Your organization is in the middle of re-designing patient care units,

QUESTION

Your organization is in the middle of re-designing patient care units, with decisions based on best practices and various other sources of evidence.

In the middle of the transition, there is a temporary halt called to the transition because of a re-design of the health care system and greater emphasis on primary care. What would be a healthy response to this situation?

a. Salvage as much of the original planning as possible so as to reduce expenditures.
b. Engage in consultation to create innovative solutions that bridge the existing plans and the new directions.
c. Abandon the current planning in favor of addressing the new trends.
d. Continue with the current planning because trends come and go.

ANSWER:

ANS: B
Stability and total chaos are the ends of a continuum. Moving in some way between those two ends suggests that we live in a constant state of disequilibrium in which we strive toward stability while recognizing we experience chaos. As we continue to move from “traditional” practices to evidence-based ones and from a heavy focus on tertiary care to one that values primary care, we can assume that we might experience more chaos. Chaos can lead to new learning and new, innovative solutions. As nurses, it is important to be able to function in an evolving environment.