The Digitization of Patient Care Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Nursing

Nursing Leadership Essay

Introduction to The Digitization of Patient Care

The technological advancements in healthcare have been used to transform the mode of work and function in healthcare settings. One such advancement is the use of telehealthcare and telemedicine for record-keeping and organization of the hospital records (Michie et al., 2017). Errors in medication and poor record keeping is one the prime concerns of healthcare institutes that directly impacts the wellbeing of the patients and in certain cases, can also serve to be fatal. Evolution and adoption of new technologies like electronic record keeping and data maintenance thus become crucial (Lupton, 2017). Adaption to any new technology like this requires intensive determination and will for a change to ensure that everyone can maintain pace and course of the developments to adopt a new system (Michie et al., 2017). This essay is focused on a particular case scenario that will highlight the importance of adoption of electronic media record system and identify the role of nursing unit managers to bring in this change. Further, this essay will also explore a plan of change using the Lewin model and critically evaluate the nursing leadership adopted. Every change is also subjective to criticism and systemic resistance and the potential of same will be also discussed through this essay.

Adoption of Electronic Media Record System

Electronic media records have been considered as a vital tool for both healthcare systems and information communications technology (Darwish et al., 2019). These records have been found to be effective in assisting the medical facilities by enhancing the quality of care and more precise record keeping for the healthcare professions. The use of this technology is particularly helpful as it helps in limiting the chances of error in the care settings (Rodziewicz & Hipskind, 2020). Inclusion of information technology in medical settings has always been helpful in upgrading the healthcare infrastructure by facilitating the services and saving time (Gao et al., 2018). Use of electronic media records will help in assistance through the same. With precise record keeping technique and IDs, the information of the patients will be secured and will be accessible with a wider reach (Atasoy et al., 2019). This will also help in the organization of patient information for research for data generation and thereby assist in the provision of care and ensuring the wellbeing of the patients by limiting errors and enhancement in quality of services provided. Through electronic media record keeping the accessibility and feasibility of patient information will also increase and prevent confusions and thus prevent errors in clinical settings (Moll & Cajander, 2020). It will also save time, make the medical structure more organized and regularized with systemic information storage for the patients, the medical history, and current and past care interventions. It will thus also, assist in the transfer of care and medical research for analysis by cumulative data presentation and recording (Atasoy et al., 2019).

Role of The Nursing Unit Manager to Outline the Plan of Change

A nursing unit manager is critical in ensuring the smooth functioning in the nursing units and asserting division of roles and responsibilities to avoid ambiguities (Ma et al., 2020). The plan of change of use of electronic media records must be applied by the nursing unit manager using the Lewin model of change. The Lewin model of change is composed of three primary steps. These practical steps to bring a change include unfreezing, change, and refreezing (Nelson‐Brantley & Ford, 2017). Stage one of unfreezing focuses on the assessment of why the change is needed. As a nursing unit manager, it is the responsibility of the authority to provide the need for change among the peers to ensure positive adoption (Spear, 2016). The stage two of the model is, to introduce change. A transition towards the proposed change is made in this stage, and hence, the use of electronic media records should be promoted and applied in the clinical settings in a gradual and transient manner. Finally, the third step of Lewin’s model of change is to refreeze, this is the step is crucial as it helps in the normalization of the induced change in the system and marks the complete adoption (Spear, 2016). The nursing unit manager shall, therefore, be able to make these changes with the application of transformational leadership. This will be beneficial as the implementation of change will be non-inhibitive and promote synonymous adoption ideology in the nurses (Ma et al., 2020). The nursing unit manager through this skill should ensure that the nurses are provided adequate training and resources to adopt the electronic record keeping with familiarization and open sessions for doubt clearance or any other concern (Nelson‐Brantley & Ford, 2017).

Critical Evaluation

Bringing in a systematic change in the care facility requires strong nursing leadership. Transformational leadership is often termed as a visionary leadership as the nurse manager is able to focus on a bigger picture to ensure better systems and processes that facilitate patient care (Al Amiri et al., 2019). This leadership style has been found to be effective when the care facility is undergoing a change. Since the use of electronic media records will be a new venture for most of the nurses, this leadership will thus serve to be useful. However, the use of transformative leadership is not suited for decision making processes that are highly specific or minor in nature and therefore, a different leadership style could be more beneficial once the electronic medical records are introduced (Pullen, 2016). Bringing in such a major change in the processes of the care facility could have also been achieved through democratic leadership where the opinions of this change were addressed through open communication by seeking feedbacks. This model of leadership has been found to be especially effective when a change is to be implemented with increased trust and shared accountability and is also of prime assistance in the improvement of systems and processes in the priority (Lumbers, 2018). Therefore, it could be seen as an alternative leadership strategy for the introduction of electronic media records in the care facility. However, in comparison and evaluation, transformational leadership emerges as a most suitable choice with its ability to promote change at a larger scale and to ensure its efficacy and utilization.

