Chaos and Complexity Theory in Health Care

Every organization must be considered the sum of its parts: the people, problems, and tools within it. Together, these parts shape the face of the institution and make it unique. When coming into a new organization, one should not presume that anything is so just because “that’s the way it was done at my other institution.” Different organizations have varying structures and approaches to management, and newcomers may find the environment confusing at first.

Consumers of health care expect predictable, safe, and quality care. Recall from the readings that organizational theory attempts to explain how organizations are structured and managed. Based on this week’s readings and what has been presented on organizational theory, respond to the following:

• Do chaos theory and complexity theory have any place in health care systems? Why or why not?

Support your response with references from the professional nursing literature.

Required Resources

This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of the assigned resources for this week. To view this week’s media resources, please use the streaming media player below.

Media

• Video: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Leadership competencies in nursing and healthcare: Implementing organizational change. Baltimore: Author.
  • Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 13 minutes.

    This week, the experts discuss organizational theory, organizational culture, and the role of the nurse in implementing organizational change.