The realities of practice change: Nurses' perceptions

To explore registered nurses' perceptions of practice change and describe factors that influence the adoption of practice changes.

Nurses play a critical role in optimising patient outcomes. Healthcare organisations and nurses must do their part to achieve the Quadruple Aim, which requires nurses to change their practice. Nurses are ideally positioned to improve patient outcomes by changing their practice to align it with research evidence and organisational initiatives; however, this experience of practice change by nurses is grossly under-studied.

A qualitative design, inductive content analysis, was used to understand nurses' perceptions of practice change.

Eleven registered nurses, who worked in one hospital system, participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ) were followed.

The 11 participants described 63 distinct experiences with practice changes. Their experiences with and perceptions of practice change are categorised as (1) There is A History; (2) It's A Lot of Work; (3) It Happens to Nurses; and (4) Doing Right for the Patient.

Nurses experience practice change as a central part of the work they do; it occurs frequently and multiple practice changes may co-occur. Nurses identify strategies, such as thoughtful planning, engaging nurses, and communicating the rationale for and the outcomes of the practice change, to facilitate changing practice.

Involving nurses in practice changes could alleviate some inhibiting factors for adopting new practices. Local hospital and national policies should explore creative and practical ways to balance the competing needs of nurses providing direct care at the bedside and dedicated time to be engaged in practice change initiatives. With the ongoing focus on improving patient care and optimising patient safety, nurses should be viewed as highly valued members of the team when designing and implementing practice changes.