordinates’ activity. Therefore, as part of nursing care management, several obligations are placed on leaders, which provides for increased responsibility for any changes in the usual mode of employees’ activity.
Conclusion
The concept of change in the healthcare system is a sound and important process involving managers’ increased attention to the work of staff and, in particular, nurses. Any adjustments aimed at improving the quality of care are essential both for patients and staff. Implications for the leaders of individual nursing communities imply increased control over the activity of subordinates and timely notification of the senior management about the outcomes of particular reorganization and potentially effective additional improvement measures.
References
Boyal, A., & Hewison, A. (2016). Exploring senior nurses’ experiences of leading organizational change. Leadership in Health Services, 29(1), 37-51. Web.
Roussel, L., Harris, J., & Thomas, T. (2016). Management and leadership for nurse administrators (7th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.