Unit’s Aim & Purpose
Change management is so much more than to make something different. From the investigation as to whether the change is necessary through to the exploration of team dynamics, leadership, barriers to change, motivation and planning for change, the involvement of the multidisciplinary team with the implementation of change and, finally, results in evaluation, with the potential to re-plan future strategy. The one constant within the health service changes; from health departments and agencies which define the shape of training, education, skill, and the competence of the healthcare workforce, through to a number of local initiatives and strategies that require implementation.
The aim of this unit is for the student to recognize the different components of change management, and to develop the skills to be able to facilitate the identification, development, piloting of and evaluation of a change management initiative in a healthcare context. Students will develop their knowledge of the theoretical aspects of change management is the application of an identified change initiative.
Topics included in this unit are the theories behind change management within the health service, barriers to change the student may experience, especially where ingrained culture may prove difficult to navigate, decision-making structures made in partnership with organizational policy, and impact on key stakeholders, e.g. allied health professionals and patients. Finally, students will explore how change itself may emerge and how reflection can be used as a building block for future work.
On completing this unit, the student will have had the opportunity to design and initiate a change management plan within their own organization that will support their career progression in healthcare. Transferable skills the student will develop through completing this unit include project and staff management, customer service, enhanced communication skills, and the ability to reflect on own practice.
Assignment Task:
You have been appointed as a Manager in a healthcare organization. The key area of your role is to implement a change management plan to enable the organization to reposition and align with the new changes in its environment.
You will present your change plan in report format to your line managers in the next board meeting. Your report will include in detail, areas that require changes. You must then develop a plan, implement it, and finally evaluate its effectiveness within your organization. You need to include in your report changes in government policy, funding, and strategic focus over the last 10 years, that the government has brought in and the impacts of the changes on the individual patient populations in your own organization and the health and social care sector as a whole.
Your report will cover the factors listed in Part A to Part D. Your report will be in four parts but submitted as one document.
Your report (assignment) will be titled: Implementing Changes in a Health and Social care Organisation for Effective Service Delivery.
Learning Outcomes (LOs)
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
- Discuss factors that have driven recent changes in the healthcare sector.
- p1-Discuss recent changes that impact practice in the health sector
- p2-Present a report on the factors that have driven these recent changes
- m1- Assess the impact of these factors on care for individuals accessing healthcare services
- d1-Evaluate how factors that drive change and impact on patient care, have Influenced the development of recent policy-driven recent changes
2. Discuss the components of change management within a change management initiative in healthcare provision.
- p3-Illustrate in detail the components of change management within a health or care service context
- p4-Discuss the Impact of a national strategic direction on a local initiative to effect change in health or care provision
- m2-Justify the initiative in relation to wider healthcare issues
- d2- Assess the factors that affect readiness to change in healthcare practice settings given the current national strategic climate
3. Implement own small-scale change management plan.
- p5-Prepare a small-scale change management plan
- p6-Present strategies to address anticipated challenges to the implementation of the change management plan
- p7-Use testing and analysis to Implement the change management plan
- m2-assess emerging themes, areas for development, and communication strategies used in the change management plan
- d3-Evaluate the impact of own change management initiative on key stakeholders, making comparisons to other healthcare change Initiatives PS Prepare a small-scale change management plan
4. Assess the effectiveness of a change management plan.
- p8-evaluate the impact of a change management initiative on staff
- p9-Present the analytical report on the findings of a change management initiative to relevant stakeholders
- M4-Justify outcomes of the change management initiative to staff in a healthcare setting
D4- Critically assess the need for future work on the basis of the evaluation of the change management initiative
Assignment Activity:
- PART A – In this section of your report you are required to discuss factors that have driven recent changes in the healthcare sector by evaluating how factors that drive change and impact on patient care, have influenced the development of a recent policy. To effectively complete your evaluation, you should also assess the impact of these factors on care for individuals accessing healthcare services. Make sure that while evaluation the factors, you also discuss recent changes that impact practice in the health sector by presenting a report onthe factors that have driven these recent changes.
- PART B –This section should be discussing the components of change management within a change management initiative in healthcare provision. To achieve this, you should assess the factors that affect readiness to change in healthcare practice settings given the current national strategic climate. You should also justify by discussing the impact of a national strategic direction on a local initiative (in relation to wider healthcare issues) to effect change in health or care provision. To support your arguments and to build the foundations of this section, you should also illustrate in detail the components of change management within a health or care service context.
- PART C–In this section, you need to implement your own small-scale change management plan. To implement a change management plan, after preparing a small-scale change management plan, user testing and analysis to implement the change management plan and evaluate the impact of own change management initiative on key stakeholders, making comparisons to other healthcare change initiatives. Also, present strategies to address anticipated challenges to the implementation of the change management plan. You are also required to assess any possible emerging themes, areas for development, and communication strategies used in the change management plan.
- PART D–In the last section of your report, you should be assessing the effectiveness of the change management plan that you prepared, implemented, and evaluated in Part C of your report. For this, you need to critically assess the need for future work based on the evaluation of the change management initiative. Your critical assessment should also be based on the justification of the outcomes of the change management initiative to staff in a healthcare setting by evaluating the impact of this change management initiative on staff and by presenting the analytical report on the findings of this change management initiative to relevant stakeholders.
