Application: Planned Change in a Department or Unit - Research Paper Example

Planned Change in a Department or Unit Flexibility and adaptability to change define powerful characteristics that every individual should fight to exhibit to enjoy life. There are many changes that occur in daily life of human being, and that demand for adoption for one to survive. Changes is unavoidable and attempt to ignore it can lead to one’s extinction. In that line, this paper will discuss crucial need for change in a given manner to address challenges faced by the general health care sector.

Planned Change in a Department or Unit The rapidly growing technology bears both positive and negative implications to nearly all fields of economies across the globe. Any new technology thought to have potential of improving efficiency and performance in institutional operation process presents with it negative challenges. The negative challenges may sometimes be very severe and serious that if unchecked can result to total crunch in the operation of a given institution. It is due to this that institutions require to develop and adopt proper change plans upon realization and adoption of any given technology.

Health care sectors are among the many fields of economy that has succumbed to serious challenges due changes and advances in technology. Central venous lines technology is one of the technologies in health care sector that has resulted to serious challenges when used to improve Intensive Care Units (ICUs). One of the greatest challenges presented by the technology, and that is nearly compromising the state of ICUs in health care institutions relates to high risk of infection of blood stream of the patient during insertion.

Central Line Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI) is one of the infection risks on the body of patient during insertion of the central venous lines. CLABSIs have seen health care institutions lose colossal amounts of money and indeed death of many patients in ICUs (The Joint Commission, Joint Commission Resources & Join Commission International, 2012). It is important to state that Central venous lines introduced very good and efficient technology in health care sector as it facilitates administration of drugs into the bodies of critically and chronically ill patients.

If used properly and with care, central venous lines can have significant impact in attempts to improve the states of healthcare provision especially inn ICUs. CDC (2013) asserts that infections involving use of the catheter lines such as the Central line blood stream infections (CLABSIs) are highly preventable but upon adoption of best health care practices. To achieve positive implications of using the central venous lines, managers of individual health care organizations need to strategize attainable change process in line with the new technology and in consideration to the underlying challenges.

The change plan to improve the condition is through introduction of rules ensuring compulsory use of checklist of best practices during insertion of the central venous lines and care delivery to patients. Health care requires serious and high level of vigilance and strictness because it deals with life of human beings. Vigilance and strictness should always revolve around high level of cleanliness to ensure suppression of bacteria, viruses and fungi that can easily compromise the quality of care delivered.

However, it is important to point that some health care providers tend to forget and eventually handle patients in casual manner with no sensitivity to the nature of particular illness. This instead has increased levels of disease infections among patients on or even after receiving treatment. In mind of the above, introduction of change that advocates for compulsory use of checklist during and after insertion of the central venous lines defines the only and immediate strategy to reduce levels of related infections.

Eventual implementation of the change is very important, as it will ensure substantial improvement of quality of health care to the standards of any given organization. Implementation of the change will also improve competence of the given organization as far provision of health care is concerned and help achieve the vision of becoming a leader in the sector. Moreover, effective and compulsory use of checklists as the main framework of change will ensure significant if not total conformity to the proper ethical practices demanded of health care profession.

It will ensure outstanding improvement in the levels of respect and value of human life. The change process will follow the theory model of Lewin Kurt that involves unfreezing, movement and freezing stages. This model will help ensure effective reception and implementation of the change plan with minimal resistance and friction among and with junior staffs. According to Lewin’s theory model of change, unfreezing stage involves preparing and getting ready to planned change (Marquis & Huston, 2012).

In this stage, management will organize series of meetings to remind care providers about the oath they took on how to handle life of patients and ethical practices imminent to the profession of health care. Management will also use the meetings to remind the care providers about the best practices to observe in ensuring effective and safe insertion of the central venous lines. In addition, the management will use the meetings to remind and advice care providers about the dangers of ignoring or assuming checklists in performing such crucial health care practices.

Moreover, the meetings will provide management with opportunity to remind junior staffs and general care providers about the mission statement, vision, objectives and goals of the given health care institutions. Marquis and Huston (2012) indicate that the movement stage of Lewin’s theory model of change defines the actual point of implementation of the change proposal (s). During the movement stage, management will provide health care providers with new and clear checklists guiding the process of insertion and care for the central venous lines.

The next process will be short training of the care providers on how to use the checklists at every stage of the practice. Management will also ensure availability of sufficient of all the implements and instruments required in effective insertion of the central venous lines and subsequent care. Through quality assurance department, the management will track and monitor patients’ conditions after every insertion of the central venous lines. Freeze as the thirst stage in Lewin’s theory model of change involves sticking to the rules of change and making them part of best practices of the organization (Marquis & Huston, 2012).

At the freezing stage, management through the department of quality assurance will conduct irregular and unannounced inspections and monitoring of processes involved in insertion of the central venous lines. Management will also stick big charts displaying the processes and best practices during insertion of the central venous lines on the walls of operation rooms. As indicated earlier, head of quality assurance department bears the responsibility of initiating and managing implementation process of the proposed change.

Since quality also relies on time factor, head of quality assurance department will have to demonstrate and encourage serious sensitivity to timing in every operation (Marquis & Huston, 2012). The head of the department will also have to be very flexible and demonstrate readiness to any need for change. In addition, the head of quality assurance department will have to serve as role model by considering the change as opportunity for growth of the institution. References CDC. (2013). Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) Event.

Retrieved April 5, 2013 from: http://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/pdfs/pscmanual/4psc_clabscurrent.pdf Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2012). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Simpsons, S., Peterson, D. & O’Brien-Ladner, A. (2007).Development and Implementation of an ICU Quality Improvement Checklist. Retrieved April 5, 2013 from: http://apicwv.org/docs/22.pdf The Joint Commission, Join Commission Resources & Joint Commission International. (2012). Preventing Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections A Global Challenge, A Global Perspective.

Retrieved April 5, 2013 from: http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/CLABSI_Monograph.pdf