PICOT: in nursing staff at VEGA Medical Center (Miami, FL), how does the implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) guidelines affect the accuracy of diagnosing and management of depression in the geriatric population within 8 weeks?
During the final week of the project, it was determined that the nurses of VEGA find the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) guidelines appropriate for depression management. The outcomes of the project, which are largely positive, also imply that the change was beneficial; their presentation to the settings’ managers will determine the future of the change. However, it appears that the guidelines are likely to be preserved, and it is important to consider the sustainability of the innovation.
The efforts aimed at sustainability have been present throughout the project. They included the active engagement of nurses through meetings, which were used to address their concerns and manage their perceptions with the help of Rogers’ (2010) theory. Consequently, the approval of the change by the nurses, which is shown in the results, is beneficial for ensuring sustainability since the latter depends on the nurses’ intent to proceed with the new guidelines (Pashaeypoor, Ashktorab, Rassouli, & Alavi-Majd, 2016). Also, the presentation of the outcomes as short-term wins (using Kotter’s terminology) can show the nurses that their efforts pay off and prove the benefits of the new system (Anders & Cassidy, 2014). Thus, it can be assumed that the change might remain sustainable.
I do not intend to proceed to work with this change, and my next steps involve finishing the project, report, and presentations and providing the results to the nurses and management of VEGA. After that, I plan to exit the project, offering the nurse leaders and managers to proceed with maintaining the change. The results of the study indicate that currently, the nurses have no difficulties with using the new guidelines. Therefore, in future, it will only be necessary to enforce their use, which can be done with the help of the quality standards by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2017) that were employed throughout the project.
References
Anders, C., & Cassidy, A. (2014). Effective organizational change in healthcare: Exploring the contribution of empowered users and workers. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 7(2), 132-151.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2016). Depression in adults: Recognition and management.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2017). Depression in adults.
Pashaeypoor, S., Ashktorab, T., Rassouli, M., & Alavi-Majd, H. (2016). Predicting the adoption of evidence-based practice using Rogers’ diffusion of innovation model. Contemporary nurse, 52(1), 85-94.
Rogers, E.M. (2010). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.