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TRUE FACILITATING CHANGE

Facilitating Change

Hannah True

South College

Healthcare Informatics for the RN: NSG 3620

Professor Kelly Reichart

July 26, 2021

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Facilitating Change

Change is something that every person experiences consistently throughout their life. In

healthcare, change can help make or break a system. When a change is made in healthcare, it can

be very challenging for people to adopt and implement new things, especially when it comes to

technology. As technology continues to progress and is introduced into healthcare, healthcare

personnel and required and expected to accept the change and implement the new technology.

However, there can be some resistance and some struggles that workers have to face in order to

adopt change. Everett Rogers created a five-step theory that “explains how an individual

proceeds from having knowledge of an innovation to confirming the decision to adopt or reject

the idea,” (Udod & Wagner). The five stages of Roger’s theory includes knowledge, persuasion,

decision, implementation, and confirmation.

When a change is first adopted into a healthcare setting, it is the nurses job to follow

along with the change, whether or not they agree. In the first stage of Roger’s change theory, the

nurse is exposed to an innovation, not backed by information, in the knowledge stage. In the

second stage of persuasion, the individuals interest is peaked and the nurse actively seeks

information and details. In the third stage of decision, the nurse “considers the change and

weighs the advantages and disadvantages of implementing the innovation,” (Udod & Wagner).

In the implementation stage, the nurse then implements the innovation and decides whether or

not the change is useful or necessary. In the final stage of confirmation, the nurse officially

decides to accept and continue to use the change. This process can be applied towards any

technological change in healthcare as nurses go through these faces when a new type of

innovated technology is introduced.

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Nurses are typically the guinea pigs of healthcare. Any change that is made it is assumed

that it is the nurses job to accept this change and implement with no questions asked. While this

is considered ideal, there can be some pushback to change in healthcare. When a change is

introduced to nurses, someones response can be altered by their peers. Everett Rogers change

theory notes the importance of including “key people” and keeping them interested as it can

provide a domino affect of contentment with the change. To help facilitate change as a nurse, it

is important to first be open to the change, and set your own feelings aside. Any new

technological advancement in healthcare is typically geared towards patient safety and

promoting better patient outcomes. Being open to innovation is the first step for it to become

successful. To help facilitate change, a nurse must be an innovator, willing to take on the risks

and become enthusiastic about it. Typically, other nurses will follow. There seems to be a

mentality that nurses stick together and this can be very beneficial, or detrimental, towards

change in healthcare. Being willing to adapt, understanding your own and others strengths and

weakness, and backing up the change with data and facts are all essential qualities in helping

facilitate change.

On the contrary, there is definitely resistance towards technological changes in

healthcare. When a new device is introduced, it can be very challenging, especially for the older

population of nurses, to adopt a new device. It is important for the team to be understanding and

patient during the time of adjustment it takes. If several nurses vocalize their unhappiness with a

new technology, it is less likely to be successful due to the “we are in it together” mentality in

nursing. Sometimes, resistance to change can be a good thing. If the new idea or device has been

given adequate time for trial and error, and the response is still poor, that may be indicative of a

poor facilitator of change, or a poor idea altogether.

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Regardless, it is important for a nurse to stay open minded. Healthcare is a progressive

field to work in, and being a nurse innovator is an important role to attain. Successfully, and

adequately, adopting and promoting new technology in healthcare is a part of a nurses role.

Having a management team who is open to feedback is also essential in helping facilitate change

in healthcare. According to the article “Leadership’s Role in Facilitating Change in Healthcare,”

it is noted how important using data in healthcare is (Barajas, 2017). Most nurses and healthcare

workers thrive on data, and using adequate and well supported data will further help facilitate

changes within technology in healthcare/ If nurses see how beneficial a new technology can be,

they are most likely to adopt new things.

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References

Barajas, B. (2017, May 30). Leadership’s Role in Facilitating Change in Healthcare.

PreCheck. https://www.precheck.com/blog/leaderships-role-in-facilitating-change-healthcare

Change Management Theory Models- Everett Rogers. (2015). ACI.

https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/298756/Change_Management_T

heories_and_Models_Everett_Rogers.pdf

Udod, S. (2018, June 30). Common Change Theories and Application to Different

Nursing Situations – Leadership and Influencing Change in Nursing. Pressbooks.

https://leadershipandinfluencingchangeinnursing.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-9-common-

change-theories-and-application-to-different-nursing-situations/#Fig9.3.15Steps