Examine the role of the DNP-prepared nurse in leading financial planning and management across healthcare settings. Formulate a n

Week 7: Assignment: Reflection on Learning

Start Assignment

· Due Apr 12 by 11:59pm

 

· Points 100

 

· Submitting a file upload

Purpose

The purpose of this activity is to deepen learning through reflective inquiry. It will allow for expansion in self-awareness, identification of knowledge gaps, and assessment of learning goals.

Course Outcomes

This assessment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

· CO 1: Examine the role of the DNP-prepared nurse in leading financial planning and management across healthcare settings. (PO 2, 4, 9)

· CO 2: Formulate a needs-based organizational assessment to inform strategic leadership decision-making (POs 3, 5, 7)  

· CO 3: Develop strategies to lead project planning, implementation, management, and evaluation to promote high value healthcare. (PO 3, 5, 7)

Due Date(s)

Submit your assignment by 11:59 p.m. MT Sunday at the end of Week 7. The late assignment policy applies to this assignment.

Total points possible: 100 points

Instructions

Follow these guidelines when completing this assignment. Contact your course faculty if you have questions.

Write a brief 1-2 paragraph weekly reflection addressing the questions posed in the Reflect section of each weekly module. Edit your Reflection to include each weekly reflection.

Include the following sections in your Reflection:

· Week 1: Reflect upon your Week 1 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in 1-2 paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How will you promote collaborative, inter-professional relationships in a rapidly transforming healthcare environment?

· What do you value the most about your learning this week?

· Week 2: Reflect upon your Week 2 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in 1-2 paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How might you use this week's information to benefit your organization in the future as a DNP-prepared nurse?

· What do you value most about your learning this week?

· Week 3: Reflect upon your Week 3 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in 1-2 paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How might you use the learning this week with your own DNP Project planning?

· What do you value most about your learning this week?

· Week 4: As you reflect upon your Week 4 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in 1-2 paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How might you improve on your communication skills to be more effective as a project manager?

· What do you value most about your learning this week?

· Week 5: Reflect upon your Week 5 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in one or two paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How might the outcomes of your project influence nursing practice and/or patient care, and/or your organization?

· What do you value most about your learning this week?

· Week 6: Reflect upon your Week 6 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in one or two paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How might your knowledge about budgets and financial analysis contribute to providing cost-saving solutions to patient care while improving outcomes?

· What do you value most about your learning this week?

· Week 7: Reflect upon your Week7 learning journey in NR711 and address the following in one or two paragraphs:

· As you assess your learning, provide one specific example of how you achieved one of the weekly objectives.

· How might your knowledge about current reimbursement trends be useful for you as a DNP-prepared nurse?

· What do you value most about your learning this week?

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3

Strategic Management and Leader Innovation

Leonard Einstein

Chamberlain University

Fiscal Analysis and Project Management

Karen Kidder

02/27/2022

Strategic Management and Leader Innovation

Question One

There are several ways that a DNP-prepared nurse can be more involved in strategic management decisions. First, a DNP-prepared nurse can join the leadership teams in his/her organization. Each organization has one or more leadership teams or committees. These teams play a central role in making strategic management decisions. These decisions determine the short-term and long-term activities within an organization. However, poor or zero representation of a certain group of employees may result in poor decision-making (Kools, 2020). The inclusion of a DNP-prepared nurse in such teams is vital in ensuring the decisions made align with the experiences of nurses and can adequately help the organization attain its objectives effectively.

Second, the nurse can carry out regular employee surveys to get the feedback of his/her team members or subordinates. Such surveys are vital in learning the workers' satisfaction levels, ideas, and opinions (Makadok, 2018). The feedback from such surveys can help a DNP-prepared nurse make better decisions during the strategic management process. Since strategic management entails the proper management of the resources of an organization to attain its objectives and goals, the feedback received by a DNP-prepared nurse will ensure that the organization focuses its efforts on the appropriate issues rather than deal with obsolete ones.

Finally, a DNP-prepared nurse can take up an advocacy role. Advocacy is essential in ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders are heard and that decision-makers are aware of the issues that are important to them. A DNP-prepared nurse can be an advocate for people who are not part of the strategic management team to ensure that during the decision-making process, the management comes up with initiatives that are important to all stakeholders.

