Managing Change: Nursing

Managing change is a responsibility for all nurses since thehealthcare environment is constantly undergoing planned and unplanned changes. Planned, or first-order change, can occur in three main steps; unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. The nurse should consider that there are common players in the change process who can act as facilitators, such as innovators and early adopters, or act as barriers, such as laggards and rejectors. Change agents and change leaders are individuals who are essential to the change process by using strategies to effectively manage change.