Change Theory
In order to promote change in the TMMC context, one should deploy Kurt Lewin’s change theory (LCT) as one of the most common frameworks in nursing. Specifically, the proposed theoretical approach implies the use of three stages (freezing, moving, and unfreezing). The identified approach is deemed as particularly effective in the scenarios that involve high levels of resistance among nurses which is the case of the TMMC. LCT suggests that the process of change is defined by the presence of driving and restraining forces, the former being represented by change agents, and the former being the hospital staff that is resistant to change (Christenbery, 2017).
When applying the model to the case in question, one will have to consider the freeing stage as the step that requires building awareness among nurses and other care providers. Motivating employees to use the available resources more effectively, at the same time building their cross-cultural communication skills, as well as enhancing interdisciplinary cooperation between the nurses, should be seen as the primary goal of the change (Holland, 2017).
The specified outcomes are expected to be achieved with the help of multitasking and handoff communication as the key tools for encouraging a positive shift. However, given the current high levels of resistance among staff members, one should consider using awareness-building techniques at the freezing stage.
Specifically, the freezing stage should include a change in the current approach toward structuring the hospital hierarchy. Nurses should be provided with a greater degree of autonomy and more options for decision-making in the clinical setting. As a result, the threat of conflicts between nurses and therapists caused by the presumed difference in their hierarchal status will be eliminated from the hospital setting, leading to fewer medical errors and confrontations between staff members (Christenbery, 2017). At the same time, the value system of the facility should be shifted toward cooperation.
The change stage will involve the introduction of new rules and behavior models into the TMMH environment. Simultane4ously, guidelines for managing patients’ needs and the existing set of quality standards will be upgraded. Staff members will be provided with training opportunities and counseling. Specifically, the program aimed at assisting nurses in acquiring the skills associated with communication, particularly, negotiation for cross-disciplinary dialogue and emotional support for patients, will be deployed (Oermann, 2017). Furthermore, the nurses at TMMC will receive an opportunity to improve their professional competencies and acquire new ones, such as time management, patient education, care for immobilized patients, and other skills.
The refreezing stage, in turn, will imply institutionalizing change and rewarding staff members for the positive changes that they will have made. The specified step will require encouraging the expected behavior in nurses and staff members, at the same time monitoring the instances in which nurses fail to follow the prescribed guidelines. At the specified stage, it is critical to ensure that nurses receive enough support and encouragement (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015). The cases in which nurses fail to meet the newly established rules should be analyzed to determine the factors that do not allow nurses to follow the instructions fully.
Program Design
The program aimed at improving the quality of care and addressing the problems associated with communication management, particularly, interdisciplinary cooperation, patient education, and knowledge acquisition, will need to be addressed by establishing courses aimed at addressing the specified gaps in the nurses’ knowledge. For this purpose, TMMC will have to outsource experts and seek the support of healthcare organizations that have advanced in promoting cross-disciplinary cooperation and nurse-patient dialogue.
The program will be based on a set of standards aimed at improving the care delivered to TMMC patients. Specifically, the criteria such as patient-centered care, quality of communication, ability to address the needs of patients from diverse cultural backgrounds, skills of managing conflicts in a cross-disciplinary setting, and knowledge of data management tools for quality communication will be used as the key criteria for assessing the participants’ skills. The program will take two months, including teaching nurses about innovative techniques and promoting interdisciplinary cooperation, teaching patients directly (28 hours).
The next step will involve inviting patients to perform the tasks that will stimulate their interest and help them build their skills, (32 hours). At the following stage, nurses will be offering assistance to outpatients that require additional information about the relevant health issues (24 hours). The final step will include the assessment of the outcomes and the identification of the further goals that will be required to maintain the quality of the nursing care at TMMC high.
In the course of the program, the participants will learn about innovative methods of managing the needs of patients belonging to diverse backgrounds. The program will encourage the TNNC nurses to acquire new knowledge required for managing multicultural communities’ needs with every new experience. Furthermore, the program will allow improving the current state of knowledge and skills among nurses.
Outcomes and Sustainability
The effects of the program on the overall functioning of TMMCis expected to align with the key principles of sustainability in healthcare. Specifically, the fact that the suggested change will help introduce social dimensions to the nursing process and encourage the staff members to integrate their cultural sensitivity into the process of providing care should be mentioned. Indeed, by definition, sustainability in healthcare and nursing implies the necessity to focus on not only meeting the bare minimum of workplace standards but also promoting growth (Rosa & Coach, 2017). Possible improvements that can be implemented in the nursing setting may involve changes in the communication process, enhancement of the existing guidelines, and the overall increase in nursing quality.