Question Two

There are various initiatives, which the DNP-prepared nurse can employ to build a culture of quality and safety. First, the DNP-prepared nurse can initiate the commitment of leadership to quality and safety. All members of the leadership team must be truly committed to the culture if the rest of the organization is to follow suit. The leadership should not only use words to promote the desired culture but should also express their desires through observable actions. Therefore, the leadership team should show a willingness to direct organizational resources towards programs aimed at improved quality and safety.

Second, the DNP-prepared nurse should empower employees to adopt a culture of quality and safety. The employees should be actively involved in coming up with strategies aimed at ensuring quality and safety are at the heart of everything they do. When employees are involved in decision-making exercises, they are more likely to be committed to ensuring the success of the venture (Murray, Sundin, & Cope, 2018). This is because they will feel valued and will be implementing decisions that they actively made. The training of the employees towards the adoption of the new culture will also be crucial in empowering them. They will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to appraise each situation they are faced with and react accordingly based on the established culture.

Finally, the DNP-prepared nurse can promote life-long organizational learning. All errors related to quality and safety will be considered learning opportunities. Hence, both organizational and human errors will allow the organization to carry out incident analysis to understand what caused the problem and how to avoid it in the future. Rather than hiding any error made, each employee will be open about his/her mistake to ensure that organization learns from it and is more vigilant in the future regarding its safety and quality practices.

References

Kools, M. (2020). Debate: The learning organization: A key construct linking strategic planning and strategic management. Public Money & Management, 40(4), 262-264.

Makadok, R. (2018). A practical guide for making theory contributions in strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6), 1530-1545.

Murray, M., Sundin, D., & Cope, V. (2018). The nexus of nursing leadership and a culture of safer patient care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(5-6), 1287-1293.

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1

Week 2 Discussion: Organizational Assessment

Leonard Einstein

Chamberlain University

Karen Kidder

02/27/2022

Week 2 Discussion: Organizational Assessment

Question 1

The process I would follow to assess the organization where I plan to conduct my project for opportunities for improvement would entail five major steps. First, there is project mobilization. A comprehensive background review of the organization is conducted. During this step, all relevant stakeholders are identified and actively engaged in the background review. Diversity is vital in the selection of the stakeholders to ensure diverse perspectives are considered when assessing the organization (Kazadi,s Lievens, & Mahr, 2017). The input of the stakeholders will facilitate the development of a work plan. Second, there is the phase 1 data collection (big picture). This is where the management team is interviewed and a selection of project team members is done to help identify pertinent areas of concern or improvement. The areas to be investigated in this context include leadership, external environment, organizational culture, mission & strategy, management practices, and organizational structure, among others. The objective of this step is to obtain preliminary findings of the key issues of concern (Adair et al., 2018).

Third, there is the phase 2 data collection (targeted). During this step, there is the collection of data on crucial issues to guide the development of solutions or alternatives. This step follows the organizational leaders’ discussion and agreement. The objective of this step is to obtain detailed findings of the key issues of concern. Fourth there is the evaluation and identification of strategic changes. The management team is actively engaged by the project team to identify strategic changes. This is where the objectives and goals of the project are identified (Adair et al., 2018). Recommendations are agreed upon and possible alternatives are identified as well. Finally, there is action planning. An action plan to address the change priorities is developed and implemented. During all these steps, constant stakeholder engagement is vital for project success.

Question 2

The practice problem identified for this paper is obesity in the United States. According to (Flegal et al., 2017), the prevalence of obesity in the US stands at 42.4%. Diseases related to obesity in the country include certain forms of cancer type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. These diseases are some of the leading causes of premature and preventable deaths in the country. Flegal et al. (2017) further note that the approximate yearly medical cost of obesity in the country is $150 billion. People with obesity have significantly higher medical costs compared to those with healthy weights. Obesity is a serious problem not only because of its physical health and financial concerns, but because the condition is associated with low-quality life and poor mental health outcomes. Therefore, it is a serious practice problem.

In this context, the following are the ultimate goals for the DNP project:

a) Develop and implement evidence-based changes that positively affect healthcare outcomes via indirect or direct care.

b) Have a population/aggregate focus.

c) Have a sustainability plan for the developed changes.

d) Implement evaluation of outcomes in addition to a feedback mechanism.

These goals relate to the organization’s mission and vision. The organization’s vision is to positively transform healthcare, create hope for humanity, and advance medical education. The mission is to enhance public health by setting and achieving high excellence standards in clinical care, research, and education. The goals of the project will actively help advance the organization’s mission and vision. By coming up with evidence-based strategies to deal with the obesity practice problem and creating a sustainability plan for the same, it will be feasible to advance high standards in clinical care, research, and education.

