Published research has informed us that it’s effective to apply a standardized transition of care plan for patients moving from one setting to another. The Joint Commission has a model for safe patient care transition, which includes seven elements: leadership support, multi-disciplinary collaboration, early identification of risks, transitional planning, patient/family action/engagement, transfer of information, and medication management. They developed these elements after they reviewed the published research, held focus groups with healthcare professionals involved in transitions of care, and visited diverse healthcare organizations.
The aspect of research we found particularly applicable to our chapter was the transitional planning. The Joint Commission emphasized that this step was more than a “hand off” or a one-time transition; instead, it’s a set of continuous activities across the entire episode, including patient/client engagement. We wondered whether these same concepts could be adapted for the transition of the “care” of a chapter from one leadership group to another. This encouraged us to consider establishing a mentor for each of our new leaders from our current and exiting leaders.
The second element we incorporated was establishing a multi-disciplinary approach. This collaboration enables a reduction of risks, optimal outcomes, and reduction in re-admissions for patients/clients. We saw this as applicable to our chapter, as it helped reduce the risk of role confusion, role ambiguity, and role fatigue, leading to early resignation from what is a voluntary, non-paid leadership position. It encouraged us to plan transition celebration activities that involve all new and retiring leaders.
In June of 2022, 50% of our chapter’s leadership and committee members turned over due to term limits. In the case of our Governance and Leadership Succession Committees, that meant a 100% turnover of our members. Anticipating this occurrence, we began the transition plan during the recruitment stage for potential new leaders, similar to beginning preparations for transition at the time of a patient’s admission.
The Leadership Succession Committee sent an open call to the chapter to garner interest in the positions open on the election slate. After gathering self-nominations, the committee targeted more candidates for positions that did not have candidates after the self-nomination process. The Leadership Succession Committee met with each potential candidate to discuss the role expectations, their own personal experiences, and the chapter’s history. Next, the candidates consented to being on the ballot. This approach provided us a well-informed slate of candidates seeking election. Prior to the end of our current leaders’ terms, we held a transition celebration of the current, future, and term-limited leaders. The agenda included a short overview of the history of the chapter, our new strategic plan goals, and anticipated challenges. All leaders shared their Sigma moments and lessons learned, with everyone earning a special Sigma gift.
Finally, we assigned volunteer mentors to each new member to support their successful transition. In several instances, leaders who were leaving due to term limits assumed this role. In addition, several of our leaders who have served in multiple roles on the leadership team were paired with those in roles with similar areas of interest and expertise.
Our new leaders are now halfway through their first term of office and have truly risen to the occasion. Their active engagement in each of their roles and the collaboration between all leadership seems to indicate that our recruiting, orientation, and mentoring efforts have been successful. An improvement opportunity that we have realized for our next transition group will be to schedule each of them to attend Sigma’s educational Zoom meeting on their specific role prior to or immediately following their election. In addition, we need to increase our leadership succession efforts earlier in the year by identifying opportunities for our newly inducted members to be involved in our various committees.
Finally, we will be creating a process for any potential candidate to discuss the opportunity with the chapter president and/or president-elect, in addition to the one recruiting, before the self-nomination process. This would allow potential candidates to learn about the chapter’s leadership roles, mission, and vision without any pressure to self-nominate. Other chapters may find that this leadership recruitment approach will encourage those who are uncertain about roles and responsibilities to seek office. The personal outreach and support of outgoing officers may allay potential leaders’ concerns and provide the necessary support for transitioning the care of the chapter.
Esther Emard, MSN, MSLIR, RN, CPHQ, is an adjunct instructor at the George Washington University School of Nursing and president of Sigma’s Phi Epsilon Chapter.
Cameron Hogg, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, is an assistant professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing. She is the past president and current secretary of Sigma’s Phi Epsilon Chapter.