NUR 6053 Full Course Work Walden

NUR 6053 Full Course Work Walden

Week 1 Discussion

To prepare:

• Review the information related to planning and decision making in health care organizations presented in the textbook, Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application.Consider how planning and decision making relate to an organization’s mission, vision, and values, as well as its culture and its climate.

• Familiarize yourself with the mission, vision, and values of your organization or one with which you are familiar. Consider how the statements and actions of leaders and others within the organization support or demonstrate the organizational mission, vision, and values. In addition, note any apparent discrepancies between word and deed. Think about how this translates into expectations for direct service providers. Note any data or artifacts that seem to indicate whether behaviors within the organization are congruent with its mission, vision, and values.

• Begin to examine and reflect on the culture and climate of the organization. How do culture and climate differ?

• Why is it important for you, as a master’s-prepared nurse leader, to be cognizant of these matters?

By Day 3

Posta description of your selected organization’s mission, vision, and values. Describe relevant data, or artifacts, words, and actions of leaders and others in the organization that support, or perhaps appear to contradict the organization’s mission, vision, and values statement. In addition, discuss the organization’s culture and its climate, differentiating between the two. Explain why examining these matters is significant to your role as a nurse leader.

Week 2 Discussion

To prepare:

• Review the information presented in this week’s Learning Resources on systems theory and the difference between open and closed systems.

• Reflect on the practices and processes with which you are familiar in your organization. Identify one problematic issue or process that could be improved.

• Consider the problem from a closed-system perspective. Then think about how the issue or process you selected could be addressed by viewing it from an open-system perspective. How would the transition from a closed- to an open-system view help you and others to address the problem and improve outcomes?

By Day 3

Posta description of the problem that you identified in your selected organization. Explain the problem from a closed-system perspective. Then, describe how the problem could be addressed by viewing it from an open-system perspective, and explain how this modification would help you and others improve health care outcomes. NUR 6053 Full Course Work Walden

Week 3 Discussion

To prepare:

• Review the information presented in Chapter 12 of the course text. Focus on the information about formal versus informal structure as well as the types of organizational structures.

• Consider the overall structure or hierarchy of your organization or one with which you are familiar. Which organizational structure best describes your organization—line (or bureaucratic), ad hoc, matrix, service line, or flat? Note: It is possible to have a combination of structures in one organization. Is decision making centralized or decentralized in this organization

• What is the role of committees, task forces, and councils in the organization, and who is invited to join? Consider how this relates to formal and informal leadership.

• Reflect on how decisions are made within a specific department or unit. Which stakeholders provide input or influence the decision-making process? Assess this in terms of formal and informal leadership.

To support your analysis, consider your own experiences and investigate these matters by speaking with others at the organization and reviewing available documents. Be sure to consider how the concepts of formal and informal structure and leadership relate to one another and are demonstrated in the organization and in the particular department or unit.

By Day 3

Posta depiction of your organization’s formal structure, indicating whether it is best described as line, ad hoc, matrix, service line, flat, or a combination. Describe how decisions are made within the organization and within one department or unit in particular, noting relevant attributes of centralized/decentralized decision making. Explain the influence of formal and informal leadership on decision making within this department or unit.

NUR 6053 Full Course Work Walden

Week 4 Discussion

Post a summary of a specific change within an organization and describe the impact of this change on your role and responsibilities. Explain the rationale for the change, and whether or not the intended outcomes have been met. Assess the management of the change, and propose suggestions for how the process could have been improved.

Week 5

To prepare:

• Review the information in this week’s Learning Resources regarding the stages of group formation, problematic roles individuals play in groups, and strategies for facilitating and maintaining positive group collaboration. In particular, review Learning Exercise 19.12 on page 464 of the course text.

• Reflect on various groups with which you have been or are currently involved. Select one specific group to analyze for the purposes of this Discussion. Identify the purpose or task that the group is or was meant to perform.

• Consider the four stages of group formation (forming, storming, norming, and performing). How would you describe the progression between stages? Is there a stage in which you believe your group is or was “stuck”?

• Consider the task or group-building role you normally play in a group setting. How could you apply the information from the Learning Resources to improve your group participation and facilitation, as well as the functioning of the group as a whole?

• In addition, think about which individuals within your group (including yourself) may fall into problematic roles such as the Dominator, the Aggressor, or the Blocker. How have you and your group members addressed the enactment of these roles and its impact on interactions? With information from the Learning Resources in mind, what strategies would you apply now or going forward?

By Day 3

Posta description of a group with which you have been or are currently involved. Assess where the group is in terms of the four stages of group formation. If you are reflecting on a past experience, explain if your group moved through all four stages. Describe the task or group-building role you typically play, or played, in this group. Then, explain what strategies you, as a leader, can apply to better facilitate the group process and address any problematic individual roles in the group.

