Change in Inpatient Nursing
Over the years, the world has been experiencing different changes in all sectors of the economy. Although some may argue that change is often not recommended, it is good for people to adapt to the dynamics they are experiencing. For instance, ever since the agrarian revolution, the agricultural sector witnessed the transformation and people started using sophisticated machines to produce enough cultivated products. This change is depicted in the industrial revolution era which forced many regions across the globe to invest in industries and create more jobs. However, the current digital era has created and caused the loss of many jobs, in equal measure, to people and industries.
Nonetheless, the firms which ignored the changes have either become extinct or are on the verge of closing the business. For example, some pharmaceuticals firms across the world have been experiencing constant change on the types of medicine they give to their patients. Most drugs have either been declared not suitable for consumption while others cannot currently perform their intended functions. Similarly, the healthcare sector has been experiencing transformation in service delivery. Recently, the inpatient nursing in med surgery or sub-acute unit experienced numerous changes in the number of patients, demographic population, human resources, usage of technology, and teamwork activities.
Recent Changes in the Inpatient Nursing
One of the changes in the inpatient nursing is the surge in the number of patients. Initially, few people needed the services of the medical surgery nurses due to the high expenses. However, currently, many sick people undergo surgery with more complexities than it was previously witnessed. As a result, the number of nurses rendering the services are overwhelmed with the number of sick individuals and the patients who prefer more personalized care. The nurses not only provide the services in the hospital setups as it has been initially done, but they also offer their care through telecommunication and homecare. Therefore, the nurses have to adapt to the increased activities in the facilities and also to ensure that the clients are satisfied with the services.
Another change witnessed in inpatient nursing is the demographic fluctuations. America’s population is aging and many citizens are above 65 years of age and the figure is expected to increase by more than half in the next 25 years (Kanasi et al., 2016). According to the research conducted by Kanasi et al. (2016), elderly individuals are more susceptible to chronic illnesses and almost over 50 percent of the old persons across the country are suffering from chronic diseases.
This, therefore, implies that more nurses will be required in the acute and medical surgery units, thus, making the nurses to adapt to the situation. Initially, people who were operated were placed in the acute units were the individuals of average age (Kanasi et al., 2016). However, the elderly who have undergone surgery need more care and are supposed to be handled with diligence. Besides, the facilitates advocate for a shorter stay in the hospital environment and this further makes it difficult for the nurses to offer their services. Therefore, registered nurses will have to adapt to the changes and ensure that clients are taken care of regardless of the place where the patients are based.
Health care facilities have also been trying to cut the expenditure by striving to use the services of the human resources effectively. As a result, the leaders in the health amenities have been forced to integrate the duties of both the Registered Nurses (RNs) and Licenced Practical Nurses (LPNs). The introduction of unregulated health care workers into the surgical units has changed the way RNs provide their services in the acute areas.
As a result, registered nurses working in the department are required to enhance the safety of the patients because some healthcare providers perform the activities they are not trained to do. Instead of blaming other people who work in the medical surgery unit, nurses are required to provide leadership and look at the main cause of the problem. In other words, the tasks of RNs have increased since they have to perform the role of caregiving in addition to guiding other non-registered nurses on what to do.
Because of the overlap in the tasks performed by RNs and LPNs, there is a difficulty in making decisions which can improve the health of the patients since each category of nurses has a varied opinion on how the patients should be treated Currently the nurses’ activities in the medical surgery units risk the health of patients. Therefore, there is transformation on the duties of the nurses.
Technology is also a change that has been witnessed in inpatient nursing. Over the past few years, healthcare facilities have adopted usage of technology ranging from keeping patient records to performing complex operations. Nurses in the medical surgery and acute units have also been involved in the widespread use of technology. Initially, nurses in the surgical departments were manually taking patients’ records and monitoring their progress. However, they currently use electronic health records (EHRs) database to record and keep the patients’ data. As a result, they are required to adapt to the current technological changes and be conversant with information technology.
