Change Management

As health care organizations adopt more and more informatics solutions, they inevitably experience significant changes. Such changes are often met with hesitation, resistance, and even outright refusal. Nurse informaticists should be aware of these barriers and be prepared to employ change-management strategies to ensure stakeholder buy-in and end-user adoption.

In this Discussion, you explore the concept of change management and how it is relevant to the role of the nurse informaticist. You consider what steps can be taken during implementation of a project to contribute to more successful end-user adoption. In addition, you explore the competencies and skills a nurse informaticist should have when serving as a change agent within an organization.

To prepare

• Review this week’s Learning Resources, including pages 481–483 (See attached file) in the Dennis course text, on change management. How is change management relevant to the role of the nurse informaticist?

• Consider steps a nurse informaticist can take to promote more successful end-user adoption.

• What change-management strategies are most useful for a nurse informaticist to be aware of when implementing a change within an organization? How can those strategies help to mitigate negative attitudes toward change?

• Reflect on the competencies and skills required for nurse informaticists to be effective change agents. How can you best prepare yourself to manage change and address resistance?

  With these thoughts in mind:

  Post by tomorrow 10/25/16 a 550 words essay in APA format and 3 references that include the level one headings as numbered below:

  1) An analysis of how change management is relevant to the role of the nurse informaticist.

  2) Explain at least two change-management strategies that can be used to promote end-user adoption, and justify their effectiveness in mitigating resistance.

  3) Identify at least two skills or competencies necessary for nurse informaticists in serving as change agents, and describe how you plan to cultivate those skills or competencies.

   

  Required Readings

  Dennis, A., Wixom, B. H., & Roth, R. M. (2015). Systems analysis and design (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

• Review Chapter 13, “Transition to the New System” (pp. 400–424)

Kulhanek, B. J. (2011). Creating effective electronic medical record change management processes. Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 29(8), 431–435.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 Efficient implementation and use of electronic medical/health records requires organizationwide restructuring. This article addresses how management procedures, organizational initiatives, and communication needs require adjustment in order to suit the changing health care environment.

Lee, V., Ridzi, F., Lo, A. W., & Coskun, E. (2011). A healthcare case study of team learner style and change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 24(6), 830–852.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 This article discusses the importance of considering the end users’ learning styles when an implementation is planned. The authors conclude that a mix of a variety of learning styles appears to be the strongest approach.

Leyland, M., Hunter, D., & Dietrich, J. (2009). Integrating change management into clinical health information technology project practice. Privacy, Security, Trust and the Management of e-Business, 89–99.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 The authors of this article contrast “hard changes”—those focusing on cost, schedule, and scope of a process—with “soft changes”—the human side of change. The authors conclude that failure to address the human side of change increases the likelihood of the failure of a project.