"Change is inevitable in health care, just as life is. Nurses today are accustomed to change in their environments. Many nurses have seen changes in the acuity of patients, changes in both practice models and skill mixes, a change to evidence based practice, changes in educational requirements and changes within their own role. Nurses today must actively seek opportunities to make changes in ways that favorably affect their work and patient care" (Huber, 2009, p. 55).
However, there is still some resistance with change in the nursing world and leaders have the unique opportunity to be a change agent who can help with implementing change. Just the other day, while at work, a veteran nurse was talking about her personal hatred for change and she stated "just wait till you get old". I found that the older generations are more set in their ways and these are the nurses who may be more hesitate in accepting change. This conversation about change started out when the nurse was looking for a red pen for her brain sheet. She made the comment that she always uses red and black colored pens for her brain sheet and she hates change. I found this interesting that she was so persistent in finding this red pen but with the constant change in her nursing environment this was one aspect of her nursing role that she could keep the same and have all control over.
How can we assist others with accepting a positive attitude towards change?
Seven Stages were identified that people typically go through during a change. The following stages are important when recognizing that there is process in accepting change and everyone will go this process at different times; the time spent in each stage with differ with each individual and their ability to accept change.
- Lose focus: confusion and disorientation abound.
- Minimize impact: deny or pretend the change is not significant
- The pit: feelings of anger, discouragement, resentment, and resistance arise.
- Let go of the past: energy returns as the end if the change process is seen
- Test the limits: more optimism is gained,and the individual tries out new skills or seeks new experiences.
- Search the meaning: the individual reflects on the change process and recognizes what was learned
- Integration: the transition is completed, and the change is integrated into daily life:
How can leaders help other deal effectively with change?
- Explain the rational for a change so that individuals understand it
- Allow emotions to be worked out (allow employees to go those all of the stages listed above)
- Give participants all the information they need
- Help individuals cope with change
- Foster your commitment to change and emphasize four practices of change: Empower, Shared decision making, Self direction, and Shared governance.
Huber, D. H. (2009). Leadership and nursing care management. 4th edition. Saunders, Elsevier Health Sciences. Maryland Heights, MO.
The stages of change really struck a cord with me. I have never placed a lot of thought into how I process and move forward from change. In fact, I what I recall from most change in my life is the “letting go” stage and decide I just have to deal with it. As I read your post though, I thought about the start of the nursing program. It was such a large change in all of lives, and on top of it I was dealing with a change in my dads health (and my relationship with him.) Looking back I can clearly recall going through each and every one of the stage. I entered the “lose focus” stage more times than I would like to admit.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is powerful about the stages is that the knowledge of it allows us to be aware of it. In nursing we are going to deal with changes that will happen so fast our heads will spin. As Raney likes to say we “need to make peace with it now!” I think by understanding the stages we may be better able to tap into how we cope and our emotional state. Hopefully this will allow us to have better control of ourselves when we are in the center of a situation we can’t.