Validation of change management concepts by nurse managers and educators: baccalaureate curricular implications

Date

1997-12

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The problem addressed in this descriptive study was to compare the change management concepts validated by nurse educators in baccalaureate nursing programs with those concepts validated by baccalaureate prepared nurse managers in mid-level management positions in healthcare delivery environments. The purposes of this study were to: (1) propose an expanded conceptual framework for change management for utilization by nurse educators and nurse managers; (2) describe how new concepts of change management could be integrated into baccalaureate curricula: and (3) describe way's that could be used to assess the degree of congruency between nurse educators' and nurse managers' perceptions of how nurses should be prepared for change management roles. The research questions were: (1) What concepts that compose change management content are: (a) found in the literature of nursing, business, and higher education and (b) considered relevant for inclusion in the subject matter of nursing change management curricula?; and (2) What similarities and differences exist from comparisons of two sets of change management concepts validated by expert nurse educators and expert nurse managers?

Purposes were met by using the Delphi method. Eight nurse educator and eight nurse manager experts, representing four geographic regions of the United States, agreed to participate in the study after meeting study selection criteria. In the first round, experts completed separate instruments containing 49 and 51 items, respectively. Items, containing change management concepts, originated from: a)content analysis of change management chapters from nurse management textbooks: b) a review of nursing, business, and higher education literature; and c) revisions from the pilot study. A content validity index (CVI) of .83 was the goal set for achieving content validity of instruments and items. At the completion of round two, the managers' instrument CVI was .97: the educators' instrument CVI was .96. Only one item on the managers' instrument and four items on the educators' instrument had CVIs of less than .83. The instruments were considered valid instruments. Comparisons made of similarities and differences in concept items, validated by managers and educators, found major similarities. Some item content differences existed. Both groups had added change concept items unique to the individual group's instrument. The manager group tended to be less absolute than the educator group as evidenced by the managers' suggested use of "may" and "could'" for some items.

Description

Keywords

Organizational change, Nursing, Nursing schools

Citation