Implementing Change Despite Resistance
Change in the workplace environment can be difficult for employees to process and the result may be that some demonstrate a degree of resistance to the change policy. The change in clinical practice that my team will plan to implement will require nurses to utilize Electronic Health Records to better plan pre- and post-discharge programs for elderly patients so that readmission rates can be reduced. Resistance to change can be defined as any action or attitude of workers that indicates they view the change as an encroachment on their ability to do their jobs. Workers typically resist change because they doubt the efficacy of the change or its utility. They mistrust the management overseeing the change or they see no good reason for the change and are satisfied with doing things the way they currently are. The types of resistance that may be expected from the staff will include: active and passive behavior, negativity, laziness and inconsistency about implementing the change process. There could also be organizational issues that stem from a poor organizational culture that leads to resistance, which stems from bad leadership (Schyns, Schilling, 2013). Nurse burnout and nurse fatigue may also be causes of resistance.
As Kissack and Callahan (2010) show, the reciprocal influence of training and development programs is that it aids both the workers learning the new policy and procedure as well as the leaders implementing the policy by putting everyone on the same page, moving in the same direction at the same pace.
Implementing a plan appropriately not only requires planning the preparatory and initiation steps but also the measurement steps for the change policy. Nurses and administrators will want to see evidence that the change is working or that it is at least being implemented according to plan. Measurements can be effective ways of boosting morale and ensuring that all stakeholders are informed about what is happening with regard to the process.
Education is another step that helps to reduce resistance. A lot of times resistance comes about…