Week 7 Discussion

To prepare:

• Review the information in Chapter 19 of the course text, as well as the assigned articles.

• Reflect on an incident involving ineffective communication within your organization or another health care setting. Consider this incident through the lens of the communication process outlined in Figure 19.1 of the course text (p. 439).

• What barriers contributed to this incident? What other challenges may have influenced this situation?

• Using the information presented in the other Learning Resources, consider what could have been done to prevent or address the ineffective communication. Why do you think the use of these strategies would have resulted in better outcome(s)?

By Day 3

Posta summary of an incident involving ineffective communication. Describe communication barriers and other challenges that contributed to the incident. Propose one or more strategies that could have been employed to promote a better outcome. Be sure to refer to elements of the communication process.

Week 8 Discussion

Post an analysis of how management and leadership roles differ in terms of supporting an organization to set and achieve goals. In addition, post descriptions of an individual who demonstrates leadership behaviors but not management behaviors and an individual who demonstrates management behaviors but not leadership behaviors. Provide your rationale, identifying specific characteristics of effective managers and leaders. (Note: Do not identify these individuals by name, position, or location.) 22:55

Week 9 Discussion

To Prepare:

• Review the information in the Learning Resources, including the leadership styles identified in Chapter 2 of the course text.

• Bring to mind a leader in your organization or one with which you are familiar. Would you describe his or her style as authoritative, democratic, or laissez-faire? Why?

• Which characteristics or approaches demonstrated by this person would you integrate into your own leadership style? Which ones would you prefer not to integrate?

• Think about how this leader’s style and resulting interactions may impact health care quality and patient outcomes.

By Day 3

Posta description of a leader, distinguishing his or her style as authoritative, democratic, or laissez-faire. Describe the characteristics that inform your perception, and explain which ones you would integrate into your own leadership style, as well as which ones you would prefer not to integrate. Explain at least one potential effect of this leadership style on health care quality and patient outcomes.

Week 11 Discussion

Post a description of how you handled or avoided a conflict, as well as the results of your approach. Explain how would you respond to this conflict today and/or what steps you would take to improve your comfort level and skill for managing conflict in the future (including specific conflict management strategies you would use). Explain how conflict management relates to your effectiveness as a leader.

NUR 6053 Full Course Work Walden

Assignment 2

Write a 3- to 5-page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:

• Describe a department or unit within a health care organization using systems theory terminology. Include a description of inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback.

• Describe the problem you identified within the department or unit using an open- systems approach, and state where the problem exists using the systems theory model (input, throughput, output, cycles of events, or negative feedback).

Based on this information, explain how you would address the problem as follows:

• Formulate a desired outcome.
• Identify goals and objectives that would facilitate that outcome.
• Translate those goals and objectives into policies and procedures for the department or unit.
• Describe relevant professional standards.
• Explain how your proposed resolution to the problem would uphold the organization’s mission and values and improve the culture and climate.

Assignment 4

Write a 3- to 5-page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:

• Identify a problem, inefficiency, or issue within a specific department/unit.
• Describe a specific, realistic change that could be made to address the issue.
• Summarize how the change would align with the organization’s mission, vision, and values as well as relevant professional standards.
• Identify a change model or strategy to guide your planning for implementing the change. Provide a rationale for your selection.
• Outline the steps that you and/or others would follow to facilitate the change. Align these steps to your selected change model or strategy.
• Explain who would be involved in initiating and managing this change. Describe the skills and characteristics that would be necessary to facilitate the change effort.

Week 7 Assignment

When your group has selected a topic, the group facilitator will submit the topic to the Instructor for approval on the Discussion Board in the Week 5 Group Project Topic Forum.
Conduct research on your topic using the Walden Library and other credible sources.

To complete:

By Day 7 of Week 7

As a group, write a 3- to 5 (page count does not include title and reference page) page paper that includes the following:

Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Significance of the topic (based on literature that speaks to the relevancy of the concept selected in terms of interprofessional leadership)
Section 3: Review of the literature related to the concept that the group selects (current best practices, positive or negative impact on leadership or health care organizations, etc.)
Section 4: Application to nursing (e.g., implications or consequences for nursing leaders)
Section 5: Conclusion

Week 10 Assignment

Write a 4 to 5 page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:

• Introduce the conceptual frameworks of the ethical constructs of ethics, moral, or legal standards and the purpose of the paper.

• Consider an ethical, moral, or legal dilemma that you have encountered in your work environment and describe it.

• Analyze the moral, ethical, and legal implications utilized in this situation. Describe your role as a moral agent or advocate for this specific issue.

• Consider your leadership styles identified by your self-assessment and determine if they act as a barrier or facilitation during this dilemma. NUR 6053 Full Course Work Walden