Assignment: Benchmark- Resolution for Change

Assignment: Benchmark- Resolution for Change

Assignment: Benchmark- Resolution for Change
Benchmark- Resolution for Change
Healthcare facilities should be safe environments for patients, nursing professionals, and their leaders. Unfortunately, many issues in the evolving practice hamper organizations’ ability to achieve maximum patient safety and care quality. Since organizations should strive to optimize patient satisfaction, investment in programs that improve outcomes is critical. Through a systems approach, change projects to improve critical aspects of care like safety, quality, and cost should be implemented continually. From a performance perspective, organizational change leads to positive differences in functions, leadership, and resource utilization (Milella et al., 2021). It could be incremental or radical depending on situations and the complexity of issues prompting organizational change. The purpose of this paper is to identify a patient safety clinical problem that requires change-driven resolution.

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Problem Identification
Systems thinking in healthcare is characterized by interrelationships between healthcare elements, such as leaders and staff, to design interventions for improving patient outcomes. This approach enables nursing professionals to explore problems within the care system and propose practical solutions. A widespread patient safety concern necessitating a sustainable solution is hospital-associated infections (HAIs). Also called nosocomial infections, HAIs are acquired while receiving healthcare services, implying that they were absent during admission. Their impacts on patient safety and other pivotal aspects of care are profound. Nursing research demonstrates HAIs as a leading cause of extended hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality (Haque et al., 2020; Stewart et al., 2021). More extended hospital stays and exposure to other illnesses increase hospital costs and hamper the patient’s independence and mental health. Solutions vary depending on the type of HAIs and severity in an organization. According to Haque et al. (2020), an infection prevention and control policy with a bundled approach could help organizations prevent HAIs and minimize their impact. Essential components of the bundle include hand hygiene, environmental hygiene, antimicrobial stewardship, and screening patients. A culture that supports and sustains change is critical to the success of the policy.
Effective Change Management Strategy
A change management strategy is the overall approach for actualizing the targeted outcomes. The infection control policy would be effectively implemented using Kotter’s 8-steps for leading change approach. According to Kotter, successful change commences with creating a climate for change through the first three steps of the model: increasing urgency, building guiding teams, and creating a vision (Campbell, 2020; McLaren et al., 2023). The second phase involves engaging the organization by communicating for buy-in, enabling action, and creating short-term wins. The last phase involves implementing and sustaining the change, encompassing steps seven (do not let up) and eight (making it stick). This approach signifies how organizational change occurs methodically and the need for the change proponent to engage leaders and other stakeholders. Communicating the vision is one way of earning leadership support and ensuring the essential resources for implementing the intervention are provided. Kotter’s approach also underlines the importance of a climate for change to overcome typical barriers like comfort in the status quo (McLaren et al., 2023). The approach is also appropriate since it seeks to achieve long-term gains in healthcare by sustaining the change.
The Stakeholders
Stakeholders influence change through advice and direct participation in its implementation. Identifying them helps the change leader to strategize their engagement approaches to ensure they embrace and support the vision. The organization’s management is a primary stakeholder due to its influential leadership role. According to Graham and Woodhead (2021), the organization’s management determines health interventions’ feasibility and creates the necessary climate for progressive improvements. Nurse leaders are the other group since clinical problems determine how they assign roles and engage nurses. Improving organizational safety is part of their professional obligations, hence the need to engage them. Nurses and patients are also key stakeholders when managing change since they are directly affected by the outcomes of safety improvement projects.
The Type of Anticipated Change
The type and scope of organizational change are contingent on the problem’s complexity. Broadly, implementing the infection prevention and control policy typifies adaptive change since it helps the organization to adapt more effectively to the changing conditions of the clinical environment. Pivotal in improving patient outcomes, adaptive change is characterized by a system’s capacity to foster innovation and support new practices (Lyng et al., 2021). The link between adaptation and innovation necessitates intervention tailored to organizational needs to enhance performance and address barriers to high-quality care. Three key features define the anticipated change: organization-wide nature, incremental, and outcome-driven. It is organization-wide since all departments should implement the policy. Incremental change helps the organization improve the efficiency and effectiveness of products and services. Outcomes include a safer healthcare facility free from HAIs and associated issues like more extended hospital stays, poor health, and increased healthcare costs.
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is a critical success factor in change management. It ensures that stakeholders understand the vision for change, are active participants, and support improvements as their professional obligation obligates. A suitable method of engaging the identified stakeholder team is tailored communication to enable them to understand the purpose of the policy, their roles, and how change progresses. As Nielsen et al. (2020) suggested, some healthcare employees resist change since they worry about their jobs and well-being. Clear and relevant communication addresses such worries and earns their buy-in. Besides active communication, teamwork is crucial for the stakeholder team to function effectively. In this case, the team should be encouraged to cooperate to achieve a shared goal since the project benefits everyone. Dialogue should be encouraged, too. This is achieved by open communication, soliciting feedback, and timely response to emerging issues. Dialogue promotes interaction and makes stakeholders feel their contributions are valued.
Communicating the Change to Stakeholders
Effective communication considers the information’s channels, tone, and timeliness when implementing change. The best approach to communicate the change to all stakeholders is to use formal and informal channels. For instance, emails can be used to communicate with top management, while face-to-face interactions could be effective among colleagues in the same unit. Clear information that does not contain technical jargon should be a priority to ensure communication and clarity. The message should also be polite and seek feedback where appropriate. Regarding the frequency, regular communication, such as weekly reports, is essential. It would enable the stakeholders to stay focused and effectively reminded about their roles and the progress of the change.
Communicating Adjustments
Adjustments are part of progressive change and can occur at various implementation phases. Typical adjustments include the need for more resources, expanding the implementation team, or modifying some intervention components. For instance, patient education can be incorporated into the intervention bundle to enable patients to make prudent decisions. During infection control, patient education empowers patients by building their skills to make informed decisions and participate in the care process (Hammoud et al., 2020). If an adjustment is needed, instant communication with the stakeholders is crucial. A summary report highlighting the progress of the change, the causes of the adjustments, and the rationale should be the key messages.
Factoring the Christian Worldview in Decision-Making
The Christian worldview stresses many principles and values that should be integrated into health decisions. One of the fundamental concepts is human dignity, founded on the tenet that all humans are unique and worth respect (Lindwall & Lohne, 2021). An interprofessional collaboration engaging all stakeholders typifies respect for people and makes them feel valued and trusted as equal healthcare team members. The other factor is nurses’ role in alleviating suffering to make the world better for everyone. In healthcare organizations, suffering is alleviated by providing comprehensive care that addresses patient needs. Such care is achieved in safe clinical environments, underscoring the importance of infection control interventions to prevent HAIs. Empowering nurses through infection control resources and knowledge also enables them to provide compassionate, person-centered care, as Christianity recommends.
Conclusion
Nurses are natural change leaders who should use their clinical expertise to improve patient safety and care quality. A systems approach encourages interrelationships between healthcare elements to address a common problem. Typically, the type of change and stakeholder engagement strategies depend on the proposed intervention. HAIs could be effectively addressed by implementing an infection prevention and control policy where nurses combine bundle components to enhance patient safety. The management, nurse leaders, and nursing professionals should collaborate to realize the gains of the change. The Kotter’s change management approach would facilitate systematic change implementation, hence its choice.

