Please see the instructions uploaded. I included my textbook and please use USA references. This paper has detailed instructions. Also, I have no manager experience yet. There are three scenarios to choose from, just pick one. This is NOT a quality improvement paper as is supposed to be written at a synthesis level. If you have questions please ask. Leading through Change Essay Paper
Leading through Change
Introduction
The ability to maintain quality delivery of health care entails embracing change. Healthcare facilities should seek to improve their policies and routines to assure patients are satisfied with their services. Patients interact more with the nurses. Nurses understand patients’ grievances and struggles. It is the main reason nurses are at the forefront of driving change in healthcare facilities (Bryson, et al, 2021). Assessing and treating patients does not only entail exams and diagnosis but also listening to and understanding them. The community where the healthcare facility is provides the basis for any rule of engagement. To provide quality health, nurses and doctors should understand the community and its ways (Bryson, et al, 2021). They should be able to relate with that community’s people and governing authorities. There is a hindrance to the healthcare process when there are issues such as language barrier, health literacy, triage, and patient intake. This paper tackles ways to improve the relationship with the community and its residents so as to reduce the chaos and increased wait times.
The change is specific to the community. The change in the structure of the population is the cause of the language barrier and, to a degree, health illiteracy. The only thing needed for a big change is simple guidance. The change needed in the community is education. The only way to breach the gap between a community and healthcare practitioners is through education (Hughes, et al, 2017). Ranscombe (2020) uses the current Covid 19 pandemic to show how education is paramount to the rural community in order to improve healthcare. He argues that the concentration on urban education neglects the rural community on basic health education. To reduce the language gap, improve health literacy, and build an understanding of the medical process, there needs to be a community education focused on those issues. To realize this change, nurses have to involve the community and the clinic’s authority.
Change Theory
The fruits of education are realized over a long period of time. To correctly influence the change needed, all parties involved must have patience. The best model to implement such a change is Lewin’s change management model. Lewin’s model digests the process of change into three steps which include unfreeze, change, and refreeze (Hussain, et al, 2018).
The first step, which is the preparation stage, involves understanding the problem (Magsaysay, et al, 2018). As stated above, the shift in the population of the community around the clinic is the basis of the problem. In this case, understanding the new community is the only way to drive the change. The new community uses a different language. Their health knowledge is shallow. The community does not understand the medical process. The clinic nurses and doctors, too, need to accept they are part of the problem. They do not speak the community’s language and are not organized on priority urgent treatments. Leading through Change Essay Paper
The parties to be involved in the change are well realized in the problem identification. The first group is the clinic’s leadership. The leadership has to authorize educating the community and the process to be used to educate the community. The second group of people involves fellow nurses. Educating an entire community is a big change. The change has to be embraced by colleagues who will help educate the members of the community. The other group is the community’s leadership. They have to authorize an education on their people that is courteous to their culture. The education has to respect their norms and enlighten on relevant factors. The final group, which is the community members, is the most important people in this process. Making them realize the relevance of this education lays the ground for the change needed (Ranscombe, 2020). The change expected in this process is a better relationship with the community and a reduction of chaos in the medical process.
The second phase of Lewin’s model is change itself (Hussain, et al, 2018). Educating the community has to start with reducing the language barrier. The easier way would be to use a translator at first. This would help educate on other matters as the nurses and doctors learn the community’s language. The choice to concentrate on the nurses and clinic workers is because it would be easier to change the language of a few individuals than the whole community. Learning the community’s language would also allow the community to embrace the clinic workers as part of their community. This factor would help build trust and cohesion between the clinic and the community (Ranscombe, 2020).
The next phase of education involves creating awareness of health issues and medical processes. With the involvement of the community leadership, seminars and workshops are a suitable way to educate the community. This would require involving fellow nurses and clinic doctors, like stated above. The education has to consider the most vulnerable health issues specific to that area and community. Seminars include health talks, group discussions, and demonstrations, among others. The nurses are educators in this scenario. They would have to share their knowledge with the community on the relevance of good health practices. Using posters and banners specific to education is also a good method (Ranscombe, 2020). Some people are more attracted to public posters than specified seminary education. The educators have to explain the importance of different medical processes, which require patience at times. The nurses have to explain the reasons why some cases require immediate attendance and which those cases are.
