1992 Mary J. Nielubowicz Award recipient. Nursing organizational restructure: choosing to change.

Major organizational change frequently results in fear, anxiety, and resistance. Change is often initiated in response to a perceived threat. However, intentional changes to historical patterns of nursing care delivery are now more prevalent, in the absence of crisis, as leaders anticipate new challenges and fulfill today's nurses' need for high-level professional satisfaction. This essay describes factors which inspired nursing organizational restructure at a naval hospital. The specific modifications made and strategies for managing them are reviewed in the context of using planned change principles and risk-taking behavior to achieve organizational growth.