Teamwork is also a change that is seen in inpatient nursing. Nurses are required to work in groups to ensure effective service delivery and also promote patient safety. Working individually has been found to promote patient negligence and also cause the deaths of many patients in the US (Kaiser & Westers, 2018). A study conducted by Rodziewicz et al. (2020) concluded that many patients have died in the US due to complications that would have been prevented if the nurses worked in a group. As a result, nurses are required to currently work in teams to ensure there is an effective flow of information and delivery of services. Although some nurses who were previously enjoying working solely, opposed this action, they are currently required to form teams, especially in the medical surgery departments.
The Changes Presented and Received
Some changes such as the surge in the number of patients and demographic changes were naturally presented. The healthcare facilities had no control over the number of patients they received although they could regulate those that they admit into their facilities. Aging is also normal and the type of diseases that the elderly experience cannot be determined by both the hospitals and the caregivers. Therefore, the nurses in the medical surgery department had to adapt to the new changes. They had to learn how to handle the old patients and also dealing with the increased population. Although some healthcare facilities opted to hire new nurses trained in dealing with patients at the acute departments, the number of healthcare providers could still not march the increased number of patients. Therefore, the changes forced the nurses to get out of their comfort zones and adopt new ways.
Integration of all human resources in inpatient nursing and the use of technology to keep the records of the patient was positively received by some nurses while others were reluctant to adopt the changes. Incorporating all the human resources, for instance, did not go well with the nurses who had primary training on dealing with patients in the acute and medical surgery unit and were registered. These nurses felt that their positions were being taken by people who were not qualified to offer the services.
Equally, the untrained personnel also felt that they were being tasked with additional responsibility that they did had little knowledge. As a result, untrained human resources were reluctant to take their new duties and perform them with zeal. However, there was a group of nurses that fully embraced the changes and adopted the new ways. They guided their new team members and were also willing to consider what the new members had to offer. In the end, they ensured that the patients’ safety was enhanced.
In regards to teamwork, the nurses in the department were not all willing to participate. There were those who instantly took the challenge and started working in teams. Quality service delivery to the patient was their main goal and they had to do everything it takes to ensure that patients are served. Nonetheless, some were hesitant to engage in teams the same way it is presented in Business Recovery (2017). They were comfortable with working individually thus, they initially avoided any form of teamwork. They gave all the reasons that could make them be omitted from the groups and not to be answerable to the team leaders.
Change Theory
Force Field Model and the Unfreezing-Change-Refreezing Model is the best theory that can accurately describe the changes that recently occurred in inpatient nursing. The theory was pioneered by Kurt Lewin and it helps to explain the dynamics witnessed in the development of an organization (Rosenbaum et al., 2018). It is a three-stage model and it examines the forces that influence a situation. It makes the organizational leaders to ignore the previous knowledge while replacing them with the new information. Based on the theory, change occurs when the driving forces overcome the restraining situations.
In the case of inpatient nursing, the powerful forces are the increase in the population of patients and the aging group. These categories of individuals come with new diseases that require close care, while the restraining forces are the unwillingness of the nurses to work in groups, embrace information technology among others. The change, however, occurs in the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the nurses and all the human resources tasked with providing care for the patients in the medical surgery units.
In conclusion, change is inevitable and people should embrace change as soon as possible. Inpatient nursing is one of the areas that has received several changes in terms of offering services to patients. The changes range from the number of patients who require the services of the nurses in medical surgery sections to the care given. Nurses in this sector are constantly overwhelmed and, as a result, they are required to adapt to the new changes to offload some of the tasks while ensuring quality service delivery. Therefore, change is important and every nurse should not hesitate to take the changes they experience in life positively.
References
Business Recovery (2017). Who moved my cheese. YouTube. Web.
Kaiser, J. A., & Westers, J. B. (2018). Nursing teamwork in a health system: A multisite study. Journal of nursing management, 26(5), 555-562. Web.
Kanasi, E., Ayilavarapu, S., & Jones, J. (2016). The aging population: Demographics and the biology of aging. Periodontology 2000, 72(1), 13-18. Web.
Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B. & Hipskind, J. E. (2020). Medical error prevention. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. Web.
Rosenbaum, D., More, E., & Steane, P. (2018). Planned organizational change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 31(2),286-303. Web.