In a written paper of 1,250 words, evaluate the current forces driving change in your field or industry. As a leader, or considering the role of a leader, assess your organization and evaluate how well it is responding to the forces, and identify where there is a need for change. Develop a vision to inspire this change. Include the following:

Describe your organization, include the organization\’s mission, and identify the various stakeholders.
Identify the external and internal forces that drive organizational change in your field or industry. Explain the origin or reason for these internal or external driving forces. Explain how these forces directly affect the viability of your organization.
Choose one of the driving forces. Describe the specific issues this driving force creates, or will potentially create, for your organization or department.
Propose the steps needed for your organization or department to respond to this driving force.
Predict how employees at various levels in the organization will respond to your proposed change initiative.
Develop a vision for change. Describe how this vision correlates with the organization\’s mission, and how you will present this vision to internal stakeholders.
Predict how you think your vision will assist internal stakeholders in supporting the change initiative. Identify potential considerations posed by stakeholders, and discuss how you will respond.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide

Change Initiative: Creating Vision

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliations

Change Initiative: Creating Vision

The rapid pace of transformations in the healthcare industry is creating opportunities for healthcare organizations and their leaders to improve their leadership approaches in order to advance change. Developments that are taking place in the healthcare industry serve as driving forces for change in the industry (Udod & Wagner, 2018). Nurse leaders should take appropriate steps to respond to driving forces for change. The steps must correlate with the vision and mission of the organization (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate the current forces that are driving change in the healthcare industry. The paper will also describe the role of a nurse leader in responding to the forces and in developing a vision that will drive the desired change.

Organizational Description

The organization that will be the focus of this assignment is an emergency healthcare facility. It provides emergency healthcare services to patients with different medical conditions and from diverse cultural backgrounds. The mission statement for the organization states that “Our aim is to be aware of the emergency healthcare needs of our patients and to serve these needs whenever possible. We will deliver quality emergency healthcare services to our patients economically and fairly. We treat our employees with respect and fairness. We transact business with our suppliers and investors with integrity. We work with the medical staff as partners in the delivery of high-quality emergency healthcare in an ethical manner.” Involving stakeholders is highly crucial in healthcare management (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2019). The stakeholders of the organization include; the Department of Social Services (Medicaid for Seniors), medical insurance organizations, the advocacy community, healthcare regulatory agency, nurses, the facility’s management, suppliers of medical equipment, and patients.

Internal and External Forces

Both internal and external forces drive change in healthcare organizations. According to Millela et al. (2021), the internal forces that influence healthcare organizations to implement reforms include organizational culture, technological capacity, organizational structure, financial management, and the availability of qualified and experienced healthcare professionals. The origins or reasons for these internal forces are the need to maximize healthcare quality and safety. Internal drivers of change affect the viability of healthcare in the organization in various ways. For instance, the need to maximize healthcare quality and safety influences the facility to develop a culture that promotes quality and safety, integrate technology that improves healthcare quality and safety, adopt a functional organizational structure, direct financial resources to priority areas, and hire adequately trained and experienced healthcare professionals (Millela et al., 2021). Making such changes can help the organization to remain competitive and relevant in the industry. These changes, when successfully implemented will increase patient satisfaction, employee satisfaction, as well as the quality and safety ratings for the organization.

A number of external forces drive change in the healthcare industry. These include; digital transformations, rising healthcare costs, the emergence of complex diseases or health issues, changes in health policy, rising levels of dissatisfaction among patients, and workforce shortages (Udod & Wagner, 2018). The origins or reasons for these external forces are demographic transitions and the need to maximize efficiency. External drivers of change affect the viability of healthcare in the organization in various ways. For example, changes in the demographic characteristics of the community influence the healthcare organization to develop health policies that will facilitate effective care of patients of different age groups. Additionally, the need to maximize efficiency influences the organization to devise appropriate strategies to offset the costs (Udod & Wagner, 2018). Making such changes can help the organization to remain competitive and relevant in the industry.

