Encouraging Nurses to Embrace Change (Podcast)

Healthcare and the nursing profession are constantly in flux. Change can be uncomfortable, but Darlene Morocco, MHA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, FACHE encourages nurses to lean into change and embrace it.

“There’s a lot of inspiration and a lot of reward in change agentry,” says Morocco, CNO of Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital. “I think that the nurses inspire me, and I hope that I inspire them to become change agents.”

In a recent episode of Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, Morocco delves into change management. She shares thoughts on:

• Creating an environment where change is prioritized and supported
• Building multidisciplinary teams to enact change
• Listening to all caregivers, from students to 40-year nursing veterans
• Evaluating new interventions and pivoting away from those that don’t work

Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast excerpt

Morocco: I like to think of nursing as a generational profession where each generation has something to offer. And we learn from each generation. Even though the seasoned 20-year, 30-year veteran has not been in school for a long time, they are continuous learners. And through continuous education and certification we are learning all the time. But that new grad nurse has just come out of an accredited program where the best practices are being taught at the academic level.

So, I think that when [leaders] make ourselves present to our caregivers – through rounding and huddles, staff meetings, one-on-one check-ins – those should be meaningful times to engage with our caregivers and to ask them the question of what’s going well, what’s not going well.

And I think that that gives the caregiver a comfort level of, “It’s okay for me to speak up. They really do want to hear from me.” So, we do have to drive it. And then once you establish that psychologically safe culture and environment, you’ll start to see your caregivers be more comfortable at bringing things to your attention.