Read the case study below and answer the corresponding questions: Case Study To Use Faced with rising costs and declining revenues, the board of directors for a community hospital PIN located in a large East Coast city decided to combine its obstetrics and pediatrics units. The obstetrics service was located in the oldest part of […]
Nurses who work at the obstetrics and pediatrics units may feel unhappy after the organization decides to combine the two units. For a long time, the institution has had the obstetrics and pediatrics units as two separate facilities. Leaders in the two units have also utilized different leadership strategies to engage with nurses and motivate them to provide quality care. The department head of the obstetrics unit is a traditionalist, which compels nurses to develop independent solutions when problems arise. On the other hand, the department head of the pediatrics unit believes in self-managed work teams and structures her unit into a cross-functional model in which teams possess independent decision-making authority. Due to such differences, the proposed change might frustrate the nurses as they struggle to adapt to the new model. By contrast, the department heads are likely to appreciate the proposed change. Since the head of the obstetrics unit is set to retire soon, he may not care about the impacts of the proposed change. The department head of the pediatrics unit would appreciate the open opportunity for her to advance her profession by managing a larger team.
Both units will lose their autonomy and self-direction. For a long time, the two departments have been working independently, and the decisions made in one unit could not affect activities in the other unit. However, the two teams will be forced to work together after implementing the proposed change. They will, therefore, lose the capacity to make independent decisions. To acknowledge such losses, the institution ought to adopt a management structure that separates the leadership and responsibilities of the obstetrics and pediatrics units despite working together as a team. Such a strategy would help to ensure clear lines of authority and help specialists in the two units to maintain their autonomy.
To communicate the purpose of the proposed change to members of staff, I would convene regular meetings with each of the two units to discuss the change process. During such meetings, I would interact with the staff members and invite their reactions to the recommendation. I would also utilize an awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement analysis to help staff members understand the scope and process of change. An awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement analysis constitute an important tool for change management as it describes the rationale for change and the reinforcement required to sustain it (Shepherd, Harris, Chung & Himes, 2014). I think the department head of pediatrics should assume the new role of a change manager for the consolidation. Since she believes in self-managed work teams, she is capable of inviting greater staff participation in the change process.
References
Shepherd, M. L., Harris, M. L., Chung, H., & Himes, E. M. (2014). The Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement Model is used to build a shared governance culture. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 4(6), 90. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.890.8689&rep=rep1&type=pdf
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