 

 

One Driving Force

The driving force that has been selected for further analysis is the rising levels of dissatisfaction among patients citing delayed services and long waiting times. This driving force can create issues that will eventually trigger reforms in the organization (Millela et al., 2021). As the levels of dissatisfaction among patients continue to rise, some of the patients might stop coming to the organization to seek healthcare services. A reduction in patient flow can negatively affect organizational performance. Rising patient dissatisfaction levels may also cause the organization to acquire a negative image among the public (Udod & Wagner, 2018). The organization must take actions to prevent rising levels of patient dissatisfaction from affecting performance and public image.

Steps Needed

The most appropriate response to forces that are caused by poor healthcare quality is to implement a quality improvement intervention. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2021) classifies quality measures into three categories namely structural, process, and outcome measures. Delayed services and long waiting times are examples of process measures. Therefore, to respond to the rising levels of dissatisfaction among patients, the organization should follow steps outlined in specific quality improvement frameworks (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2021). The framework that the organization can adopt is the Plan, Do, Study, and Act (PDSA) model. The steps for change proposed by this model, in a chronological manner, include; developing a plan for change (Plan), implementing a change such as hiring additional staff to reduce patient waiting time (Do), observing the impacts of the change (Study), and documenting the lessons learned (Act) (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2020). Following these steps will help the organization to reduce patient waiting time thereby increasing the levels of patient satisfaction.

Employees’ Response

Employees at different levels in an organization normally respond differently to proposed change initiatives. Some of them usually support the recommended reforms while others normally show resistance. In the current scenario, employees who occupy high ranks in the organization are likely to support the proposed change initiative. On the contrary, employees who occupy low ranks are likely to resist the recommended reform (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). The nurse leader is charged with the responsibility of identifying employee responses and of devising strategies to address resistance.

Vision for Change

Developing a vision for change will offer a proper direction for the organization to implement the proposed change initiative. The best vision for change in the current scenario is “to become the emergency healthcare facility of choice in the region through the delivery of quality, safe, and efficient healthcare services that enhance patient satisfaction.” This vision correlates with the organization’s mission in that it demonstrates the organization’s awareness of the emergency healthcare needs of its patients and commitment to serve these needs whenever possible. The vision will be presented to internal stakeholders in a meeting using a PowerPoint presentation.

Role of the Vision

The vision named above will assist internal stakeholders to support the recommended change initiative. Precisely, internal stakeholders will be guided by the vision to provide healthcare services to patients within the shortest time possible after arriving at the healthcare facility as they strive to support the organization to achieve its mission (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). The potential consideration that might be posed by the stakeholders is how the proposed change will affect hospital costs. To respond to this consideration, the nurse leader will provide a cost-benefit analysis and explain to stakeholders that the change initiative will have positive impacts on hospital costs.

Conclusion

Reforms in healthcare organizations are driven by both internal and external forces. In this assignment, the author has evaluated the current forces that are driving change in the healthcare industry. The author has also described the role of a nurse leader in responding to the forces and in developing a vision that will drive the desired change. Essentially, nurse leaders should take appropriate steps to respond to driving forces for change. The steps that will help to address the rising levels of patient dissatisfaction in the organization will follow the PDSA framework.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019). Building capacity for change. https://www.ahrq.gov/patient-safety/capacity/index.html

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Health literacy universal precautions toolkit, 2nd edition: Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) directions and examples. https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/tool2b.html

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2021). Types of health care quality measures. https://www.ahrq.gov/talkingquality/measures/types.html

Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2021). Science of improvement: How to improve. http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/HowtoImprove/ScienceofImprovementHowtoImprove.aspx

Kotter, P., & Cohen, D. S. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press. ISBN-13: 978-1422187333.

Milella, F., Minelli, E. A., Strozzi, F., & Croce, D. (2021). Change and innovation in healthcare: Findings from literature. ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research: CEOR, 13, 395–408. https://doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S301169

Udod, S. & Wagner, J. (2018). Common change theories and application to different nursing situations. https://leadershipandinfluencingchangeinnursing.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-9-common-change-theories-and-application-to-different-nursing-situations/