References

Adair, K. C., Quow, K., Frankel, A., Mosca, P. J., Profit, J., Hadley, A., … & Bryan Sexton, J. (2018). The Improvement Readiness scale of the SCORE survey: A metric to assess capacity for quality improvement in healthcare. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1-10.

Flegal, K. M., Kruszon-Moran, D., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Ogden, C. L. (2017). Trends in obesity among adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014. Jama, 315(21), 2284-2291.

Kazadi, K., Lievens, A., & Mahr, D. (2017). Stakeholder co-creation during the innovation process: Identifying capabilities for knowledge creation among multiple stakeholders. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 525-540.

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4

Week 3 Discussion: Introduction to Project Management

Leonard Einstein

Chamberlain University

Karen Kidder

03/13/2022

Week 3 Discussion: Introduction to Project Management

Question 1

Scope is the backbone of any project. Whenever a person manages a project, they neither want to aim too small nor too big. Rather, they prefer that the size of their project is the ideal size: small enough to be an attainable goal and large enough to meet all deliverables of a project. These elements are defined by the project scope. Moustafaev (2018) defines project scope as “a way to set boundaries on a project and define the project deliverables deadlines, and goals that one will be working towards.” The scope is the backbone of a project since it allows one to attain objectives and goals without overwork or delay. Defining the scope ideally occurs during the initial phase of project planning. It often entails coming up with a list of all that is required to establish the project’s framework. The list may include things like deliverables, goals, tasks, functions, features, costs, and deadlines.

Scope must be accurately assessed by the project manager. Moustafaev (2018) states that when a project manager accurately assesses the scope of a project, he/she will effectively map out all elements of the project and adequately allocate the necessary resources and labor required to complete the project. The assessment of the scope is covered through three phases. First, there is planning where the project manager defines and captures the work that ought to be carried out. Second, there is controlling where the project manager deals with issues like documenting, scope creep, and the tracking and approving/disapproving of changes. Finally, there is the closing where a project manager audits the deliverables of a project and evaluates the original plan’s outcomes. The accurate assessment of the scope ensures all stakeholders know exactly what is required of them to attain the final deliverables.

Question 2

Issues that occur during a project are frequently related to the scope. In any project, stakeholders often have their individual expectations of what the project ought to achieve. Engaging all these stakeholders will help in collaboratively coming up with specific deliverables while managing their expectations (Ahmad, Rehman, & Ilyas, 2019). A project always has certain risks, which must be identified early in order to minimize their occurrence and come up with mitigating actions in case they are realized. A project will also require extensive budgeting to ensure that the planning of resources is done as required. The hiring of the right personnel to carry out the project is another vital factor that contributes to project success. All these issues are tied to the scope of the project, the proper definition of the project scope will allow the project manager to plan for all these issues effectively.

Consequently, poorly defined scope statements are often linked to project problems or even failed projects. For starters, a poorly defined scope statement will result in the project requirements constantly changing. Due to an unclear scope, the stakeholders may be regularly adding their inputs into the design and deliverables of the project. The requirements of the project will be constantly revaluated mid-project. This will result in the ineffective implementation of the project (Collins, Parrish, & Gibson Jr., 2017). A poorly defined scope statement will also result in the project manager being unable to budget appropriately. Due to the addition of new project deliverables, additional funds may have to be sourced in order to complete the project. Also, there may be a need to hire more personnel to suit the new dynamics of the project. Finally, a poorly defined scope statement may result in outcomes that are contrary to client expectations. A good scope statement will ensure that all stakeholders know the exact goals of a project and the subsequent deliverables that are expected.

References

Ahmad, R., Rehman, C. A., & Ilyas, M. (2019). Linking the project scope with project success: The moderating role of managerial expertise in IT. Research, 20(4), 815-824.

Collins, W., Parrish, K., & Gibson Jr., G. E. (2017). Development of a project scope definition and assessment tool for small industrial construction projects. Journal of Management in Engineering, 33(4), 04017015.

Moustafaev, J. (2018). Project scope management. CRC Press.

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Project Manager and Responsibility

Leonard Einstein

Chamberlain University

Fiscal Analysis and Project Management NR 711

Karen Kidder

03/21/2022

Importance of Identifying Stakeholders and project team before undertaking a project

Stakeholders should be identified early in the project to participate fully. Adding ideas from a variety of participants is possible through successful participation. Involving stakeholders in the planning and implementation phase will help the project team gain the support and procurement of participants (Hawrysz & Maj, 2017). This will also help the project team bring the stakeholders together at a table where problems can be disseminated, managed, and jointly resolved. In addition to improving the chances of project success, this strategy will help build project team credibility and strengthen team position.

