Fitchburg State University

Department of NursingLeadership and Management Final Paper

Part I due Week XII by midnight on day of classGuidelines/Grading Rubric

Provide a one to two paragraph introduction which identifies the problem, and how it impacts nursing, nursing care, patient outcomes or your role as a nursing student. Include some background information about the topic: Is this a new problem/concern? Is it an ongoing QI project? Is it a concern you identified? Was identified by your preceptor? This will inform the reader of the problem, and then you will provide more background information to “set the stage” for the problem.

Briefly (one paragraph) and anonymously describe the practicum agency. Include whether it is an acute care setting, long term care, community hospital, magnet hospital or teaching hospital. Provide a description of the care area (e.g. PACU), number of beds (e.g. 10), staff composition (e.g. one nurse manager, one nurse educator, 10 RNs, 3 LPNs, 10 UAPs etc.), staff distribution by shifts (e.g. shift lengths and number of nurses per shift), and when possible indicate the staff’s educational level.

Describe your role in the practicum setting. Do not provide a list of the technical skills you perform, rather, identify how you function in this nursing student role. Perhaps identify how you and you nurse receive report, identify which patients you care for, and how you go about planning and implementing this care. Since there are diverse practicum settings, this will be a good opportunity to reflect upon your accomplishments in this expanded student nurse role.

Briefly analyze and describe the power structure (formal & informal) and leadership and/or management style(s) within your placement agency. Review the chapters in your leadership textbook, and use this book as a reference to support your analysis. The textbook will be listed on the reference list, as well as in text citations.Writing Guidelines:Begin this section of the paper with a title page (APA style). This section of the paper should be 2-3 pages in length, not counting title page and Reference page.

Each section (numbers 1-4) is worth 5 points and is graded on completeness. This is a total of 20 points.

Grammar, sentence structure, and writing style are graded within APA writing style and are worth 10 points.

This Assignment: Part I is worth 30 points (of a 100 point final exam).

Late submissions lose 5 point per day (of the maximum 30 points).