Leadership and Quality of Healthcare: Evaluating Performance in Nursing - Essay Sample

Introduction

Conventionally, leadership is regarded as crucial in different professions, including nursing. Effective leadership helps in providing a foundation that helps improve the quality of healthcare delivered to patients in a facility (Hewitt et al., 2015). As a result of these aspects, it is recommended that leaders in a healthcare setting evaluate their performance from time to time with the primary aim of coming up with measures that will help improve service delivery to patients. In the nursing profession, leadership is an essential component since it helps to implement change and manage the patient's needs (Merrill, 2015). All these aspects are attributed to the fact that leadership can identify and select the most viable change project that helps promote the safety, the well-being of the patients, and the efficient management of the change process (Merrill, 2015). The essay reflects how a nurse leader can initiate a change process with the primary aim of addressing patient safety is a selected hospital that introduces electronic medication in the coming six months. Subsequently, the essay will use Lewin's model in outlining a plan of change, including milestones and timeframes.

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Reasons for Adopting an Electronic Medication System

The United States is among the different countries currently relying on electronic medication systems since it helps eliminate gross medical errors. An analysis of the 200-bed case scenario reveals that the hospital is experiencing many medication errors, which are mainly contributed due to the absence of a computerized way of administering medication to their patients (Tappen et al., 2004). Hence, such medical errors pose a great risk to the patient's safety. When an electronic medication system is adopted, it will eliminate such medical errors since there will be an increased accuracy level while dispensing medications to patients. The reduction in such errors will thus result in better treatment and improved life expectancy (Tappen et al., 2004). Additionally, it is important to adopt the electronic system since it will improve efficiency and experience among nurses. Therefore, it is evident that introducing an electronic medication system will benefit not only the patients but also other stakeholders in the facility.

An Outline of a Plan of Change Using the Lewin’s Model

Different institutions, including healthcare, follow a specific pattern of the change process. However, Lewin's model is among the best approaches that can be used in expounding on the change process in this case scenario. The model is as outlined below.

Unfreezing is the first step in Lewin's model. The primary aim of the step is to help enhance a group's behavior for change or elevate the pressure of change management at the highest level (Cummings et al., 2016). Conventionally, unfreezing sets the foundation for change will removing the unproductive practices, thus resulting in the emergence of positive response towards the proposed change (Manchester et al., 2014). To initiate the unfreezing step, the 200-bed scenario hospital should start by first meeting the nurses in the wards and explaining to them the need to initiate change. These meetings will provide a platform where continuous medical errors in the hospital will be read out to the staff members and provide them with alternatives that can help benefit the patients. Motivating the desire for change is estimated to be six weeks.

Implementing the actual change is the second stage. This stage is of significance since employees' contribution is taken into consideration, thus minimizing resistance (Hussain et al., 2016). In this hospital scenario, the change manager will begin by outsourcing ext6ernal consultants who will upgrade the current medication system into an electronic system (Manchester et al., 2014). Therefore the outsourced team will also be needed to train all the nurses on how they can effectively use them, including making a follow-up. The estimated time frame for this activity is ten weeks.

The refreezing stage is the final step in Lewin’s model. The stage entails making the executed change permanent by moving individuals from a transition state to a more productive and stable state (Cummings et al., 2016). This stage requires that the scenario hospital ensures that each employee is conversant with the new system and enjoys working under the new system. Subsequently, this strategy can be effectively fulfilled by making follow-ups and training after the change has been implemented. This whole process will be effectively executed in four weeks.

Leadership Style to the Plan of Change

There are a wide range of leadership styles that influence the performance of an organization. However, in this hospital scenario, transformational leadership will be used to implement the change process. According to Qarani (2015), he believes that this type of leadership entails the incorporation of various aspects. For instance, transformational leaders work with their teams to identify change, creating a vision that will guide them by inspiring and committing members of the organization in implementing the suggested change (Qarani, 2015). Adopting a transformational leadership style will result in increased morale of workers, increased motivation, and enhanced job performance (Qarani, 2015). Inspiration is a crucial aspect in enhancing job performance and increasing employees' morale; hence, this hospital scenario can implement the capacity to inspire in committing the nurse managers towards the desired change at the freezing stage. Transactional leadership is also applicable to the implementation and management of change. However, different from transformational leadership, the transactional leadership style is engaged in promoting their followers through rewards and punishment. As a result, this leadership can be used in the scenario hospital in the refreezing stage through rewarding employees who deliver a commendable job under the new system. Transformational leadership seems to be a suitable option for this hospital scenario. However, it is upon the hospital's leaders to re-evaluate and decide on their institution's ideal leadership style.

Two Aspects of Potential Resistance and How the Resistance Might be addressed.

Different scholars believe that change is inevitable. However, a lot of resistance is an apparent thing in the event a change process is initiated. According to Bovey (2016), the author argues that potential resistance tends to arise from the unknown's fear. Such fears arise since members believe that the proposed change may harm the staff or inconvenience the other employees (Bovey & Hede, 2016). In this hospital's case scenario, the employees may have fears that implementing automated or electronic medication systems may result in some employees losing employment in the institution since work will be done faster (Bovey & Hede, 2016). Furthermore, a group of staff members will be afraid that they may never learn how to operate and use the new system, thus resulting in resistance to change. To help address the fear of the unknown effectively, the staff members should be reassured that the system will benefit everyone, and no one will lose employment. Additionally, all the staff members should be assured that they will receive proper training on using the new systems; thus, no need to worry.

Conclusion

Leaders are important drivers in the management and implementation of change. Embracing change, such as adopting electronic medication systems, helps minimize errors, thus promoting the safety of the patients. Therefore, Lewin's model is one of the effective ways of implementing change in an organization. Subsequently, transformational and transactional leadership styles can be used in implementing the desired change. Since change is faced by resistance, employees should be assured that the change process is for everyone's good.

References

Bovey, W. H., & Hede, A. (2016). Resistance to organizational change: the role of cognitive and affective processes. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(8), 372-382.

Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human Relations, 69(1), 33-60. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726715577707

Hewitt, J., Tower, M., & Latimer, S. (2015). An education intervention to improve nursing students' understanding of medication safety. Nurse education in practice, 15(1), 17-21.

Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2016). Kurt Lewin's change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.

Manchester, J., Gray-Miceli, D. L., Metcalf, J. A., Paolini, C. A., Napier, A. H., Coogle, C. L., & Owens, M. G. (2014). Facilitating Lewin's change model with collaborative evaluation in promoting evidence-based practices of health professionals. Evaluation and program planning, 47, 82-90.

Merrill, K. C. (2015). Leadership style and patient safety: implications for nurse managers. Journal of Nursing Administration, 45(6), 319-324

Qarani, W. M. (2015). Transformational Leadership: A Strategy towards Staff Motivation.

Tappen, R. M., Weiss, S. A., Whitehead, D. K., & Fletcher, M. (2004). Essentials of nursing leadership and management. The Canadian Nurse, 100(1), 14. https://search.proquest.com/openview/b608cc14978170339ed05666caac8333/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41610