Organizational Cultural Barriers

In today's health care business, one of the significant concerns of Emergency Departments (ED) is the proliferation of unnecessary visits. Poor treatment, poor patient outcomes, and ineffective discharge procedures are common causes of these repeated visits. They may also cause problems in the ED, such as overdose or congestion. Outcomes and patient happiness may be enhanced using a new tool, which is why a DNP Project proposes to address these concerns. This project aims to improve evacuation procedures to reduce the number of patients returning to ED. The significant effects of COVID-19 on the facility were not taken into account when setting project objectives and expectations and its time, budget, and ED staff responsibilities. Implementation was expected to continue well, until when all ED staff were expected to perform their duties at all levels of career growth. However, there have been obstacles in the development of project, as the ED specialists who were intended to be the most important in its implementation were busy providing emergency care to COVID-19 patients. In a similar vein that has slowed down the plans for many other hospitals to launch new programs , the DNP Project has also been hit hard by a lack of funding, human resources, and poor working conditions.

Implementation plan and Milestone

There is no single, internationally accepted strategy for implementing evidence-based nursing work in policies and procedures and daily nurses' knowledge. Practical strategies have been applied to health organizations through experienced counselors on evidence-based practice. There have been interventions of model change, in-services, email, and other staff training methods (Mathieson, Grande & Luker, 2019). I plan to deliver printed material with important information and implementation phase guidelines to ensure that ED staff have the correct information and indicators. According to the Centre of Disease Control (CDC) recommendations, these printed materials will include the COVID-19 response mechanisms. As a result, ED staff will guide patients through a complete discharge process and ensure they are happy with the discharge process and follow-up procedures (Mathieson, Grande & Luker, 2019). Even though the number of patients in ED is lower than planned, this will lead to better patient outcomes and quality of treatment, significantly reducing the chances of unnecessary ED return.

References

Hawrysz & Maj (2019). Identification of stakeholders of public interest organizations. Sustainability, 9(9), 1609.

Mathieson, Grande & Luker, (2019). Strategies, facilitators, and barriers to implementing evidence-based practice in community nursing: a systematic mixed studies review and qualitative synthesis. Primary health care research & development, 20.

O'Reilly, Mitchell, Noonan, Hiller, Mitra, Brichko & Cameron, P. A. (2020). Information emergency care for COVID‐19 patients: the COVID‐19 Emergency Department Quality Improvement Project protocol. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 32(3), 513.

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Week 5 Discussion: Project Evaluation

Leonard Einstein

Chamberlain University

Course Name and Number

Karen Kidder

03/28/2022

Week 5 Discussion: Project Evaluation

A DNP project is a significant deliverable of the DNP program. This project allows a student to implement an evidence-based practice change in a healthcare setting. Also, the project facilitates a student in demonstrating his/her ability to practice and lead at the highest clinical nursing practice level. Therefore, to ensure that my project is successful, I have to identify key metrics that will reveal whether I have met my goals, objectives, and project deliverables. In this context, I will measure the success of my DNP project by evaluating the following items.

First, I will evaluate whether the project has adhered to the scope that was defined at the beginning of the project. The scope refers to the key boundaries of the project including things like project goals, objectives, deliverables, and activities, among others (Moran, Burson, & Conrad, 2019). By evaluating the level to which the project has stayed within the boundaries defined in the scope, I will get a good measure of whether the project is a success or not. Second, there is the schedule baseline. The success of the DNP project will be evaluated based on how well I adhere to the original project schedule. This is something that I will be assessing on a weekly basis through the use of a Gantt chart. This tool will enable me to visualize the timeline of the project in order to check if the major milestones are being completed on the dates that I had originally planned for them. In case the project is falling behind, I will be able to re-strategize to ensure that I take measures to put the DNP project back on the original schedule.

Third, there is the factor of budget compliance. A good metric to consider when evaluating the success of the DNP project is how well the project is staying either under or within the budget (Milner et al., 2019). Prior to the beginning of the project, I will have allocated specific funds and resources that should last the project until the end. Considering that this is an academic project, the resources and funds available will be limited. Getting additional resources and funds will not be feasible after the original budget has been approved. Therefore, the success of the project will heavily rely on my ability to stick to the budget. Hence, this will be a good metric for evaluating the success of the DNP project.

