The major change that occurred in my clinical settings is the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR). The complexity of the change is explained by the fact that its success is largely predetermined by the willingness of the staff to accept the new technology. Otherwise its meaningful use cannot be ensured (Murdoch & Detsky, 2013). I believe that the change was successful due to the efforts made by the nurse facilitator, who was responsible for the transfer.
The effectiveness of the change was predetermined by her ability to prepare nurses for the upcoming change process and overcome their resistance. Furthermore, the success was also due to the ability of the hospital personnel to cooperate, share experience and information, applying knowledge and skills, and support one another in their striving to achieve the common goal. The adoption of the technology was facilitated by this human factor as every member of the team acted as a change agent, trying to improve the process of organizing, storing, and sharing patient data with all the parties involved in treatment.
Last but not least, the proper selection of a change model contributed a lot to the outcome of the transition to a new technology. It has been proven by research that the selection of an efficient framework that would make it possible to transfer theoretical knowledge to clinical practice is one of the key preliminary steps in the change process. Lewin’s Change Theory was selected as a change model by the hospital administration due to the fact that it provides a clear method to follow the initial design.
The main underlying concepts are field and force: The former presupposes that in case one of the elements is altered, the whole system is affected, while the other provided necessary motivation or shift towards transformation (Shirey, 2013).
References
Murdoch, T. B., & Detsky, A. S. (2013). The inevitable application of big data to health care. Jama, 309(13), 1351-1352.
Shirey, M. R. (2013). Lewin’s theory of planned change as a strategic resource. Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(2), 69-72.