EBP: Change Management Theories
Change management is the process of transition in organizations from one state to another. The transition is often geared towards achieving better results in an organization and healthcare facilities use change management to bring new strategies into existence. It is so obvious that change management is a tedious process that requires skills, coordination, and acceptance of the practice into the organization (Melnyk and Fineout, 2014). The implementation of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) into the healthcare organizations requires skills and procedures that can be explained through change management models. There are various theories of change management, but Lewin’s change model and Kotter’s eight-stage theory are best applicable in implementing EBP in healthcare organizations.
Lewin’s change model consists of three stages used in implementing change in an organization. The unfreezing stage involves preparation of an organization to incorporate the change. It is observed that people often resist change and this step uses motivation to instill courage into acceptance of the new change (Cameron and Green, 2015). Transition stage comes after initiation of the change and the organization management reassures people that everything is in place. The last stage is unfreezing where the healthcare organization becomes stable with the change. On the other hand, Kotter provides eight stages that can be used for implementing change in an organization. The stages require the organization to increase urgency, build the team, get the vision correct, communicate, get things moving, focus on short-term goals, don’t give up and incorporation of the change (Cameron and Green, 2015).
The two models acknowledge that change is a process and they are both geared towards bringing change effectively. In the implementation of EBP in palliative care services, I will use Lewin’s change model because it is easy and practical. Kotter’s model is likely to consume time, and the step by step method means no other step can be implemented without the previous step (Dickson et al., 2012). My mentor uses the Lewin’s theory because it is easy to use and it is practical than the other methods.
References
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.
Dickson, G., Lindstrom, R., Black, C., & Van der Gucht, D. (2012). Evidence-informed change management in Canadian healthcare organizations. Ottawa: Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.
Melnyk, B. & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2014). Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare (3rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins-LWW. ISBN: 9781451190946