Fourth, there is stakeholder satisfaction. As aforementioned, the DNP project allows a student to implement an evidence-based practice change in a healthcare setting. Also, the project facilitates a student in demonstrating his/her ability to practice and lead at the highest clinical nursing practice level. Therefore, the relevant stakeholders who will be impacted by these objectives will have to relay their feedback to me so that I know the extent to which they perceive my project deliverables as vital to them. The more satisfied they are, the higher the success level of the DNP project. Finally, there is the element of quality. According to Roush and Tesoro (2018), in any project, “the point is not to only deliver the intended work but to also exceed expectations.” In this regard, I will track the quality of my DNP project and make the relevant adjustments if required. I will evaluate the project to not only see if it achieve its target but to also check how smooth the delivery was and how well I dealt with setbacks during the implementation stage. The feedback from the relevant stakeholders will be vital in this regard when assessing the quality of the DNP project.

In conclusion, this paper has identified five main items that I will assess when evaluating the success of my DNP project. They are the scope, schedule baseline, budget compliance, stakeholder satisfaction, and quality. Although this is not an exhaustive list of the metrics that one can use to measure the success of a DNP project, they will cover the major elements of my project and enable me to know how well I performed in my project. The DNP project is an essential deliverable of my doctoral program. Therefore, these five metrics will help me to deliver a high-quality project before I can graduate.

References

Milner, K., Zonsius, M., Alexander, C., & Zellefrow, C. (2019). Doctor of Nursing Practice project advisement: A roadmap for faculty and student success. Journal of Nursing Education, 58(12), 728-732.

Moran, K. J., Burson, R., & Conrad, D. (2019). The Doctor of Nursing Practice project: A Framework for Success. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Roush, K., & Tesoro, M. (2018). An examination of the rigor and value of final scholarly projects completed by DNP nursing students. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(6), 437-443.

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Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Financing

Leonard Einstein

Chamberlain University

Fiscal Analysis and Project Management NR 711

Karen Kidder

04/04/2022

Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Financing

In the US, obesity is a serious, common, and costly disease with a prevalence of 42.4% (CDC, 2021). Obesity is linked to certain diseases that are among the leading causes of premature and preventable death, for example, stroke, certain forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. The annual medical cost of obesity in the country is over $150 billion (CDC, 2021). Hence, it is crucial that healthcare practitioners in the primary care setting take measures to deal with the problem effectively. Evans et al. (2018) assert that “patients with obesity in primary care should receive opportunistic weight loss advice from health care professionals” (p.1). In this regard, my practice change project focuses on obesity in my patients in the primary care setting. This paper presents an estimate of the budget for my practice change project. The objective is to explore the DNP-prepared nurse’s role in meeting the organization’s mission through effective planning, budgeting, and determining the allocation of resources.

Resources

a) The number of staff and their roles: Ten staff members will be required – Four nurses, two bariatricians, two dietitians, and two behavioral counselors. The nurses will ensure the patients receive proper care during treatment. They will identify any patient needs, assess and record their vital signs, and monitor their medical plans and treatments. The bariatricians will comprehensively assess and diagnose the patients. They will also formulate the treatment and care plans. The dietitians will counsel the patients on healthy eating habits and nutrition issues. The behavioral counselors will utilize various therapy techniques to help patients change their lifestyle habits responsible for their obesity.

b) Education time for staff (how many and how long): There will be a single two-week educational period to help all the staff members understand the vision, mission, and goals of the project. Also, each member’s role will be specified and the collaboration protocols between them outlined.

c) Office and/or medical supplies: All the relevant material required to facilitate screening, diagnosis, treatment, and keeping patient records will be purchased.

d) Marketing materials: There will be a marketing campaign to promote the obesity practice change project in the institution. The marketing avenues will include social media platforms, flyers/posters, and e-mail marketing.

e) Statistician consult: A statistician consult will be hired to carry out research on the feasibility of the project and its long-term sustainability.

f) Meeting rooms: The project will utilize the meeting rooms in the organization.

Expenses

Item	Expense
Nurses	4 nurses x 5 hours x $50 = $1,000
Bariatricians	2 bariatricians x 5 hours x $80 = $800
Dietitians	2 dietitians x 5 hours x $50 = $500
Behavioral Counselors	2 counselors x 5 hours x $60 = $600
Education	$100 x 10 business days = $1,000
Office/Medical Supplies	$100,000
Marketing	$5,000
Statistician Consult	10 hours x $50 = $500
Meeting Rooms	Free

Revenue Sources

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