Potential Resistance and Its Management

Adoption of new technology or a change in a system is often subjected to resistance for various reasons. These reasons can originate from ambiguity in the process, lack of knowledge among receptors, lack of will for the need for change, and several other reasons (Pullen, 2016). However, it is important to address these concerns to prevent any misunderstandings and ensure successful implementation of the desired change to yield positive results. The use of electronic media records in the care setting, is, therefore, also liable to several forms of resistance. First, information technology and computer literacy may emerge as a potential cause of resistance as it can be limiting for certain individuals in staff to adapt to this transformation due to lack of familiarity with information technology and communication tools. Resistance due to this must be met by ensuring technology literacy and workshops for all the professionals with free and open discussions about the technology (Al Amiri et al., 2019). Resistance may also emerge with limited understanding for the need of this change, and therefore, adequate information about how this transfer will be beneficial not only for the patients but also for professions in terms of enhanced care and time management respectively must be discussed as well through open communication and feedback. Another potential resistance can be observed by expression of discomfort in the adoption of electronic records in contrast to classical management (Lupton, 2017) Therefore, it must be addressed by getting feedback from the professionals in the entire course, addressing the queries, and promoting communication and active listening of the concerns so that they are met at priority and a systematic change can be implemented (Lumbers, 2018).

Conclusion on The Digitization of Patient Care

Bringing in a systematic change in the care facility can be difficult and must be regularized through strong nursing leadership. This essay is focused on addressing a particular case where the use of electronic medical records. In light of the same, the essay explores the reasons to adopt electronic record systems and outlines the required transformation through the Lewin model of a plan of change with the role of nursing unit manager in its implementation. Further, the use of transformational leadership has been suggested with a critical evaluation of the approach against democratic nursing leadership. A systematic change in the processes is likely to be interjected with resistance and therefore, the causes of resistance for this change have also been speculated and evaluated and management strategies for same have been discussed in this essay to ensure smooth implementation and synchronized application of electronic media facilities in the nursing care unit.

References for The Digitization of Patient Care

Al Amiri, N., Daradkeh, F., & Al Kaabi, A. (2019). Leadership styles and competence among generation z Emirati nursing students. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 18(9), 23-45. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nabeel_Al_Amiri2/publication/336238901_Leadership_Styles_and_Competence_among_Generation_Z_Emirati_Nursing_Students/links/5d96623e92851c2f70e81b4a/Leadership-Styles-and-Competence-among-Generation-Z-Emirati-Nursing-Students.pdf

Atasoy, H., Greenwood, B. N., & McCullough, J. S. (2019). The digitization of patient care: A review of the effects of electronic health records on health care quality and utilization. Annual Review of Public Health, 40, 487-500. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044206

Darwish, A., Hassanien, A. E., Elhoseny, M., Sangaiah, A. K., & Muhammad, K. (2019). The impact of the hybrid platform of internet of things and cloud computing on healthcare systems: Opportunities, challenges, and open problems. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 10(10), 4151-4166. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12652-017-0659-1

Gao, F., Thiebes, S., & Sunyaev, A. (2018). Rethinking the meaning of cloud computing for health care: a taxonomic perspective and future research directions. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(7), e10041. https://www.jmir.org/2018/7/e10041/

Lumbers, M. (2018). Approaches to leadership and managing change in the NHS. British Journal of Nursing, 27(10), 554-558. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=21568960&AN=116768975&h=aN6nhTV%2Fr1TburIO65%2BxDUChNbD8UvstMtTX%2BgDleKvGvYjVIJ5SxnViUlUWiz%2FdmN57iQf6x%2BxaRyWcAQ1DkA%3D%3D&crl=c

Lupton, D. (2017). Digital health: critical and cross-disciplinary perspectives. Routledge. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=09srDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=2.%09Lupton,+D.+(2017).+Digital+health:+critical+and+cross-disciplinary+perspectives.+Routledge.&ots=5dhEyFcgoM&sig=VW5kLBWyooqOPYZV1td0849dl8w

Ma, H., Chihava, T. N., Fu, J., Zhang, S., Lei, L., Tan, J., ... & Luo, Y. (2020). Competencies of military nurse managers: a scoping review and unifying framework. Journal of Nursing Management, 40, 487-500.

Michie, S., Yardley, L., West, R., Patrick, K., & Greaves, F. (2017). Developing and evaluating digital interventions to promote behavior change in health and health care: recommendations resulting from an international workshop. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(6), 232. https://www.jmir.org/2017/6/e232/

Moll, J., & Cajander, Å. (2020). Oncology health-care professionals’ perceived effects of patient accessible electronic health records 6 years after launch: A survey study at a major university hospital in Sweden. Health Informatics Journal, 26(2), 1392-1403. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1460458219881007

Nelson‐Brantley, H. V., & Ford, D. J. (2017). Leading change: A concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(4), 834-846. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jan.13223

Pullen Jr, R. L. (2016). Leadership in nursing practice. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, 14(3), 26-31. https://cdn.journals.lww.com/nursingmadeincrediblyeasy/FullText/2016/05000/Leadership_in_nursing_practice.6.aspx

Rodziewicz, T. L., & Hipskind, J. E. (2020). Medical error prevention. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/

Spear, M. (2016). How to facilitate change. Surgical Nursing, 36(2), 58-61https://journals.lww.com/psnjournalonline/FullText/2016/04000/How_to_Facilitate_Change.2.aspx .

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