References
Campbell, R. J. (2020). Change management in health care. The Health Care Manager, 39(2), 50–65. https://doi.org/10.1097/HCM.0000000000000290
Graham, R. N. J., & Woodhead, T. (2021). Leadership for continuous improvement in healthcare during the time of COVID-19. Clinical Radiology, 76(1), 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crad.2020.08.008
Hammoud, S., Amer, F., Lohner, S., & Kocsis, B. (2020). Patient education on infection control: A systematic review. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(12), 1506-1515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.05.039
Haque, M., McKimm, J., Sartelli, M., Dhingra, S., Labricciosa, F. M., Islam, S., … & Charan, J. (2020). Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections: a narrative overview. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 1765-1780. https://doi.org/10.2147%2FRMHP.S269315
Lindwall, L., & Lohne, V. (2021). Human dignity research in clinical practice–a systematic literature review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 35(4), 1038-1049. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12922
Lyng, H. B., Macrae, C., Guise, V., Haraldseid-Driftland, C., Fagerdal, B., Schibevaag, L., Alsvik, J. G., & Wiig, S. (2021). Balancing adaptation and innovation for resilience in healthcare – a metasynthesis of narratives. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1), 759. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06592-0
McLaren, T. A., van der Hoorn, B., & Fein, E. C. (2023). Why vilifying the status quo can derail a change effort: Kotter’s contradiction, and theory adaptation. Journal of Change Management, 23(1), 93-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2022.2137835
Milella, F., Minelli, E. A., Strozzi, F., & Croce, D. (2021). Change and innovation in healthcare: Findings from literature. ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research: CEOR, 13, 395–408. https://doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S301169
Nilsen, P., Seing, I., Ericsson, C., Birken, S. A., & Schildmeijer, K. (2020). Characteristics of successful changes in health care organizations: an interview study with physicians, registered nurses and assistant nurses. BMC Health Services Research, 20, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4999-8
Stewart, S., Robertson, C., Pan, J., Kennedy, S., Haahr, L., Manoukian, S., … & Reilly, J. (2021). Impact of healthcare-associated infection on length of stay. Journal of Hospital Infection, 114, 23-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.02.026

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Assessment Description

From an organizational standpoint, identify a patient safety clinical problem that requires resolution. Using systems thinking and literature from this course and your own research, suggest one possible solution to address the issue. In 1,250-1,500 words, include the following:

Describe the change management strategy you would use to address the patient safety clinical problem.

Describe the stakeholders.

Describe the type of change anticipated.

Discuss how you would engage stakeholders.

Outline how you would communicate the change to all stakeholders. Indicate how often you would communicate progress of the change.

If an adjustment is needed, explain how and when you would communicate what is needed.

Explain how the Christian worldview factors into the decisions you have made.

You are required to cite three to five peer-reviewed sources, in addition to information from your textbook to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies and professional standards:

MSN – Health Care and Patient Safety

6.4: Use systems thinking in developing a change management strategy.

6.5: Develop evaluation strategies to monitor and modify quality and safety initiatives.