Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a SMART-formatted goal related to your professional leadership applicable to your current practice setting or future leadership aspirations. This goal is about YOUR leadership development, not those of the organization or the department where you work.  Many organizations have developed the SMART-goal framework as they strive for performance improvement.  Your goal may tie to one of the departmental or organizational SMART goals but the components of the goal are about YOUR leadership development The Institute of Medicine’s quality initiative has identified five core healthcare profession competencies. This assignment focuses on only two of those initiatives. Either Patient-Centered Care or Working in Interdisciplinary and/or Interprofessional Teams will serve as a framework for identification of YOUR leadership SMART goal.

Course Outcomes

Completion of this assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes.

CO 1: Apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision making in the provision of high quality nursing care, healthcare team management, and the oversight and accountability for care delivery in a variety of settings. (PO #2)

CO 4: Apply concepts of leadership and team coordination to promote the achievement of safe and quality outcomes of care for diverse populations. (PO #4)

CO 5: Apply improvement methods, based on data from the outcomes of care processes, to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of healthcare. (PO #8)

CO 8: Apply concepts of quality and safety using structure, process, and outcome measures to identify clinical questions as the beginning process of changing current practice. (PO #8)

 

This assignment consists of the completion of the My Leadership SMART Goal paper.  Submit assignment to the Dropbox by Sunday, 11:59 p.m. MT, by the end of Week 4.

Points

This assignment is worth 200 points.

Directions

Review the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) core healthcare competencies. Select ONE of the competencies that you will work on for developing a Leadership SMART Goal.  You are to select one of the following competencies for YOUR SMART goal.

Managing Patient-Centered Care            or

Working in interdisciplinary and/or interprofessional teams;

 

1. Create ONE leadership goal that is in the SMART goal format. You practiced this in the Week 3 Discussion, and received valuable feedback from your instructor and peers. Please refer to this as you work on the assignment.

S – Specific (Who besides YOU is involved in the goal, what is YOUR goal, where will it take place?)

M – Measurable (How are YOU going to achieve the goal?) Be specific with measureable outcomes.

A – Attainable (What resources and/or experts are available to assist YOU with attaining YOUR goal?)

R – Realistic (Is YOUR goal something that is realistically obtainable in YOUR professional practice?) Be specific.

T – Time bound (What specific dates or weeks will YOU accomplish each task related to your leadership goal?)

 

• Example NOT in SMART format: I will learn how to be a manager. This goal is lofty, not measurable, and unattainable in the time allotted, probably not realistic, and not time bound.
• Example in SMART Format: I will learn the disciplinary process of an employee who has excessive absences, by locating the organization’s attendance policy and meeting with the unit manager, reviewing peer-reviewed articles and credible websites to obtain information on the disciplinary process by Week 4 (or specified date).

Note: This particular example relates to Core Competency: Managing Patient-Centered Care.

This example is a SMART goal that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

 

S-Specific

• Who– Your name, or “I” Indicate others who may be involved.
• What– Learn the disciplinary process of employees who have excessive absences
• Where– Your organization

 

M-Measurable

• How: Through locating the organization’s attendance policy and passing a quiz on the content of the policy.

 

A-Attainable

• Resources and/or Expert: Meeting with the unit manager, reviewing peer-reviewed articles, and credible websites

 

 

 

R-Realistic

• Realistically obtainable: Access to the organization, policies, and unit manager. Various resources are available.

T-Time bound

• Specific dates: By Week 4 (or specific date)

2. Go to the Chamberlain library (http://library.chamberlain.edu) and search the databases (under Menu tab) to locate scholarly articles related to your SMART goal. Also, search for credible websites to gain insight into how to accomplish your goal.
3. Construct a plan of action to reach My Leadership SMART goal. Be specific by creating a timeline of when you plan on doing each action; explain how, when, and where you plan to communicate with an expert; and identify specific resources you will use to help you achieve your goal.
   1. Example Plan of Action for above mentioned example:

• Seek approval to review the organization’s policies and schedule a meeting/interview with the unit manager by _____ (fill in date).
• Review the policies on disciplinary action by _____ (fill in date).
• Review the American Nurses Association website and peer-reviewed articles in the American Journal of Nursing and Journal of Advanced Nursing by _____ (fill in date).
• Evaluate the findings from the above resources by _____ (fill in date). Pass the quiz.

