Being one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world, U. S. health care is associated with various shortcomings. Racial inequality is one of the downsides of the system, as millions of people have limited or no access to high-quality healthcare services due to their socioeconomic status (Bowen Matthew, 2018). Notably, recent policies have improved the situation, but many uninsured people fail to benefit from them due to the lack of knowledge. In simple terms, underprivileged groups are often unaware of the available opportunities. In order to address the issue, it is possible to implement an intervention aimed at educating patients.
The proposed program can be based on the use of Kotter’s model of change. During the first stage of the intervention, the change agent (a nurse leader) will discuss the issue with other practitioners to create urgency. Lv and Zhang (2017) note that collective leadership can be instrumental in changing the healthcare system in diverse ways. Hence, the formation of a coalition is one of the most important stages of the eight-step framework. The coalition develops and communicates the vision of change. At this stage, the coalition inspires others to implement the program and provide educational services to patients regarding available resources, which is commonly ignored due to scarcity of time.
By supporting each other and sharing information effectively, nurses can be motivated to pay more attention to educating patients. Support and mentorship can help in removing obstacles to project realization and change implementation. Every success story (about patients benefiting from services they accessed) should be discussed among nurses on a regular basis, which can enhance nurses’ motivation. Building on that change will involve the development of clear guidelines that will help nurses provide information to vulnerable groups, which will lead to better patient outcomes. Finally, these guidelines and collective leadership practices should become a part of the organizational culture.
References
Bowen Matthew, D. (2018). Just medicine: A cure for racial inequality in American health care. NYU Press.
Lv, C. M., & Zhang, L. (2017). How can collective leadership influence the implementation of change in health care? Chinese Nursing Research, 4(4), 182-185. Web.