The Nurse 's Role On Influencing Change

These changes are then reinforced to employees by the Charge Nurses in Morning Huddles and in special called Safety Huddles throughout the week. While management is very open to change, implementation of the changes must be carried out by the actual hands-on personnel, and this often times leads to fear of the unknown. As Yoder-Wise (2015) states, “All changes, whether perceived as positive or negative, large-scale or simply, are scary and generate fear” (p. 307). In the short time I have worked in the ED, I have seen both support and resistance among co-workers regarding change processes. While some embrace change, others resist, and are set in their ways viewing change as inconvenient and an addition of time-consuming steps to an already stressful environment. Most whom I work with, when presented with the facts and evidence behind the change, view it positively and have no problem implementing it.

The need for innovation in medical care becomes a priority in a growing world, with the world population growing at an alarming rate, from 3.036 Billion to 7.125 Billion in just half a century from 1960 to 2013. The rapid increase in population has translated to congestion in urban centers leading to enormous waste production; a lot of pollution made due to excessive fumes from vehicles on roads and even water pollution due to a rapid increase in industrial activities in the quest to satisfy production. All these effects are increasingly resulting to higher frequency within which people acquire infections leading to the need for specialized medical care.

Implementing a change in practice within these environments can produce anxiety or fear of failure in nurses, leading to a resistance to change. Several studies (Bozak, 2003; Lehman, 2008; Spetz, Burgess & Phibbs, 2012) expounded the need for a concise plan and clear communication between nurses and management when implementing a change of this nature. The use of Lewin’s Change Management theory can support nurses through the transitions and identify areas of strengths and resistances prior to implementing change. Without a framework for guidance, it can be difficult to keep on track.

A discussion regarding the health care reform or even health care in general can be somewhat controversial. The definition of health is drastically different depending on whom you speak to. Many would define health as " a person's absence of disease, others would describe good health based on the status of mind, body & social well-being" (GCU Lecture, module 2, 2012). According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, health is defined as "The overall condition of an organism at a given time". An individual's overall health affects the nation, this is where stakeholders come into value. According to Keele, Buckner & Bushnell a stakeholder is either an individual or an organization that either invest time and

The healthcare industry is an ever changing system in which there is constant pressure for it to provide quality care while maintaining rising cost. The pressure exerted on a healthcare system is exemplified by managed healthcare. This type of care involves integrating and comprehensive systems of health care providers, insurance, companies and government programs. University Hospital is a very large teaching hospital which scores well on accreditation tests and is known for its high quality level of care. Like all hospitals, they need to work on improving their financial situation. In order to alleviate financial stress, the hospital has taken on a “differentiated nursing practice” which has registered nurses as care

"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing"-Theodore Roosevelt. Like Roosevelt, he saw that reflecting off hard work and spending hours interacting has an impact on the people. Nurses spend day and night helping the community and the patients. When one is in need or isn't satisfied they are there. Hard work pays off and nurses have chosen this profession to improve the quality of life for all. Nurses impact environmental health on human community through patients advocacy, informing communities/families, and keeping the environment clean.

Recent studies have indicated that healthcare workers do not sufficiently recognize the importance of hand hygiene and compliance with

When one thinks of leaders, they think of those who hold a high profile position or someone who is highly visible in the public eye. A leader, regardless of prestige is someone who can easily influence and inspire the actions and goals of others. The definition of a leader in Nursing Leadership and Management in Nursing states, “leadership is commonly defined as a process of influence in which the leader influences others towards goal achievement (Kelly, 2012 p.2). Leaders are needed at all levels and nurses take a leadership role by being advocates for their patients. There are many leadership theories and styles in nursing but this paper will focus on transformational leadership and its application to nursing. Transformational leadership is important in nursing, due to its ever changing and ever evolving healthcare methods and technology.

The most frequently addressed determinants were knowledge, awareness, action control, and facilitation of behavior. Fewer studies showing social influence, attitude, self-efficacy, and intention. Thirteen studies used a controlled design to measure the effects of hand hygiene improvement strategies on hand hygiene behavior.

Healthcare Reform has been and still is a highly debated controversial political issue in this country. It has been a hot topic of past presidential campaigns, with many proposed solutions, none of which were enacted upon by Congress. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010. This law or Obamacare, as it is commonly called, was designed to cover the 48 million Americans, including about 1 million in New Jersey who did not have health insurance. It is envisioned to provide seamless, affordable, quality care that is accessible to all. Great emphasis will be placed on transforming our current “sick care” hospital system into a community “health care” system of prevention and health promotion. This paper discusses the evolving and future roles of nurses under the new system. It also examines the proposals of a joint committee made up of members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), as an initiative to help nurses in their new leadership roles to a healthier nation.

Hand hygiene is everybody’s job, including the patients. Linda Pearson (2006) refers to AL Damouk et al (2004) who suggests that inviting patients to become partners in their care maybe an appropriate response to reports of the rising incidence of healthcare associated infections and difficulties with

There has been a pandemic apathy towards political activism among the nursing fraternity, despite the fact that politics to a greater extent affects the way these medical practitioners carry out their duty of providing care. Nurses have not seen any reason for political involvement citing that no direct relationship exists between nursing and political activism (Boswell, Canon and Miller 5). They claim that nursing is about application and service, demonstration by involvement and more of ‘walking the walk’ rather than the political ‘talking the talk’ (Rains and Barton-Kriese 219). Political activism to them is a waste of the precious time that could be used to provide healthcare to

In the healthcare field, nursing leaders and managers face consistent issues in their respective practices that force them to alter the way they work and the way they think. In taking on a role as a leader within the field, nursing leaders and managers also take on the role of ensuring that work within an organization runs smoothly regardless of new issues that may arise in the healthcare arena. For instance, in today's healthcare environment, the issues of nurse shortage and nurse turnover have the capacity to alter the healthcare field and many of its respective branches and organizations should these problems not be managed properly by the leaders in the field. In viewing the issue at hand and in discovering how nursing leaders and managers are expected to act, and do act, in order to approach this issues, along with pinpointing the best approach possible to aid this issue, one can better understand which leadership styles are necessary for leaders to function.

The main focus of the theory is motivation, inspiration and empowerment to create changes. It is based on the idea of empowering others to facilitate overall goal. Bennis and Nanus (1985) describe this new leader as a leader who “commits people to action, who converts leaders into leaders, and who converts leaders into agents of change” (p.3).177. According to processes to engage and motivate staff article “Transformational leadership is important for high quality care delivery, and behaviors that nurse leaders inspire, role model and reinforce are instrumental in creating work practice that deliver optimum care”.

Without competent leadership change can have negative impact on both the employees and the patients. According to Wright (2010), lack of leadership in change management could lead to adverse outcomes such as resentment, rebellious attitudes, and could end up damaging the same people it intended to make better (p.20). Therefore, experts warned that it is very important to have competent leadership at the helm of change management (p.20). As the focus of providing leadership shifts to nurse administrators who are often in the frontline of change management, nurse administrator should use essential tools such as the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) five domain of competence as a framework in change management.