Planned Change
Healthcare institutions must design and implement powerful models to ensure that high-quality services are available to all patients. The targeted hospital provides medical care to persons aged between one and fifty years. The selected unit for this discussion is that of pediatrics. It deals with the health issues affecting underage children. In the recent past, the unit has been receiving patients from diverse racial backgrounds. Unfortunately, the clinicians and nurses in this department have not been able to offer desirable services. The current gap explains why there is a need for a powerful change to empower nurses and physicians to offer superior services to more children. This discussion explains how such a transformation can be supported to make the unit successful.
Proposed Change
Since the ultimate objective of the selected pediatric unit is to provide high-quality services to many children, different practitioners can be supported to come up with a new model for delivering positive results. The proposed change revolves around the introduction of new attributes such as evidence-based practice (EBP), cultural competence, and multidisciplinary teams. These three aspects can work synergistically to empower and make it easier for more workers to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds (Hassmiller & Reinhard, 2015). The identified idea is realistic since it resonates with the demands of different practitioners and patients.
When such ideas are introduced, more nurses, physicians, clinicians will be ready to collaborate and offer quality medical services. They will address emerging health problems and improve patients’ health outcomes. It will be possible for them to present evidence-based concepts and interact with children’s relatives and guardians in order to record positive results. Emerging conflicts and challenges will be identified and addressed immediately (Reed, 2017). The concept of cultural competence will emerge whereby nurses and physicians will design personalized models to treat a greater number of children from diverse backgrounds.
Alignment with Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values
The proposed change or solution is capable of transforming the selected hospital and making it a leading provider of superior, evidence-based, and timely medical services to all patients (Marquis & Huston, 2017). This goal echoes the organization’s vision statement. Its mission is to advocate for patients’ health rights and improve their lifestyles through the provision of quality services. Additionally, the institution has specific values that guide the practice and behaviors of practitioners. These include integrity, transparency, accountability, benevolence, and autonomy. Such principles are taken seriously in order to ensure that every patient receives high-quality services.
The proposed change is aligned with the above attributes. To begin with, it is capable of empowering more workers and making it easier for them to meet the changing needs of the targeted children. This means that their practices and care delivery models will support the hospital’s mission and vision statements (Marquis & Huston, 2017). Consequently, the delivery of superior medical services can make it a leading institution in the region. The solution also supports each of the above principles. When nurses work as a team, they will offer competent, evidence-based, and desirable medical care. This means that the integrity, rights, the autonomy of every patient will be put into consideration. Nurses will become more transparent and professional in the unit.
Change Model: Action Steps
The successful change should be supported using an effective model. The most appropriate theory for supporting this agenda is Kurt Lewin’s concept. This model follows these three stages: refreeze, change, and freeze (Cummings, Bridgman, & Brown, 2016). The leader of the unit should be keen to use the concept in order to record positive results. During the first phase (refreezing), the manager will sensitize and educate different practitioners, nurses, nurse aides, and caregivers about the importance of multidisciplinary teams (Cummings et al., 2016). They will be updated about the changes recorded in the institution within the past few years. They will also be informed about the challenges facing many patients and how they can be addressed. This approach will ensure that every worker is willing to support the intended agenda.
The next stage will be to introduce the proposed solution. During the phase, practitioners and clinicians will be guided to form multidisciplinary teams. Such groups will bring together different professionals, patients, and relatives. The move will result in superior care delivery models. The teams will also be comprised of individuals from different religions, regions, and races, or ethnicities. This strategy will ensure that evidence-based ideas and cultural competencies are used to improve patients’ health outcomes (Marquis & Huston, 2017). The final stage is that of refreezing whereby the introduced solution will become a norm in the unit. Different workers and practitioners will receive timely updates and resources to continue supporting the new change. The concept of continuous improvement will also be considered in order to introduce new attributes and practices in the unit. This approach will empower more practitioners to meet the health demands of more patients.
Individual Roles
Successful changes should be supported and monitored by skilled professionals. The first phase will be monitored and managed by the unit’s leader. This individual will undertake the role since he or she is aware of the issues affecting many workers and the challenges encountered by patients. The unit’s supervisor will also be required to empower and train different practitioners and physicians about the role of multidisciplinary teams (Reed, 2017). During the second phase, different stakeholders such as nurses, nurse aides, physicians, and leaders will collaborate to introduce the proposed change.
Constant collaboration and communication will be taken seriously by the leaders and supervisors in the unit. They will introduce the outlined changes and encourage different workers to embrace them. These leaders will also be required to monitor and address emerging obstacles that can disorient the targeted process. The institution’s manager will also be required to provide the intended materials and resources to support the change (Hassmiller & Reinhard, 2015). The hospital’s top management can hire more practitioners and physicians to address the current workforce shortage. When these players or stakeholders complete their roles and responsibilities efficiently, chances are high that the unit will achieve its objectives and goals.
Concluding Summary
Pediatric units offer services to children from diverse backgrounds. The identified facility has been receiving many patients in need of superior services. This development explains why a powerful change is needed to introduce evidence-based aspects such as multidisciplinary teams and cultural competencies to address the health demands of every child. Kurt Lewin’s model is capable of supporting and guiding the process. Such a change will support the organization’s mission and vision statements. It will also uphold the existing values and improve the health outcomes of more patients and the experiences of practitioners. Effective leadership will also be required in order to make the change successful.
References
Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human Relations, 69(1), 33-60. Web.
Hassmiller, S. B., & Reinhard, S. C. (2015). A bold new vision for America’s health care system. American Journal of Nursing, 115(2), 49-55. Web.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Reed, P.G. (2017). Translating nursing philosophy for practice and healthcare policy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(3), 260-261. Web.