Nursing Informatics- Lewin’s change
The integration of nursing informatics into the education programs involves a process of change that need to be planned and implemented. The Lewin’s change theory involves a guide for planned change comprising of three stages that include unfreezing, change movement and refreezing. Unfreezing involves finding an approach that will enable people to let go of older counter-productive pattern. The second phase involves a change in thoughts, feelings and behavior of peoples so that they become more liberated or productive than before. The refreezing stage involves adopting the change so that it becomes habit or status quo, which prevents sliding back to older habits (Marquis & Huston, 2009).
Applied in nursing informatics education, freezing will involve coming up with a method or strategy of integrating nursing informatics to the nursing students’ curriculum. The change desired in this process is to have nursing education prepare the students for a health care environment that is increasingly becoming electronic (Watts, 2016). It involves realizing that there is need for change and informing the various stakeholders of this need. For instance, the curriculum developers realize that there is a need to move from a documentation system that is paper based to one that is electronic and such change is needed for the future professionals are waiting to join the health facilities or organizations (Choi & De Martinis, 2013). It should involve dialogue on how to impart the established informatics skills and competences into students through curriculum development. This also involves coming up with the right method of training the nursing practitioners and nursing students on how to depart from the older systems and embracing the technology and computer systems.
In the second stage, the people who are targeted for the change have to be convinced the new way of doing things is better than the old. From the entry level students programs to the graduation level, the educators and the students should be involved in various advantages of adopting information technology in the nursing health. Nursing informatics is essential in healthcare delivery that involves electronic systems (Hunter, McGonigle & Hebda, 2013). The curriculum developers should develop programs that enable the students to understand how the change in acquisition of knowledge on nursing informatics will improve the nursing research and nursing health care provision. They students and educators will have analysed the present situation and hence they can support the introduction of the new learning curriculum and processes so as to accomplish the desired results and improvements. Although a lot of cost and time is associated with this stage, it is very productive which will eventually yield tangible results. Technological illiteracy and hostility will be done away with once the relevant stakeholders are able to embrace change (Stephens-Lee & Lu, 2013). Restraining forces act to decrease the change driving forces and can even restrict productivity. Consultation during the development of various competences and in the education program’s development will assist in reaching equilibrium since in so doing total driving forces will equal the restraining forces. In the final stage of refreezing, it will be necessary to standardize education curriculum and programs and even the professional practices in relation to nursing informatics. Without this process, it is very easy for backsliding to the older manner of doing things to take place. At this juncture, leadership, support and reward are important to maintain momentum until another change is required.
The Lewin’s theory strengths is that it provides a structure through which one can focus the change plan and keep the people targeted from resisting or making big mistakes. It is useful when spreading the message about intended change in a concrete and simple way. However, the theory does not help in providing away in which the resulting emotional and behavioral reaction to the changes can be navigated. There is an assumption that change will occur in only one direction.
References
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2009). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Hunter, K. M., McGonigle, D. M., & Hebda, T. L. (2013). TIGER-based measurement of nursing informatics competencies: The development and implementation of an online tool for self-assessment. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 3(12), 70.
Stephens-Lee, C., & Lu, D. F. (2013). Preparing students for an electronic workplace. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 17(3).
Choi, J., & De Martinis, J. E. (2013). Nursing informatics competencies: assessment of undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Journal of clinical nursing, 22(13-14), 1970-1976.
Watts, C., (2016).Preparing Nursing Graduates for the Future: Adding Informatics Education To Entry Level Programs. Nursing Informatics Today
