To remain viable and thrive in the complex competitive environment, healthcare facilities are at the jurisdiction of effectively preparing for change. Planning for change is the responsibility of the management within the healthcare setting ( Cummings & Worley, 2014) . Nurse leaders should, therefore, understand the change management process and develop the required skills required to participate in change at all levels of the organization and the unit department within the organization ( Hayes, 2014) . There are key theories and strategies for project planning that is applicable in addressing the operational or practice dilemmas, which in turn improves healthcare outcomes. This unit will propose a change at the department or unit level as well as develop a plan for guiding the change effort. It will focus on Kurt Lewin's change theory, while it contrasts it with the classic change models and strategies.
Problem Identification
Within the healthcare setting, there are reoccurring problems of effectively tracking high volumes of mobile medical devices, especially in the intensive care unit. Medical devices need constant tracking to ensure that they are not only safe for patient use, but are also identified in time when they are required for use ( Cummings & Worley, 2014) . Nurses at the intensive care unit waste a lot of time while trying to manually search for medical devices. For instance, 80% of the healthcare practitioners waste more than one hour per shift searching for supplies such as infusion pumps. In this report, there will be a proposal to solve the equipment location problems in the intensive care unit. In doing so, there will be a system of proposing the use of radio frequency devices (RFID) that will be embedded in the equipment and tools within the department. The other problem that is evident in the healthcare facility is that the healthcare facility has undergone losses as a result of lack of means of identification of missing devices. Consequently, the quality of service delivery has been hampered by the confusions brought about by the proper identification of the devices. For instance, wrong devices have been used to respond to patient situations, which affect the quality of patient outcomes. There have also been eminent problems emanating from the cost of replacement of the devices that cannot be accounted for at the healthcare facility.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Description of a Specific Realistic Change to address the Problem
This proposal seeks to solve the problem of equipment location and detection in the intensive care unit. To address the problem, there will be a system of embedding radio frequency devices on all hospital tools and equipment ( Cameron & Green, 2015) . The change will describe a transformation from the manual system of device identification to the automated system, which will ensure that the hospital devices are timely identified, which will, in turn, reduce the wastage of time during intensive care operations ( Cummings & Worley, 2014) . By using the high-frequency radio frequency devices, there would be better patient outcomes especially during emergencies, which require little time to respond to patients especially those within the intensive care unit. Tools and equipment within the hospital are moved from one department to the other, where they will require an automated system of detection of their location. Moreover, the automated system of detection will ensure that the right devices are found for their function during emergency situations. Through automated systems of detection, the hospital will eliminate loses resulting from damaged or lost devices.
How the change will align with Organization mission vision and values and the relevant professional standards
The mission of the hospital is to provide high-quality healthcare with the belief that all individuals have the right to respectful service as well as the recognition of their special dignity ( Hayes, 2014) . In this regard, the hospital values the provision of quality health, while it affirms the provision of considerate service to all individuals, while it recognizes the personal dignity of all the people. By changing from the conventional manual system of detection and location of medical devices, the lag time for patients would be reduced, which would contribute to the improvement of the quality of service delivery ( Cameron & Green, 2015). On the other hand, automated systems would ensure that nurses do not waste time while locating different devices required for emergency operations. Radio frequency devices will also improve the quality of care by ensuring that patients requiring emergency services get the best quality and timely service, which will, in turn, reduce the hospital-related deaths.
The vision of the hospital is to become the leading primary healthcare providers in the state and to expand services to all members of the community ( Hatch & Cunliffe, 2013). The healthcare facility can only become a leading primary healthcare provider if it aligns its services to innovation and state of the art technology ( Cameron & Green, 2015) . It can also expand its services if it reduces costs that can be prevented such as loss of vital equipment and tools for provision of healthcare. In pursuit of this vision, the healthcare organization and its stakeholders are guided by the value of innovation. RFID is a state of the art form of technological innovation that will guide through the healthcare facility in reaching out to its goals ( Hayes, 2014) . The professional standards related to the change management system are the promotion of the dignity of the profession, where all stakeholders will be committed to practicing with integrity, accountability and maintaining the legal framework. The RFID system of detection of devices will increase the levels of accountability of the tools and equipment within the healthcare facility, while it will also ensure that there are no fraudulent activities.
The Change model that will guide in implementation of change
The Kurt Lewin model of change will be used in implementing the change of automation of the system of detecting devices in the healthcare facility ( Hatch & Cunliffe, 2013) . The first stage will be unfreezing, where there will be a system of preparing for the change and understanding that the change is vital. At this stage, the management within the healthcare facility will have to understand that there is the need to get away from the current zone of comfort. This model will be vital in analyzing the pros and cons and deciding that the pros outweigh the cons before deciding that the change wants ( Cummings & Worley, 2014) . The next step would be the transition, where the model proves that the change is a process but not an event. The transition will be the inner movement that will be made in reaction to the change. The last step in the model will be refreezing, which other models consider being a freezing stage ( Hayes, 2014) . This stage will involve establishing a stable ground once the RFID technology has been implemented. Here, the use of the RFID will become a new norm at the hospital. The Kurt Lewin theory of change relates to other theories of change in the sense that it looks at change as a transition process as opposed to being an event.
The steps to follow
Some elements are vital for the full implementation of this change management process. To begin with, the healthcare facility will have to find the RFID software. At the freezing stage of the change model, there will be embedding of the devices with tracking tags, which will be used to transmit the radio frequency in the identification of the signals required for the process of identification ( Cummings & Worley, 2014) . At the transition stage, there would be the provision of education to all nurses on how to use the RFID devices. At this stage, there would also be the full implementation of the RFID program, where all devices will be fitted with tags. The last stage of refreezing will involve monitoring the software system performance ( Hatch & Cunliffe, 2013) . At this point, there would be the testing of how the devices work, where there would be a system of testing of the equipment as they are moved from their special locations.
The participants involved in initiating the change
To facilitate the change, there would be the need to have highly professional people with high levels of knowledge in software applications ( Hayes, 2014) . Firstly, the management within the healthcare facility will have to hire professionals who will install the software tags of RFID. These experts will then help in the provision of education on the use of the RFID. This implies that all the stakeholders within the healthcare facility will participate in the initiation of the change management process.
Conclusion
This paper has shown that the implementation of an RFID system for detection of devices within the healthcare setting is a change management process that can help improve the quality of service provision. The change management process will help in solving the problem of time wasted in the location and identification of medical devices at the healthcare facility, especially in the intensive care unit. The model of Kurt Lewis has been the application in the definition of the change steps, where freezing will involve identification of the cons and pros of the RFID over the manual system. The transition stage will involve installation of the RFID identification tags and provision of education on their application. The refreezing stage will involve establishing stability by implementing the automated system of device detection.
References
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change . Cengage Learning.
Hatch, M. J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2013). Organization theory: modern, symbolic and postmodern perspectives . Oxford university press.
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management . Palgrave Macmillan.
Larsen, E. R., & Lomi, A. (2018). Resetting the clock: a feedback approach to the dynamics of organizational inertia, survival and change. In System Dynamics (pp. 33-68). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change . Kogan Page Publishers.
