Change is essential for growing facilities, especially those in competitive business spheres. Change models are imperative as they guide the implementation of innovative and quality improvement (QI) protocols or guidelines within a nursing organization (Hussain et al., 2018). The proposed evidence-based project (EBP) addresses the effectiveness of patient and staff education on admission in reducing fall incidence among geriatric patients 65 years and older. Kurt Lewin’s change framework will be the primary focus of this benchmark. Analyzing Lewin’s change model will shed light on the vital steps necessary to implement the proposed EBP project on patient falls.
Lewin’s Change Model
Kurt Lewin’s framework describes the appropriate forces to maintain and push for change within a healthcare organization. He formulated a three-phase theory to influence change management among organizational members. Lewin’s theory’s three most critical concepts are driving forces, equilibrium, and restraining forces (Hussain et al., 2018). Driving elements push toward a direction necessitating change, while restraining ones counter the factors leading toward organizational improvement (Deborah, 2018). Lastly, equilibrium is a state of no change where driving factors have similar leverage to the formidable forces. According to Lewin, the three change processes are unfreezing, change, and refreezing, which have a tremendous contribution to the proposed EBP project’s implementation (Tyler, 2019). Discussing these phases will shed light on their nursing importance.
Stages of Lewin’s Change Model
Unfreezing
In the unfreezing phase, the organizational members acknowledge the need for change. However, despite this knowledge, they may still embrace old counterproductive ways as they fear innovations and their requirements. Three techniques are relevant to attain unfreezing. First, the facility can increase the driving forces that reinforce change and behavior modification from the existing status quo (Husain et al., 2018). Next, leaders can minimize restraining factors affecting movement from the present equilibrium. Lastly, managers can combine these two measures to achieve unfreezing and foster organizational change.
Change
The change follows unfreezing, and it is the liberating phase. Here, organizational members experience moving to a new level through behavior, attitude, or perception change. Nevertheless, since the organization has yet to internalize these modifications at this stage, there might be some resistance from individuals who feel the process is rather rigorous to endure (Tyler, 2019). All in all, in this stage, organizational members recognize the QI measures and embrace them.
Refreezing
Refreezing is the last phase of Lewin’s change framework. It involves internalizing or incorporating the proposed change into the facility’s clinical practice guidelines or standard operating procedures (Deborah, 2018). Refreezing ensures optimal implementation of the new interventions preventing organizational members from falling back to the old ones.
Applying Lewin’s Change Framework to Proposed Implementation
Lewin’s change model applies to the EBP project on mitigating falls through patient and staff education. Implementing this EBP change would involve unfreezing, where nurses would educate patients and clinical staff on the detrimental ramifications of falls and the need for change. The project would reduce morbidity, mortality, disability, and healthcare costs instigated by falls (Blakley, 2020). Next, the change would involve executing the education during every geriatric admission and evaluating its effectiveness in empowering patients and mitigating these sentinel events while addressing any challenges, such as staff resistance and non-compliance to the program. Lastly, after determining the intervention’s efficacy, the staff would reinstate patient and staff education as part of the organizational procedure for reducing falls. Thus, Lewin’s framework would be effective in addressing geriatric falls.
Conclusion
Implementing EBP projects requires meaningful change frameworks. Lewin’s three-step model is adequate to execute an initiative to reduce falls. This change technique ensures meaningful measures that boost QI while enhancing client safety and healthcare quality.
References
Blakley, A. (2020). Preventing falls in long-term care using patient-centered fall interventions. University of St Augustine for Health Sciences. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0498/0d5bd8eac2e442981a85b58d3e156bcecad8.pdf
Deborah, O. K. (2018). Lewin’s theory of change: Applicability of its principles in a contemporary organization. Journal of Strategic Management, 2(5). https://stratfordjournals.org/journals/index.php/journal-of-strategic-management/article/view/229
Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewin’s change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), 123-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2016.07.002
Tyler, D. D. (2019). A day in the life of a nurse informaticist: Organizational change. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 4(2), 18–20. https://www.proquest.com/openview/576824dc0efe3e26ec81165b9ae1e2be/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2044826
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