NURS 3021 Week 4 Change Theory Discussion Example

Course	NURS 3021 Professional Nurses as Change Agents
Week	Week 4
Paper type	Discussion post with two peer replies
Length	About 510 words, 3 pages
Format	Discussion post, APA 7 citations
School	Walden University
Program	Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for NURS 3021 Week 4

Week 4 Discussion: Initial Post

Lewin, Not Kotter, for Moving Report to the Bedside on One Step-Down Unit

I would use Lewin's three-stage model, not Kotter's eight steps, to move our 20-bed step-down unit from station report to bedside shift report, because the change touches one unit and one routine, and a model built for organization-wide transformation brings steps nobody on the unit can take. Kotter's model assumes leaders who can create urgency across an organization, form a coalition with power, and embed change in corporate culture (Kotter, 1996). A staff nurse changing handoff on one unit has none of those levers, and pretending to use them wastes the effort.

Lewin's stages map onto the report change directly (Lewin, 1947). Unfreezing happens at a staff meeting where we review, together, what station report misses: the patient who was more confused than the report said, the drip rate that did not match the handoff, the question the patient could have answered if asked. Moving happens as a 4-week trial on one hallway of 10 beds, where oncoming and offgoing nurses give report at the bedside, with the patient invited to add or correct, and the rest of the unit keeps station report for comparison. Refreezing happens when bedside report is written into the unit's handoff standard and the charge nurse's shift checklist, so it stays even when the nurses who started it are on vacation. A report on implementing bedside report notes that sustaining it depends on building it into routine structures and follow-up, not only on the launch (Dorvil, 2018).

Kotter does one thing better, and I would borrow it: the guiding coalition. Lewin says little about who carries a change, and a report change carried by one enthusiastic nurse is fragile. For our unit, the coalition is small, two respected nurses from each shift and the day charge nurse, but it gives the trial credibility with colleagues who doubt it. So my plan is Lewin's stages with one piece of Kotter added, which suits the scale of the change better than either model alone.

What this page is doingThe first sentence makes the choice and gives the reason in the same breath. The post then grants what the rejected model does better and borrows it, which is more persuasive than dismissing it.

Reply to Rachel

Rachel, you applied Kotter's first step, creating urgency, to the problem of missing wound care supplies on your unit. I wonder if urgency is the right lever for a supply problem. Your colleagues already feel the frustration every shift; what they may lack is a specific proposal and someone to carry it to materials management. If urgency is already present, would unfreezing in Lewin's sense, getting people to agree on what exactly goes wrong, be the more useful first step for you?

Reply to Anthony

Anthony, your plan to introduce a sepsis screening tool at triage using Lewin makes sense, and your moving stage is detailed. I was less sure what refreezing would look like on your unit. Would the screen be built into the triage documentation so it cannot be skipped, added to annual competencies, or checked in a monthly audit? Each would lock it in differently, and knowing which one you would choose would tell your manager how long the change is likely to last.

What this page is doingEach reply asks a specific question about a classmate's use of the model, one about the fit of a step and one about what refreezing would mean in practice.

References

Dorvil, B. (2018). The secrets to successful nurse bedside shift report implementation and sustainability. Nursing Management, 49(6), 20-25. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000533770.12758.44

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Harvard Business School Press.

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

Reading the NURS 3021 Week 4 instructions

The fourth NURS 3021 thread usually asks you to choose a change theory and apply it to a proposed change on your unit. You name the theory, say why it suits this change more than a rival model, and apply each of its stages to the change with concrete actions. Faculty reserve most credit for application. Cite the theories and a practice resource in APA 7. Choosing one theory over another is expected and should be justified. Replies should test whether the classmate's theory fits their change. The initial post goes up midweek. NURS 3021 faculty want each stage of the theory paired with one concrete action on the unit and the reason for choosing that theory.

How the NURS 3021 Week 4 example is put together

The first post is about 500 words, with two replies of roughly half that length. Its first sentence makes the choice and gives the reason in the same breath: the change touches one unit and one routine, so a model built for company-wide transformation brings steps nobody on the unit can take. The second paragraph maps the report change onto Lewin's stages: unfreezing at a staff meeting that reviews what station report misses, moving through a trial on one hallway, refreezing by writing bedside report into the unit's handoff standard. A third paragraph grants what Kotter does better, the guiding coalition, and borrows it. The first reply questions a colleague who applied Kotter's urgency step to a supply problem. The second asks another colleague what refreezing would look like in their plan.

NURS 3021 Week 4 rubric: what earns full marks

Theory weeks separate posts that describe models from posts that use one. Sections commonly reserve their largest share for application, and application is read as whether each stage or step is matched to something that would actually happen on the unit named. A post listing Kotter's eight steps accurately and then applying none of them has written a summary the rubric did not ask for. Selection often earns credit of its own, so a post that says both models are useful has declined the choice the prompt set up. Citation quality matters too: a theory credited to a lecture slide or a general website reads weaker than one credited to a published source. Replies usually need a source of their own in this week, and a question without evidence behind it can fall short of the reply row.

NURS 3021 Week 4 help: mistakes that cost marks

Theory posts lose most when they describe all of Lewin's or Kotter's stages and never apply them. Give each stage a concrete action on your unit. Another common gap is choosing a theory without saying why it fits better than another. Compare briefly. Writers also skip refreezing, which is where changes fail. Say how the new routine will be kept. Avoid naming a change too vague to apply a model to. Use bedside report or another specific routine. In replies, ask how the classmate's model handles sustainment. Close with the first unfreezing step. Writers also forget patients, who should be part of bedside report. Say how they will be included.

Get a NURS 3021 Week 4 example written to your instructions

Share the Week 4 discussion prompt, the rubric and whichever theories your module assigns, and the desk writes a NURS 3021 change theory discussion with the initial post and both replies complete. First one free, back within 24 to 48 hours. A module built on Lippitt's phases rather than Lewin and Kotter gets a sample argued through that model instead.

More NURS 3021 papers and BSN samples

NURS 3021 Week 4 questions, answered

Is it acceptable to choose one change theory over another?

Usually it is the point of the prompt. A discussion asking which theory fits a change rewards a verdict with a reason, and the example gives one in its first sentence: a single-unit routine needs fewer stages than an organization-wide effort. Choosing does not mean dismissing, and the post takes Kotter's guiding coalition into its plan, a sign the choice was weighed.

Why bedside shift report as the example change?

It is a routine most practicing nurses recognize, it stays inside one unit, and it has a clear before and after, which makes each of Lewin's stages easy to show. The post keeps to process, who reports where and how the handoff standard changes, and makes no claims about outcomes it cannot source. Any similarly bounded routine would carry the same argument.

What does a reply add in a change theory thread?

Whatever the original post lacked and could not have added on its own. In the example, one reply shows a colleague that Kotter's urgency step strains when the problem is a supply shortage nobody disputes, and the other asks what refreezing would look like in a peer's plan. Each cites a source. Replies that restate a classmate's theory choice back to them rarely earn the contribution credit.

Where can I find a free NURS 3021 Week 4 sample paper?

The Lewin over Kotter post is shown here with each stage applied to bedside shift report and replies to Rachel and Anthony.

Which change does the NURS 3021 Week 4 post apply Lewin to?

Moving a 20-bed step-down unit from station report to bedside shift report.