The most important change is on the clinic workers. The doctors and nurses have to be educated on the best procedure to handle the patients (Ranscombe, 2020). After understanding the community, there needs to be a change in the way they conduct their daily responsibilities. A good modification would use a different entrance for emergencies. This would ensure there is no interruption with the medical queue commonly used to prioritize time to receive treatment. Specialization is another good addition. The nurses and doctors more qualified in trauma and emergencies can be moved to that part of the clinic while the others can take care of the patients on the regular assessment and treatment.
The final part of the model is the refreeze. This process involves building strategies to ensure that the problems faced do not later affect the clinic again (Hussain, et al, 2018). Education requires continuous growth and assessment. The clinic leadership should be moved to ensure that community education is a part of the clinic‘s activities. Leading change does not necessarily mean being in charge of everything. It just means striving to ensure that the vision is realized and successful.
Leadership
While embracing change is a good survival concept, driving change warrants success. Driving change requires leadership. One needs to know their place in the change they are driving. Leaders do not necessarily have to be authoritative and demanding. Leadership in this scenario is taking steps to ensure the general vision is realized. Leadership is based on results (Dochy, et al, 2019).
The best leadership style would be a combination of transformational leadership and participative leadership. It is important to realize that the goal is to build a connection between the community and the clinic. At times, some of the initiatives might be disregarded by the clinic’s authority or the community’s leadership. In this case, participative leadership would ensure the participation of all parties involved (Anderson, & Sun, 2017). Both leaderships are allowed to define the rules of education and engagement. Transformational leadership defines most of this process. It entails empowering the clinic with a vision and ways to realize the vision. Transformational leadership also involves fellow employees in implementing the vision (Anderson, & Sun, 2017). Leading through Change Essay Paper
The rules of engagement are different in different communities. To build a relationship with a community, the community has to trust the clinic and its workers. Programs that engage the community, such as charity plans and free clinic days, help build that trust. Programs like free screening and examination for common diseases in the specific community would help the community realize the importance of healthcare (Sheppard, & Thomas, 2021).
The team members to drive this change are the nurses, the doctors, and the community members. The nurses and the doctors have to be willing to learn the new language and educate the community members. The community has to be open to the idea of accepting the knowledge offered to them. The most important concept behind leadership is delegation (Anderson, & Sun, 2017). The members delegated these duties and responsibilities have to feel respected and recognized. Using the clinic’s leaders to delegate the different chores in the education process is wise. In this case, the vision can be realized without rebellion and insubordination. Leaders are servants. Letting the clinic control the change needed and being part of the educators’ delegate would serve a better purpose.
Evaluation
Evaluation of the vision is measured against the expected results (Bryson, et al, 2021). The goals of the change are an improvement of the relationship with the community, improved awareness of healthcare, and better patient intake and priority identification (Hughes, et al, 2017). The first problem identified is the language barrier. Learning a new language would prove to be a lengthy process. The quick evaluation would be on medical processes. Good organization in the hospital would show that the education is working. Patients following queues and allowing emergency patients to be treated first is a positive outcome.
Improved health livings are a positive evaluation. If the community accepts to change its lifestyles and is open to regular medical checks, it will show that the education is working. Engagement with the nurses is another way to evaluate the change. Asking questions and building friendships with the clinic workers is a positive outcome. On the language barrier, greeting the community members in their native language would help continue bridging the gap.
However, the evaluation might be negative. Human beings are creatures of habit. Influencing a community to change its norms is a difficult process. There are always rebellious people who do not embrace change. The community members also have to be open to the idea. Low turnouts in these seminars and workshops, even after a long period, is a negative outcome. The lack of improved ways of living would show that education is not working. Failure to adhere to the priority queues in the clinic proves that the change is ineffective. It is important to realize that education is a process. These changes require patience and continuous application to be effective (Bryson, et al, 2021). Leading through Change Essay Paper
Summary
To provide proper healthcare in a new community, there needs to be changed in the normal ways. The changes have to help build a relationship with the community. Mass education is the best way to achieve those changes in a community that lacks healthcare knowledge. The education must accommodate all parties involving the community and the clinic. To assure that the change is effective, a change theory is essential. The Lewin’s change model is the most effective theory to apply an educational change. The change model consists of three phases that help define the transformation rules. To drive change, there has to be leadership. Leadership does not have to be the governing authority. Leadership involves working to the realization of the vision. In evaluating change, if the goals set are realized, then the change works; if the goals are not realized, the change is irrelevant.
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Leading through Change Essay Paper