TheRole of a Nurse Facilitator

TheRole of a Nurse Facilitator

Everynurse has the right and opportunity to contribute to a successfulimplementation of a new technology system. In their field, theseindividuals can be change agents and affect satisfaction of patientsas well. Aside from that, a nurse facilitator has a significant roleto play in preparing for the implementation of the new changes inhealthcare. Various researchers have found that new changes occur inhealthcare to improve the care of patients and the health of society.Aside from that, changes may bring fear and frustration among nurses,and this can make them resist the changes. However, for them to adopta new technology system in healthcare, a nurse facilitator has toplay a significant role in the success of the implementation.Assuming that, in Upstate New York, I am a nurse facilitator in asmall hospital. Since I have been part of a team concerned withimplementing a new EHR system, there are several ways I would use thefive qualities identified by Everett Rogers (2003) to help with theupcoming innovation.

TheFive Qualities that can Assist in Preparing the Nurses for theUpcoming Implementation

EverettRogers identified five qualities (observable results, trialability,simplicity, compatibility, and relative advantage) that help indetermining attitudes of an individual towards embracing newtechnology (2003). Using the relative advantage in the meeting, Iwill ensure nurses adopting to the new EHR system understand the wayit will lead to an improvement over the old or current nursingpractices. Moreover, they will need to recognize how it will supportthe current situation. To this effect, there will need to provide anillustration of the way the course of their normal workday will looklike while using the innovation. Sometimes, it can be a bitchallenging when it comes to learning a new system since individualscompare it with the action (Lee,2004).To this effect, it might leave the meeting full of misinterpretationas well as negative convictions. As such, nurses should look at thenew system and observe its abilities in everyday situations. Besides,providing an example will ensure nurses comprehend the necessaryprocesses to their work, the overall objectives, as well as refreshtheir memories as they begin using the new system. Presenting prosand cons, graphs, charts, and testimonies from other facilities canbe helpful in showing them the advantages of the new technology.

Moreover,using the compatibility with existing values and practices,attendants need to know the way the new EHR system adjusts withcurrent methods. As a nurse facilitator, I will make sure theyunderstand the system is still compatible with their existing valuesand practices, and only a few changes will occur. I would alsoprovide them with a perception of the way the innovation will needshort time when performing important documentation as compared to thecurrent one. In this way, they will be in a position of understandinghow it aligns with their current practices (Lee,2004).Further, they will see the system can adjust the speed of their workthereby giving them more opportunity for direct care with thepatients. Since the time spent working is useful to the care ofpatients, nurses would want to feel their work being meaningful. Inthis way, they would want a compatible system with their care goals.

Withthe quality of simplicity, I can use it to show nurses that they havethe ability to learn the new technology very easily. Responding totheir concerns can prevent the resistance that may occur regardingthe new system. Further, learning on how to use the innovation wouldbe made less difficult since most of them can resist if they find ithard to understand. Besides, the quality of trialability can also beused here by allowing them to explore the capabilities of the newsystem in their field (Rogers,2003).To this effect, it will be important to provide the opportunity ofplaying around with the new technology system. By doing so, this willgive them more confidence in dealing with the new technology.

Additionally,the quality of observable results can be helpful when it comes topreparing nurses for the upcoming implementation. Besides, providinga strong evidence from other situations concerning the proposedinnovation can be useful in winning the approval of the nurses aswell as preventing them from resisting. Having a conference call withother organizations that succeeded with the new system will be neededto confirm the truth of the EHR efficiently.

TheRole of Nurses as Change Agents in Facilitating the Adoption of newTechnology

Sometimes,it can remain challenging to understand what an individual is goingthrough. To this effect, nurses play an essential part whenimplementing a new technology system since they possess a significantinfluence on its achievement. Besides, they have enough experience oftheir work, and this shows that they can identify the way the changeof practice might affect them. However, the role of nurses is toassist in developing a culture in the workplace. The culture isparamount when there is an implementation of change in the practice(Kennedy,2014).A supportive culture is needed to achieve a successful change sinceleaders need to be involved in driving the process using words andaction.

Allin all, the above information has shown that implementing a new EHRcan produce and create several important changes in healthcare.Besides, the acceptance of the innovation can be a bit challengingfor an organization since workers are most likely to resist thechange. As such, there would need to have a proper leadershipsupporting them to avoid the failure of the new system. For instance,when a nurse facilitator is preparing for an upcoming change, thefive qualities of Everett Rogers have proven to be helpful inpreventing change resistance of a new technology system.

References

Kennedy,K. (2014).&nbspBeinga Change Agent in a Dynamic Health Care Environment.&nbspHealthinsight.Retrieved 5 January 2017, fromhttps://healthinsight.org/about-us/healthinsight-blog/entry/1-healthinsight-blog/39-being-a-change-agent-in-a-dynamic-health-care-environment

Lee,T. (2004). Nurses’ adoption of technology: Application of Rogers’innovation-diffusion model.&nbspAppliedNursing Research,&nbsp17(4),231-238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2004.09.001

Rogers,E. (2003). Diffusionof innovations, 5th edition(5th ed.). New York: Simon and Schuster.