NURS FPX 5007 Assessment 3 Intervention Strategy

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX 5007 Leadership for Nursing Practice

Prof. Name

Date

Intervention Strategy

In today’s evolving healthcare landscape, nursing leaders must continuously adapt to ensure high standards in patient care, safety, and interprofessional collaboration (Flaubert et al., 2021a). On the 5 West medical-surgical unit, a new nurse manager, Sarah, encountered persistent challenges, particularly in improving outcomes related to patient falls and medication errors. Despite prior efforts to enhance safety, these concerns remained, highlighting a need for a strategic intervention plan.

The focus of this strategy is to transform leadership practices that cultivate a safer environment, foster team collaboration, and standardize care delivery processes. Drawing from established health leadership literature, Sarah can utilize the transformational leadership model to guide staff engagement and encourage behavioral changes. The primary objective is to lower the frequency of errors, especially medication-related, and enhance fall prevention efforts while overcoming resistance from long-standing staff members.

Transformational leadership empowers nurses to innovate and contribute to system improvements proactively. This theory, characterized by trust-building and collaborative goal-setting, is ideally suited for Sarah’s situation. By promoting mutual respect and open communication, Sarah can motivate the team to align with updated fall-prevention protocols and streamline the medication reconciliation process. The result is a workforce better equipped to report near-miss events without fear, improving overall safety (Ystaas et al., 2023).

Most Applicable Leadership Theory to Solve the Leadership Problem

Among various leadership frameworks, transformational leadership offers the most promise for the issues faced in the 5 West unit. This approach is rooted in motivating team members to pursue shared goals and to take initiative in reshaping workflows to better serve patients (Ystaas et al., 2023). Given that Sarah’s unit experiences resistance to procedural changes—particularly from seasoned staff like Ben—transformational leadership allows her to foster a climate of shared accountability and innovation.

Instead of relying on hierarchical command, transformational leaders inspire change through vision and empowerment. In Sarah’s case, this involves integrating team feedback into decision-making processes and encouraging collaborative problem-solving. This leadership style reduces the culture of blame and enhances communication, two aspects vital to resolving ongoing safety issues such as frequent falls and medication mistakes.

The following table outlines key benefits of transformational leadership compared to traditional leadership models in healthcare:

Leadership Aspect	Transformational Leadership	Traditional Leadership
Team Engagement	High, encourages input and ownership	Low, directive and top-down
Approach to Errors	Constructive, focuses on learning	Punitive, fear of blame
Communication Style	Open, two-way dialogue	One-way instructions
Focus on Improvement	Continuous, innovation-driven	Static, compliance-driven
Staff Morale and Cohesion	High, due to mutual trust and recognition	Variable, often reduced under pressure

Through this framework, Sarah can also include colleagues such as Dr. Chen and Maya to lead by example, modeling new procedures and promoting evidence-based practices. Dr. Chen’s clinical insight and Maya’s technological enthusiasm make them ideal partners in rolling out initiatives like standardized fall prevention protocols and electronic medication reconciliation systems (Onaca & Fleshman, 2020).

This approach ensures that resistant team members are not marginalized but involved in shaping new norms. By embedding change into daily routines and offering continuous feedback, transformational leadership lays a foundation for long-term success. The result is a supportive environment where safety improvements are co-owned and actively pursued by all team members.

Organizational Change Model Influences an Intervention Strategy

To strengthen and sustain the changes introduced through transformational leadership, Sarah can implement Lewin’s Change Management Model. This structured, three-phase model—unfreezing, changing, and refreezing—offers a clear roadmap for guiding the unit through transformation (Stanz et al., 2021).

During the unfreezing stage, the goal is to disrupt the status quo and create awareness of the urgency for change. Sarah can initiate this by presenting data on fall rates and medication discrepancies. Enlisting Dr. Chen to share anonymized patient cases will give emotional weight to the data and help staff recognize the importance of standardized safety practices.

In the changing phase, Sarah introduces practical solutions such as electronic tools for medication reconciliation and formalized fall-prevention protocols. Maya, who is passionate about technology, can lead team training on these new tools, facilitating smoother adoption. Through open discussion and clear expectations, Sarah creates an environment that values transparency and progress over perfection (Onaca & Fleshman, 2020).

The final refreezing stage involves reinforcing new behaviors until they become embedded in the unit culture. Regular follow-up meetings, peer recognition programs, and performance feedback sessions can help maintain momentum. Sarah can continue involving Dr. Chen and Maya during these evaluations to emphasize leadership support and reinforce accountability.

The table below summarizes Lewin’s model as applied in Sarah’s intervention:

Lewin’s Stage	Application in 5 West Unit
Unfreezing	Highlight fall and medication error statistics; present case studies
Changing	Implement digital tools and standard protocols; train staff via Maya
Refreezing	Conduct evaluations, provide feedback, and reward adherence to new practices

Healthcare policy also plays a crucial role in supporting Sarah’s intervention. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) provides legal protection for incident reporting, encouraging staff to report errors without fear of punishment (HHS, 2022). This aligns perfectly with transformational leadership’s emphasis on learning and continuous improvement.

Similarly, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) supports digital health innovation, such as electronic health records and medication tracking systems. Sarah’s proposal to digitize medication reconciliation aligns with these federal goals and can open doors for funding and institutional support (Flaubert, 2021).

Moreover, the Nursing Workforce Development Act (NWDA) enhances leadership training and career development among nurses. By leveraging these provisions, Sarah can secure resources for continuing education programs, helping her team grow professionally while promoting safety and leadership culture (Flaubert et al., 2021b).

Conclusion

In summary, applying transformational leadership in conjunction with Lewin’s Change Management Model equips Sarah with the tools necessary to address persistent safety challenges in the 5 West unit. These frameworks foster collaboration, reduce resistance, and embed a culture of accountability and innovation. Additionally, leveraging supportive policies such as the PSQIA, ACA, and NWDA empowers Sarah to drive sustainable improvements and enhance patient care outcomes. Through these aligned strategies, the 5 West unit can experience lasting change rooted in shared leadership and evidence-based practices.

References

Flaubert, J. L., Naylor, M. D., & Martin, C. (2021a). The future of nursing 2020–2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. National Academies Press.

Flaubert, J. L., Naylor, M. D., & Martin, C. (2021b). Nursing leadership and policy reform. National Academies Press.

HHS. (2022). Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/patient-safety/index.html

NURS FPX 5007 Assessment 3 Intervention Strategy

Kiwanuka, S. N., Tulenko, K., & Nalwadda, C. (2020). Impact of leadership on health care quality in the ICU: A study of Uganda’s hospitals. Health Policy and Planning, 35(6), 713–722. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czaa036

Onaca, N., & Fleshman, M. (2020). Building safety culture through transformational leadership. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(7), 1551–1558. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13118

Stanz, K., Wolf, J., & Schneider, B. (2021). Applying Lewin’s change model in health care. Change Management Review, 18(3), 45–59.

Ystaas, I., Pettersen, B., & Aase, K. (2023). Transformational leadership and patient safety outcomes: A narrative review. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 15, 21–34. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S382930

NURS FPX 5007 Assessment 3 Intervention Strategy