Change and Transition in Nursing: Personal Journey in this Role (Essay Sample)

Change and Transition in Nursing
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Change and Transition in Nursing
Introduction
The ever-increasing burden of illnesses, especially chronic illness, demands the availability of a stronger workforce in terms of quantity and qualification (quality). In addition, individual career interests and economic demands precipitate the continuous shifting between cadres to maintain the nurse to patient ratio at equilibrium. In response to the increasing patient population, lower cadre nurses apply for the upgrading of their qualifications. A perfect example is a transition from Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to a Registered Nurse (RN). However, as it is always the case, any aspect of change comes with challenges. There are, hence, challenges associated with the process of LPN to RN transition.
As Melrose and Gordon (2011) revealed, such challenges include termination of full-time employment due to the demands from the new cadre they are seeking and isolation or having no one to express their worries and questions to. Another study revealed that influences from the outside life, difficulties related to the formation of a ‘University Student’ identity as well as a threat to professional identity were also among the challenges that LPNs studying to be RNs are facing (Tower, Cooke, Watson, Buys & Wilson, 2015). This transition is on the other hand accompanied by various benefits to the nurses involved and the nursing profession at large. Such benefits include the expansion of the scope of practice, increased remuneration rates as well as achieving a balance between patient and nurse population. Although there are challenges along the way, understanding the differences between the concepts of change and transition are essential in overcoming these challenges. Although the two concepts are interrelated, appreciation of the very minute differences between them amounts to significant positive outcomes in the long run.
The Concept of Change and Transition
Change may be defined as the external and physical event occurring to achieve a new desirable state. It is the shifting from the current less desirable condition to a new desirable state. Change may be in the form of the arrival of a new manager, moving to a new office building, or the formation of new partnerships (Mclean, 2011). Change, as far as career is concerned, may mean a shift from one profession to another, or shifting from one organization to another. Across generations and fields, the change has always been faced by resistance. Perhaps the challenges associated with the shifting of equilibrium are responsible for the resistance. Harrington and Terry (2013) stated that the uncertainties regarding the change in roles and the accompanying behavioral shifts make change even more challenging. Consequently, the concept of change has been extensively researched on by researchers in various fields; as a result, multiple theories and models are in existence.
Closely related to Change, or perhaps under the concept of change, is the concept of transition. Transition refers to more intrinsic factors that are associated to change. Transition refers to the psychological and emotional changes that members of an organization have to deal with during the process of change. Therefore, the movement from a lower to a higher nursing cadre can be regarded as more of transition than change as it involves the edification of existing roles. While many managers regard some of the negative behaviors observed in employees during the change process to be arising from resistance to change, Mclean (2011) indicated that sometimes it is not always the case. Mclean asserted that such observations could be related to the effects of transition as a sub-concept of change (Mclean, 2011).
Change and transition are interrelated because both involve the achievement of new desirable states. A lower cadre nurse attains a new and improved state by becoming a registered nurse through transition. Likewise, a registered nurse may obtain a new desirable state by moving from one health facility to another with improved working conditions. Although the two concepts are closely related, the differences between change and transition are clear from the above elaborations. While change is external and more physical, transition is internal and more psychological-based than change. It can also be deduced that transition arises from the concept of change; that is unless there is some degree of change, transition cannot take place. For example, when implementing a change process involving the arrival of a new manager, the employees must adapt to the new management style that the new manager may apply (Mclean, 2011). The arrival of the new manager constitutes the change while transition is exhibited in the way the employees adapt to the new management style. It is evident that without the arrival of the new manager, the employees are likely to stick to the usual management style.
Change in most of the scenarios involves the ending of an old situation with the subsequent beginning of a new state. For instance, when an organization is acquired by another larger and more influential organization, the affiliate organization abandons its old independent state. Likewise, when a nurse changes his/her career to become an accountant, they do not transfer their previous nursing qualifications to the new profession. Quite contrary, transition does not involve the elimination of one’s previous state; rather, there is continuity from the previous to the new state (Suva et al., 2015). When LPN nurses upgrade to become RNs they do not abandon their caring role, they continue to care for similar patients but in an expansive capacity. As stated earlier, transition refers to the edification of roles.
The appreciation of the above differences is important for the smooth and effective transition from being a Licensed Practical Nurse to being a Registered Nurse. The transition to new roles is often challenging d...