NR 451 WEEK 6 DISCUSSION, IMPLEMENTING CHANGE DESPITE RESISTANCE

Week 6: Implementing Change Despite Resistance Change can be difficult to implement. Now that you are almost finished with your change project, if you were to implement your project in your clinical practice, what type of resistance do you expect from staff? List at least three ways that you can lessen the resistance you may encounter to help ensure the success of your project. One of the Standards of Professional Performance according to the ANA (2015) states “the registered nurse utilizes appropriate resources to plan, provide, and sustain evidence-based nursing services that are safe, effective, and fiscally responsible.” When a plan for change is presented, it is expected that there will be some resistance to it. Harvey (1995) believes that “change without resistance is no change at all, -- it is an illusion of change. It is important that nurses are able to recognize resistance and plan and implement strategies to reduce or prevent it (Curtis & White, 2002). Change, at times, may be difficult, uncertain, and may cause anxiety. As explained in lesson 6, there are many aspects of resistance to change may occur (Chamberlain, 2018). • Not perceiving a need for a change in practice. • Statistics not understandable or the research is not supportive • Benefits will be minimal. • Unwillingness to change or try new ideas. • Administrative staff not being supportive. • Uncertainty about the believability of the results. I also learned from the lesson this week that stakeholders in the organization are all the people who will be affected by the change, not just the ones who are involved in implementation of the change (Chamberlain, 2018). My project will impact all the staff nurses and I will need their backing in addition to administration. The nurses need to understand why the change is needed and be in support of it. I may meet some resistance as to the problem not being perceived as a significant one, as we not see an abundance of readmissions due to SSI. Administration may be resistant to the change in due to the cost of antimicrobial dressings comparted to the cost of sterile gauze. Using an antimicrobial dressing for a week after surgery will increase costs of supply as opposed to leaving the surgical site open to air. The ways I can lessen the resistance to change is to continue to promote a supportive work environment. If I work well with others as a team, be honest, and build trust, hopefully my peers will feel loyal and be more likely to get on board with the change in practice. Educating people about the need for the change and its potential benefits is very important and may help to reduce resistance (Griffin 1993). It is important how I communicate the change using clear rational and statistics that are understandable. According to Griffin (1993) participation is the most effective strategy for reducing or overcoming resistance to change. By allowing peer staff nurses to take part in planning and application of the change will allow others to give ideas and have part ownership in the project. My change project is a fairly simple one and does not require much extra work from the staff nurses in the daily activity of dressing changes. I do not suspect I will encounter too much resistance on the unit level. Administration may not see at a cost-effective improvement and therefore may be more of a challenge. What strategies can staff nurses use to influence administration in a change project have you seen in your facility? I understand being part of a council for change is very helpful. References American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice(3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD Chamberlain University (2018). NR 451 Capstone: Week 6: Strategies for Effective Change. Downers Grove, IL: Devry Education Group. Curtis, E., White, P., (2002) Resistance to change. Causes and solutions. Nursing Management (Harrow, London, England);8(10):15-20. Available from: MEDLINE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Griffin, R.W. (1993) Management. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, MA. 4th addition.