You have been selected to serve on a community outreach committee within your state’s nursing organization. The committee includes registered nurses of different specialties. At your first meeting, it becomes evident that not everyone is in agreement with a recent position statement about the role of spiritual care, with some members arguing they will no longer support the committee

The nurse leader acts as a change agent by developing strategies for innovation and change. A nurse leader strives to contribute positive changes to the profession of nursing to improve patient outcomes (Helbig, 2018). Conflict may occur because of change. Conflict management strategies are integral skills for the nurse leader. A simple strategy is education of the team. Informing others as to why change is necessary in advance of the action is a positive approach that often will circumvent the conflict that may arise if change is not managed well. Focusing on most team members that support the change, while continuing to educate and listen to those that do not support change, will foster a dialogue of understanding of the resistance (Weberg, Mangold, Porter-O’Grady, & Malloch, 2019). This is a key strategy to building a team. Team member acceptance rather than the potential for sabotage is a direct result of understanding why change is occurring.

Managing change through the organization correctly enhances the potential for organizational success. One strategy to implement change is to involve the individuals who are impacted. An interactive change management approach rather than a reactive approach when confronted with change is preferred (Thomas, 2018). Leaders who create a culture that encourages a team to challenge the existing environment will seldom face the need for redesign, because the constant assessment for change will lead to a progressive organization. Utilizing change theory to nurture team collaboration would begin with establishing the need for change, providing a background of evidence for the situation that requires a change. This process is then followed by rationale and goals for the initiative (Nilson, Seing, Ericsson, Birken, & Schildmeijer, 2020).

Providing a reason for the change and the importance of it, gathering the right people from the interprofessional team to escalate the change, developing core values, mission statement, and strategies, and providing for an understanding of the change should occur at the first meeting.

References:

Helbig, J. (2018). Reengineering health care management. Nursing Leadership and Management: Leading and Serving. Ch. 5. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs451vn/nursing-leadership-and[1]management-leading-and-serving/v1.1/#/chapter/5 Nilsen, P., Seing, I., Ericsson, C., Birken, S. A., &