Moreover, the emphasis on interdisciplinary cooperation, which the specified program includes, is bound to affect the levels of sustainability in the TMMC setting significantly. Due to the promotion of cooperation between a range of nursing experts, one will observe a rise in the process of knowledge sharing (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015). Furthermore, by focusing on sharing information between nurses and other healthcare staff members, including physicians, one will increase the quality of managing specific health-related issues since problems will be identified faster and addressed more expeditiously.
Furthermore, the focus on multiculturalism in managing patients’ needs is likely to cause an impressive shift in the delivery of care to patients from different backgrounds. The specified change is especially important given the continuous rise in the levels of diversity in the specified area. Due to globalization and the promotion of multiculturalism, the target community is becoming increasingly diverse. However, while being a generally positive tendency, the specified phenomenon leads to problems with nurse-patient communication due to the language gap and the differences in the cultural background of the dialogue participants (Lawrence, Perrin, & Kiernan, 2015).
Therefore, by learning to acquire new information about diverse patients and incorporating the newly learned factors into the health management strategy, nurses will promote patient education successfully.
The proposed outcome will also include the creation of opportunities for managing the needs of underserviced communities. Indeed, due to financial constraints, lack of education, and poor communication, a vast number of people from the specified community experience numerous difficulties accessing the available care. By exploring the challenges that vulnerable populations in question have when dealing with specific health issues, one will create the setting in which nurses will increase the quality of care.
The use of free consultation services and the provision of the relevant data with the help of social networks and other easily accessible data sources, the TMMC facility will cause an increase in the quality of care (Lawrence et al., 2015). In addition, the use of online services and consultations will help improve care in remote areas, where the access to nursing is limited.
Last but not least, the issue of patient autonomy needs to be addressed as one of the key effects that the program described above will cause. The process of patient education will allow the target demographic to locate immediate threats to their health instantaneously and seek the assistance of health services. As a result, numerous diseases and disorders will be identified and managed at the very beginning of their development. The specified change in the public health will lead to a significant reduction in the number of chronic issues, instances of contracting certain diseases, and the development of chronic conditions.
For instance, with the rise in the levels of patient awareness, mental health disorders can be managed more adequately. Particularly, with the growth in awareness rates among citizens, the significance of family support as one of the crucial factors defining the outcomes of mental health interventions will rise (Varcarolis, 2016). Consequently, patients will receive the support needed to recover, whereas the effects of social prejudices will be reduced significantly.
In regard to the latter, the program is also expected to help in addressing the myths about healthcare and specific diseases that circulate the community. For example, the problem of stigmatizing patients with specific health concerns such as obesity, mental health issues, and HIV/AIDS. With the active involvement of patients’ family members and the community, in general, the program will become the platform for encouraging a shift in people’s perception of patients and health-related concerns (Varcarolis, 2016). As a result, the levels of stigmatizing and victimization within the specified community are expected to drop as a result of the program implementation.
Therefore, the program mentioned above is expected to produce profound and meaningful outcomes in the target community, affecting people’s lives on health-related, social, economic, and cultural levels. Therefore, the program will meet the key criteria for sustainability in healthcare. By utilizing all available resources to address the factors that affect the target demographic negatively, nurses at TMMC will create the premises for a healthy community. Therefore, the outcomes of the program are linked directly to the idea of sustainability and the enhancement of care. By focusing on the sociocultural and socioeconomic tendencies that affect the health status of community members, one will be able to create a program that will help increase recovery rates and improve the levels of public health, in general.
References
Christenbery, T. L. (Ed.) (2017). Evidence-based practice in nursing: Foundations, skills, and roles. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Holland, K. (2017). Cultural awareness in nursing and health care: An introductory text (3rd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Lawrence, J., Perrin, C., & Kiernan, E. (Eds.). (2015). Building professional nursing communication skills. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Oermann, M. H. (2017). Teaching in nursing and role of the educator: The complete guide to best practice in teaching, evaluation, and curriculum development (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Rosa, W., & Coach, C. (Eds.). (2017). A new era in global health: Nursing and the United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2015). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (9th ed.). New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Varcarolis, E. M. (2016). Essentials of psychiatric mental health nursing: A communication approach to evidence-based care. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.