Managing change: introducing ancillary caregivers to the ICU

How to introduce ancillary care personnel in a critical care setting is chronicled in this article. The goal was to try assigning three patients to one RN working with a critical care nurse technician (CCNT) in an effort to deal with a 30-35 percent vacancy rate in CCU/MICU staffing, which had resulted in closing of beds. The approach to change described by Moore and Gergen enabled this management team to move toward their goal by including both nursing staff and CCNTs in the process.