This post covers Lewin Process, as detailed below.
Assignment: Lewin’s Process of Planned Change infographic for a new discharge education process
You are the nurse manager of an inpatient unit. You are going to be changing the discharge education process for all patients. Your staff, so far, has been resistant to this change. In their feedback to you, they think that this change is not necessary, as they think that it will create more work. They also state that the current process is working fine. As a leader, you understand that listening to feedback is important. As a result, you are going to educate your staff on the “why” behind the change; you are going to create an infographic using Lewin’s Process of Planned Change. Each step in Lewin’s Process of Planned Change will be outlined as it relates to your new discharge process.
- Identification and discussion: include a title and your name; clearly outline each stage (Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze) and its relevance to the discharge process; include a brief introduction to Lewin’s model and graphical elements.
- Value to peers: show the benefits of the change for staff; explain how each stage applies; highlight the need for change, detail the new process and describe how it will be solidified.
- Creativity: engaging design, sections for each stage with visuals and key points, color and visuals for clarity.
- Communication: minimal text, straightforward visuals, clarity, accuracy and appeal; check for errors.
Example infographic
What the infographic says, section by section
Original example for study purposes. Use this as speaker notes or as the text for your own template.
Introduction to Lewin’s model. Kurt Lewin (1947) described change as a process of unfreezing current habits, changing to a new way of working and refreezing so the new practice becomes routine. His force field analysis reminds leaders that change succeeds when the forces driving it are strengthened and the forces restraining it are reduced. Because our staff have raised real concerns, this plan starts by listening and explaining the “why.”
Stage 1: Unfreeze, recognizing the need for change
- Why the current process is not enough: discharge teaching often happens in a rush on the day of discharge, so patients leave unsure about new medications, follow-up appointments and warning signs. This contributes to avoidable readmissions, emergency visits and phone calls back to the unit.
- Share data: present our unit’s 30-day readmission rate, patient survey scores on understanding discharge information and examples of callbacks at staff huddles.
- Listen: acknowledge concerns that the change will create more work, invite ideas and answer questions openly.
- Champions: recruit respected nurses from each shift to help shape the process.
Stage 2: Change, implementing the new discharge education process
- Start on day 1: discharge teaching begins at admission and is spread across the stay in short sessions, rather than crammed into discharge day.
- Standard checklist: a one-page checklist in the electronic health record covers medications, diet and activity, follow-up appointments and red-flag symptoms.
- Teach-back: nurses ask patients and families to explain key information in their own words to confirm understanding.
- Training and support: brief in-services, pocket cards and bedside coaching by champions.
- Pilot: test the process for four weeks, collect staff feedback and adjust before full rollout.
Stage 3: Refreeze, making the change permanent
- Add the checklist and teach-back expectations to unit policy, the EHR and new-hire orientation.
- Share monthly results so staff see the impact of their work.
- Recognize nurses who demonstrate excellent discharge teaching.
- Champions coach new staff and review the process quarterly.
Benefits for staff (value to peers)
- Less last-minute pressure: discharge days become faster and calmer because teaching is already done.
- Fewer callbacks and readmissions: less time spent answering confused patients’ calls or readmitting them.
- Consistency: a standard checklist removes guesswork and makes handoffs easier.
- Professional satisfaction: nurses see patients leave confident and prepared.
How we will know it worked
We will track 30-day readmissions and post-discharge callbacks, the percentage of patients with a completed teach-back checklist (weekly audits) and patient survey scores on discharge information, and share results with the team.
Reference
Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change. Human Relations, 1(1), 5–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872674700100103
Design tips for your infographic
- Put your name and title at the top, as the rubric requires.
- Answer staff objections directly: “It’s more work” becomes “less work on discharge day”; “It works fine” becomes data showing gaps.
- One color per stage and numbered sections guide the reader.
- Keep text short: phrases, not paragraphs; use icons for medications, a calendar for follow-up and a check mark for teach-back.
- Proofread and test it: ask a colleague to explain the plan after a 30-second look.
Related reading: Lewin’s process of planned change and creating infographics, teach-back as an evidence-based intervention and designing an infographic as a nurse manager.
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