Evaluation Plan - Term Paper Example

Evaluation Plan Evaluation Plan Introduction According to Dr Carol Huston, one of the most difficult element of strategic planning includes the evaluation process (Laureate Education, 2013e). This fact is reiterated by McMurray et al (2009, p.2582) who posits that "Staff members find participating in research and evaluation of change daunting". Therefore, nurse managers have an obligation to ensure the creation and adoption of strategies that ensure improvement or change strategies are effectively communicated in order to simplify the process.

This discussion offers an explanation of my evaluation plan including the timeline for evaluation and how I will incorporate refreezing.Evaluation plan The first step in my evaluation plan will involve assessing the background and framework of the evaluation. This step as elucidated by Holden et al (2009) will involve comprehension of the environment, framework, and circumstances surrounding the evaluation of the planned change. For instance, I will establish the relationship between individuals and specific bodies to involve in implementing the change to ascertain their level of commitment.

During this initial step in addition, I will assess the range of the evaluation in terms of estimation of resources required for executing the planned change such as the cost and human resource. The second step of my evaluation plan will involve an in-depth exploration and identification of stakeholders and their level of association (Holden et al, 2009). In reference to the unmet need and planned change, stakeholders to be considered at this stage include nurses, physicians, patients, the local community, governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

The relationship between these stakeholders will have an immediate effect on the outcome of the planned change. Thirdly, I will engage identified stakeholders in terms of requesting them to participate in designing strategies aimed at the implementation of change, and make sure each one of them understand their specific roles and responsibilities (Holden et al, 2009). Fourthly, I will exhibit and put all the processes of the strategic plan into context in order for the stakeholders to understand (Holden et al, 2009).

The fifth step will involve formulation of wide-ranging question for assessing the outcome of the planned change (2009). During this step, I will assess the practicability and achievability of the planned change. This will be followed by data collection by means of observation, direct interviews, and structured questionnaires to establish whether the objectives of the planned change have been achieved. For instance, improvement of quality despite low number of nurses will be indicated by reduced number of re-admissions and reduced medical errors.

Timeline for evaluation Allocation of enough time to allow assessment of the success of planned change is imperative (Laureate Education, 2013e). Dr. Carol Huston explicates the fact that evaluation should be an ongoing process (Laureate Education, 2013e). In this respect, my evaluation will run for three months starting May 15th to August 15th, 2015. In reference to Dr. Carol Huston assertion, the findings from the 3 months evaluation will form the basis for further evaluations after the specified timeline elapses.

Incorporating refreezing Refreezing is denoted by Dr. Carol Huston as making or transforming the planned change as the new norm or making the planned change a part of the organizational culture (Laureate Education, 2013e). In allusion to this definition, I will incorporate refreezing in my planned change through allocating it enough time to allow it to be absorbed and secondly, I will incorporate refreezing through consistency in terms of evaluation (Laureate Education, 2013e). In other words, I will ensure evaluation of the planned change is a continuous process in order to allow its absorption into the organizational culture.

Conclusion In a nutshell, the steps I will follow in my evaluation plan include assessment of the background and circumstances surrounding the planned change, identification and engagement of stakeholders, communicating stakeholders roles and responsibilities, formulating the questions for evaluating the outcome, and employing these questions in data collection. Refreezing will be achieved through consistency and allocating enough time for the planned change to be incorporated and absorbed into the organizational culture.

ReferencesHolden, D. J., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2009). Evaluation planning here and now. In D. J. Holden & M. A. Zimmerman (Eds.), A practical guide to program evaluation planning: Theory and case examples [Sage e-book]. Laureate Education (Producer). (2013e). A critical element [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu. McMurray, A., Chaboyer W., Wallis, M., &Fetherston, C. (2010). Implementing bedside handover: Strategies for change management. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(17/18), 2580–2589.