7 Tips for Keeping Your Staff on Track After a New Product Rollout

Keeping the momentum going after your I.V. House product rollout is critical for reducing injuries and improving patient safety.

You’ve completed a successful trial, received approval from Value Analysis and Materials Management, and have officially begun using I.V. House products at your hospital. Yet, your nurses are falling back into old habits. Worse, you’re still seeing the same old injuries, including moderate to severe infiltrates, because your new I.V. House products are still sitting on the shelf. How do you overcome this dangerous nurse hesitancy? Here are some tips for making these essential changes last long term to help improve patient safety.

1. Out With the Old

Completely remove the old products from storerooms and supply closets. Eliminate the possibility of nurses going back to using No-Nos, Coban, traditional armboards, and other immobilizers that block the view of the IV insertion site and surrounding tissue.

2. Explain the “Why”

It helps to explain the reason, or the “Why,” behind a change. For instance, has your hospital experienced a series of moderate to severe infiltrates? Is your hospital committed to reducing injury to help improve patient satisfaction scores? Make the “Why” part of your communication plan.

3. Show and Tell

As the project champion, you may be very familiar with all of the reasons behind the proposed product change, but that’s not the case for the majority of nurses in your hospital. Create a communication campaign to keep nurses informed about the new products and practices. Touchpoints may include:

  • Email messages
  • Printed flyers posted in:
    • Breakrooms
    • Nurse’s stations
    • Supply closets
    • Locker rooms
  • TLC Splint sizing Badge Buddies
  • Reminder messages in huddles
  • Signage on IV fluid poles
Badge-Buddy lanyard cards

4. Recruit Cheerleaders

Nurse hesitancy is a key factor in the failure to adopt new practices. Find nurses that are excited about the changes you’re implementing and provide them with talking points so they can influence their peers. Enthusiasm is contagious.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

New processes don’t just magically happen overnight. Your fellow nurses are busy and may automatically revert to old habits unless they receive ongoing reminders and education. Set up check-in sessions to review new processes, answer questions, and celebrate successes.

6. Gamify

Who doesn’t love prizes? Can you create a way to reward nurses for adopting the change? Create a survey, questionnaire, or quiz and draw winners at random from those who participate. Do random spot checks in different units and offer goodies for the nurses who are adopting the new practices.

7. Keep in Touch

Reach out to your I.V. House contact anytime you have questions, concerns, or comments. We’re here to make sure your implementation is right on track.

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Successful change happens through commitment, communication, and practice. Nurses dedicate their lives to patient safety, so when you help them understand that the goal of the new product rollout is to reduce patient harm, they’re more likely to get on board.

We’re here to help. I.V. House has educational materials, including a complete library of Directions for Use Videos available on our website for the I.V. House UltraDome®, I.V. House UltraDressing®, and TLC® Splint so that you can train (or retrain) your team at any time from a computer, tablet, or phone.