Organizational Culture and Readiness: A Benchmark-Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal (Essay Sample)

Organizational Culture and Readiness: A Benchmark-Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal Student’s ID Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Name Due Date Organizational Culture and Readiness: A Benchmark-Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal The implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) in today’s healthcare environment is important to enhancing the quality of care and improving patient outcomes. Global Health is a healthcare institution that offers a wide variety of healthcare services across the United States. The institution is committed to evidence-based practice (EBP) and aims to improve patient outcomes by enabling healthcare access and delivering high-quality care. The culture at the institution can be characterized as mission-driven, collaborative, and moderately adaptable to change. Additionally, the institution follows a participative leadership strategy. All decision-making processes are shared not only among senior executives but also departmental heads. Consequently, this culture fosters open communications across different levels of the institution, encouraging input from nurses, administrative staff, and healthcare providers. This proposal aims to establish the relationship between the organizational culture at Global Health and the institution’s readiness for change, with the eventual goal of facilitating an evidence-based practice change in the institution. While Global Health faces challenges such as staff resistance and resource limitations, which might pose a challenge to change management, implementing strategies such as improved communication and targeted training can help execute evidence-based change. Assessing Organizational Culture and Global Health’s Support for Change Global Health’s aim is to improve patient care using evidence-based practice fosters an environment that supports innovation. While the institution’s leadership highlights the significance of patient care, the institution encounters occasional resistance from staff members who, sometimes, feel overburdened by heavy workloads and constant change. As a result, such resistance emerges as a potential barrier to the implementation of change within the institution. However, Global Health has a generally positive employee perception as many employees view the institution as a reliable employer and an institution with enough resources for patient care. Therefore, there are minimal areas that need improvement. The main areas that need improvement include how change initiatives are launched and communicated. According to Kim et al. (2022), changes to systems and procedures have, in the past, been viewed as a top-down directive. Such an approach to change results in resistance due to the lack of involvement in the early planning stages. To successfully implement evidence-based practice change at Global Health, a more inclusive approach is needed. Assessing Organizational Culture and Readiness To assess Global Health’s organizational culture and readiness for the evidence-based intervention, the ORIC (Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change) tool was utilized. According to Adelson et al. (2021), the ORIC tool is a 12-item instrument used to determine how staff in an organization feel they can implement change in processes needed for a proposed intervention. Using ORIC, two key dimensions, namely change efficacy and change commitment, were assessed. Surveys were distributed to administrative and clinical staff to establish their perception of the institution’s capacity to execute and sustain change. According to the results, 80% of the respondents showed a strong commitment to enhancing patient care via evidence-based interventions. Additionally, 55% of the respondents showed confidence in the institution’s capacity to provide the resources needed for change, including staffing and training. However, there were concerns about the availability of personnel and time needed to manage the transition given the existing huge workloads. The high levels of commitment and strong leadership present strengths for the implementation of change. Ridwan et al. (2020) shows that committed employees can work towards achieving the goals of their department to ensure organizational success. On the other hand, insufficient training and limited staffing pose potential barriers to EBP change (McArthur et al., 2021). Such factors are a major weakness since the staff members are troubled by the increased workload and responsibilities. Recommended Healthcare Systems and Processes Various systems and processes must be introduced to enhance safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness. First, patient follow-up using automated follow-up systems and telehealth to ensure that all discharged patients can receive care, reducing readmissions. Secondly, the integration of EHR (Electronic Health Records) to monitor patient outcomes. According to HealthIt.gov (2022), EHR improves all patient care aspects, including communication, safety, effectiveness, education, patient-centeredness, timelines, and equity. As a result, healthcare providers can make data-driven decisions to improve patient care. Facilitating Organizational Readiness To facilitate the implementation of change while addressing the concerns raised, several strategies are proposed: First, enhanced communication is proposed to create clearer and more frequent communication between organizational leadership and frontline staff, thereby ensuring transparency concerning the expectations of the initiative. According to Li et al. (2021), communication reduces resistance as it provides the information required for staff to support the change. Email updates, departmental discussions, and town hall meetings can foster an environment of trust and inclusion. Secondly, targeted training programs scheduled during work hours can help explain the benefits of the EBP initiative and its practical implications. Finally, resource allocation during the transition phase is needed through contract staffing or hiring part-time staff to adequately support the implementation of change. How Organizational Culture Will Support and Sustain EBP Change Global Health’s culture prioritizes patient-centered care and collaboration, which provide a strong foundation for the implementation of EBP change. Key strengths that will sustain the change include leadership support and inter-professional teams. However, weaknesses such as limited resources and resistance to change pose a significant challenge. Consequently, the capacity to sustain change depends on the continued engagement with stakeholders and ongoing training while monitoring the impact of the intervention. Stakeholder support from frontline staff will help overcome resistance, ensuring that the EBP change is embedded as routine practice. Key stakeholders needed for the project include, first, leadership, which is ...