Anticipate anxiety in making changes
Anticipate anxiety in making changes
Counseling, therapy, neck rubs ease transition
On the verge of rolling out patient-centered care at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital in Malvern, PA, administrators smacked into the human side of change the anxiety and stress people experience whenever they undergo even welcomed change.
Bryn Mawr quickly responded with programs to help its employees work through the turbulent period. But, they still regret not starting sooner.
"The enormous impact of the human side of change was something we hadn’t anticipated," says Jan Bergen, vice president of administration.
Bryn Mawr began planning for redesign about three years before its July 1996 roll-out date. The care model it chose consisted of self-directed teams composed of nurses and therapists who all report to one team coordinator.
During the redesign period, Bryn Mawr followed all the right steps to prepare staff for the new model:
• The hospital looked at itself as an organization to determine its strengths and weaknesses based on past changes.
• The administration freed up the time of employees working on the restructuring initiative by taking away some of their other responsibilities.
• The hospital informed the staff through bulletins, meetings, and other communication plans.
• The administration solicited input from staff during all phases of the redesign process including the creation of the new job roles for patient-focused care, architectural redesign plans, and the training curriculum.
• The hospital tried to accommodate each employee’s first choice for a team.
Then came the date when the new jobs were posted. Restructuring was real, and the staff began to personally experience the impact of the change. The administration responded quickly with a variety of resources to help employees cope with the stress. But, "If I had it to do over again, I would provide the resources when we put out the job descriptions, not after," says Daniel J. Keating, PhD, administrative director of the neurocognitive division. "It needs to be done when they see how the model will impact them on a personal level."
Here Bryn Mawr shares with the readers of Patient-Focused Care examples of the resources it offered its employees:
• Group sessions.
The psychology department conducted sessions to help staff overcome anxieties. One key issue was helping employees work through the sense of loss.
"This is something a lot of people don’t understand," Bergen says. There’s a sense of loss with this. You’re changing the way you work, who you work with, and who you report to. You’re changing how you identify yourself."
• Open forums.
The restructuring leaders held special meetings to address the hot topics. Staff were anxious about the roles of the multiskilled workers. The therapy aides were worried they would be shipped out of their department. Those who had to learn phlebotomy feared they wouldn’t learn how to draw blood. Some staff were even worried about a new dress code. "It was important for staff to know they could ask us questions and that we would listen," Bergen says. "You can’t do enough open communication."
• Stress reduction workshops.
Psychologists demonstrated relaxation techniques to reduce stress, such as breathing exercises.
• Exercise programs.
The hospital offered fitness programs to relieve stress.
• Massage therapy.
Some employees requested massages to relieve stress.
To some, these workshops and other offerings may appear to be excessive coddling of staff, but administrators say the efforts are worth it.
"Our philosophy is you’re not going to get your desired results if you don’t welcome this kind of exchange with your employees," Bergen says. "We wanted to improve our customer service, and our customers are both our patients and our employees."
Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.