 

4. Write a scholarly paper that follows APA formatting guidelines. Organize your content logically and express your thoughts clearly. Use appropriate headers to separate sections of your paper. Check for any grammar or spelling errors before submission.
5. Submit your completed NR 447 My Leadership SMART Goal paper, which should be approximately six pages (excluding title page and references) to the Week 4 My Leadership SMART Goal Paper Dropbox by Sunday, 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 4. Note: This assignment is automatically submitted to Turn It In.

 

Application of Theory Paper

Guidelines & Scoring Rubric

 

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to synthesize one strategy for the application of a specific nursing theory to resolving a problem or issue of nursing practice in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy.

 

Course Outcomes

Through this assignment, a student will demonstrate the ability to:

 

(CO#1) Analyze theories from nursing and relevant fields with respect to their components, relationships among the components, logic of the propositions, comprehensiveness, and utility to advanced nursing. (PO1)

(CO#3) Communicate the analysis of and proposed strategies for the use of a theory in nursing practice. (PO3, 7, 10)

(CO#4) Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of a theory to nursing practice. (PO4, 7)

 

 

 

Total Points Possible:  325

Requirements:

Description of the Assignment: 

Content

1. Introduction to the paper includes a few general statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice. For example, why would one pick a nursing theory to solve a practice problem? Would a grand, middle-range, or practice theory be best? Does the writer have any experience in using nursing theory this way? In addition, a brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory and information on the sections of the paper are provided. The selected nursing theory can be a grand theory, a middle-range theory, or a practice theory.
2. Description of the problem/issue for which strategies will be developed. The problem to be resolved must be in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy. Scholarly evidence (in the form of a literature review) supporting the issue is included. The problem/issue could be local to one’s specific practice setting. For example, the setting might be a nursing unit, a nursing-education program, an informatics department, or a health-policy unit of a consulting firm. The problem/issue needs to be something that a nursing theory can impact, whether it solves the actual problem/issue or enables people affected by the problem/issue to deal with it. It is best if the problem/issue is from real life – something the writer of the paper has dealt with or is currently engaged in.

Some examples (these are fictitious examples)

1. A nursing unit has experienced rapid turnover of professional staff, including several nurse managers. A new nurse manager from outside of the nursing unit is appointed.
2. Informatics nurse specialists face a lot of resistance from all healthcare professionals to implementation of a computer-based order entry program. The implementation date will not be changed.
3. A nurse educator is assigned to take over a large class of undergraduate nursing students, with a mix of young adults and adults returning for a second degree. The subject is difficult, students have not been doing well, and frustration and tempers are impeding group work.
4. A health-policy nurse specialist works for a consulting firm that lobbies on behalf of many healthcare professions. Within the specialist’s work unit, there is much debate over the pros and cons of various policies being proposed for attention in the coming year.

3. Applying concepts and principles from the selected theory, one strategy for resolving the identified issue is described in depth. Details on how the theory would be applied are included (consider: who, what, when, where, and how). Rationales for the strategy as well as evidence from scholarly literature are included. One ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed. Expected outcome(s) from implementing the strategy are proposed.
4. Concluding statements include new knowledge about applying nursing theory gained by writing the paper

Format and Special Instructions

1. Paper length: 6 pages minimum; 8 pages maximum, excluding title page and reference page. Points will be deducted for not meeting these requirements.
2. The textbook required for this course may not be used as a reference for this assignment.
3. A minimum of 3 scholarly references are used. References must be current – no older than 5 years, unless a valid rationale is provided. Consult with the course instructor about using an older source.
4. Title page, body of paper, and reference page(s) must be in APA format as presented in the 6^th edition of the manual
5. Ideas and information from readings and other sources must be cited and cited correctly.
6. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing as presented in the 6^th edition of the APA manual