Lewin's Change Process Model In Nursing

Change is imminent in the healthcare profession because of various advancement including medical and technological. Nurses must readily adapt and be able to continue to safely, effectively and compassionately take care of their patients. Change may be defined as an “alteration to make something different.”(Huber, 2010, p. 56) A planned change may be defined as a “process of intentional intervention to create something new.”(Huber, 2010, p. 56)This includes implementing new concepts or programs that are constructed and established, expanded through interventions and communication, that results in adaptation or rejection. Innovation is closely associated and is often mentioned when describing change. Simply put, innovation indicates change and
Lewin’s change process model is a classic model that set up the framework for many other change theories. The three elements incorporated into Lewin’s change process include (1) unfreezing, (2) moving and (3) refreezing (Huber, 2010). The unfreezing stage is indicated by the “thawing out” of the system. This produces knowledge that change needs to occur and readiness to change through cognitive exposure, diagnosis of the problem and work to gather different solutions. A change may need to occur when the realization that unmet expectations (lack of commitment), discomfort about action (guilt or anxiety) and removal of an obstacle to change (psychological safety) are identified (Huber, 2010). There are leadership strategies to ease fear and the unknown including education, team building, motivation and enthusiasm. The unfreezing stage is complete when all the individuals involved are generally accepting and understand why there needs to be a change (Huber,
This stage involves the next step in the change process because there is concrete visible difference in the system allowing planning and implementation to occur. The development of “cognitive redefinition” or seeing the problem from a different or new angle (Huber, 2010). This allows for problems to be found and fixed or better resolved. The third and final stage of change is refreezing. In this stage, the new changes are incorporated and sustained. It is crucial for reinforcement to be initiated so that the changes will stand. Positive feedback, rewards, encouragement and constructive criticism may reinforce the new change behavior(Huber,