Question

A hospital recently learned that their scorecard did not meet the national benchmark for patient satisfaction and brought in a professional change agent to determine what their issues were and how they could improve their score. The agent collected data and recommended that nurses participate in interdisciplinary walking rounds and allow the patient and family to be participants. Nurses now round every shift and perform "huddles to update the team" as needed throughout the shift as part of best practices. *Random visits are made to nursing units to ensure all nurses are participating and patients are interviewed for their involvement. This stage of Lewin's change is:*

A. Unfreeze.
B. Moving.
C. Refreeze.
D. Resistance.

Answer 1

The correct answer to the student's question is 'C. Refreeze'. This reflects the stage in Lewin's change model where new practices are solidified and monitored to ensure they become the standard within the hospital.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Lewin's model of change, the idea of monitoring adherence to new practices relays directly to the refreezing stage. During the unfreeze stage, the organization becomes aware of the need for change, often through identification of issues or failing to meet benchmarks. In the case of the hospital not meeting patient satisfaction benchmarks, the unfreeze stage likely occurred when they realized their deficiency. The moving stage ensues when new strategies are implemented, in this scenario, it entails nurses participating in interdisciplinary walking rounds and involved patients and their families in care, alongside implementing shift huddles. Finally, we enter the refreeze stage - this suggests stabilization of the new methods and ensuring that these changes become the new norm. The description of random visits to nursing units and patient interviews correlates with actions to solidify the change, typified by the refreezing stage, where checking mechanisms are put in place to ensure sustained change. Therefore, the correct answer is C. Refreeze.