Question descriptionOutline for Strategic Plan for Change Paper
Write a structured outline of your paper including the references you plan for each section.
1.Introduction and Statement of the Problem
1.1.What is the problem?
1.2.Why is it important enough to warrant a change?
1.2.1.Scholarly Reference #1
1.2.2.Scholarly Reference #2
1.2.3.Scholarly Reference #3
*References in this section support the importance (2-3 is adequate to establish that the problem is significant). These may be peer reviewed journal articles and may or may not, be original research.
2.Review of Literature
2.1.Research Reference #1
2.2.Research Reference #2
2.3.Research Reference #3
2.4.Research Reference #4
2.5.Research Reference #5
The review of literature section requires at least five current scholarly peer reviewed articles. Research articles are required for this section! Include a short synopsis of the studies, the population studied, and indicate if the research is Qualitative or Quantitative. The purpose of a literature review is to identify strategies for change to address the problem. This is not a place for articles establishing the problem (that is in the introduction/background). Example of Research Reference:
MacKusick, C. I., & Minick, P. (2010). Why are nurses leaving? Findings from an initial qualitative study on nursing attrition. Medsurg Nursing, 19(6), 335-340.
Mackusick and Minick (2010) conducted an interpretive, qualitative study to identify reasons influencing the decisions of RNs to leave clinical practice.
3.Synthesis of the Evidence
3.1.Provide a clear, concise, summary of potential actions derived from your evidence review.
3.2.Compare and contrast recommendations to improve on the problem.
3.3.Determine the best action for your organization and make a succinct statement of your recommended plan.
4.Suggested Courses of Action
4.1.Restate the action you want to occur
4.2.Outline how you will implement the change
4.3.Use and identify a Change theory or Leadership strategy to guide the change process.
4.4.Who, what, when, and where?
5.Summary or Conclusion
5.1.Summarize the main ideas and arguments, pulling everything together to help clarify the thesis of the paper.
then
write a 5-6 page paper that includes the following sections. Guidelines are provided for how long sections should be—they are only guidelines; please do not fret over length of sections. Examples provided in Italics do not mean that you must state it exactly the way I suggest. I simply hope to provide you an example.
Statement of the Problem- this it is actually your first paragraph and the title of the paper is used —remember it is not bolded and title case used.
Improving Patient Safety: The Effect of Professional Nurse Certification
This section should be ½ page long. Introduce your problem. As an example problem, you determine that not enough staff nurses at your organization have professional certification. In the introduction paragraph, you will state the background of your problem and explain why it is important. In other words, for this problem you would need to explain why nurses should have professional certification. You may also describe why it is important to the organization. Perhaps the research shows that nurses who have professional certification have better patient outcomes. In addition, perhaps it is important to achieve magnet status. This section should include some references that support the problem as being important. These references do not count as your minimum number for your literature review (see review of literature section below). Patient safety is a high priority for healthcare. Research has shown that organizations with higher numbers of nurses with professional certification have increased patient safety indicators (citation here). You would expand here which your assertions that it is an important problem. End your paragraph with a thesis or purpose statement. The purpose of this paper is to examine the problem of an insufficient number of nurses who hold professional certification within the ABC organization and to
plan a recommendation for change to address the problem.
Review of Literature
In the actual literature review section, I want to see some scholarly support on
how other organizations successfully addressed the problem. My caveat is that we
always start with a problem and go to the literature for evidence on the best way to
solve the problem. Many students begin with what they think will be the solution.
Although, when you read in the literature about your problem, you may find evidence
that supports what you think needs to be done, do not as soon the answer before you
complete your literature review. Remember in a literature review you are simply
reporting the evidence you find (think of it as it is just the facts). Some articles many in
support a different tactic than the one you want to recommend. It is good to weigh the
evidence both for and against any intervention. The review of literature section requires
at least five current scholarly peer reviewed articles. Reports of research are a stronger
base for your argument than an opinion article. If you find research studies that
determines what works to overcome your stated problem— that is the best type
reference to use in this section. I suggest that this section is 2-3 pages in length.
Synthesis of the Evidence
In this section, you will assimilate and synthesize the findings from your literature
review. You should not introduce additional references in this section. You are taking
all that you have read and putting into your own words, giving credit to the authors for
their ideas, the recommendations. Opposing opinions are a good choice. It
demonstrates you considered several possibilities. This section should be a clear,
concise, summary of what you learned in your evidence review and a succinct
statement of your plan. Based upon the literature review and synthesis of evidence, I
recommend that the organization offer financial reimbursement for nurses obtaining or
maintaining their professional certifications. This section should be approximately ½
page.
Suggested Courses of Action
In this section, you will use the leadership skills we learn this term to plan a
change based on EBP. Strategic planning, using tools such as SWOT, Balanced
Scorecard, or Six Sigma will help you determine a clear plan of action. You will consider
change theories and leadership skills to define how you would recommend
implementing this change in your organization. Apply the theory you choose, do not just
name a theory, or describe it in global terms—tell me how you will apply it had the page
to page student. This should be detailed and specific to your unique situation.
Consider your organizational mission and vision statements and be sure to align your
recommendation for change to them. Consider barriers to change and plan for them. If
your recommendation creates a financial burden, include an argument for funding this
suggestion. This section should be 1 to 2 pages long.
Summary or Conclusion (1/2 page)
A conclusion provides closure for the reader while reminding the reader of the
contents and importance of the paper. It accomplishes this by stepping back from the
specifics in order to view the bigger picture of the document. In other words, it is
reminding the reader of the main argument. For most course papers, it is usually one
simple, succinct paragraph that restates the main ideas and arguments, pulling
everything together to help clarify the thesis of the paper. A conclusion does not
introduce new ideas and rarely needs any references; instead, it should clarify the
intent and importance of the paper. It can also suggest possible future research on the
topic.
An Easy Checklist for Writing a Conclusion
1. Is the thesis of the paper accurately restated here (but not repeated verbatim)?
It is important to remind the reader of the thesis of the paper so he is reminded of
the argument and solutions you proposed.
2. Are the main points of the paper addressed and pulled together?
Think of the main points as puzzle pieces, and the conclusion is where they all fit
together to create a bigger picture. The reader should walk away with the bigger picture
in mind.
3. Do you remind the reader of the importance of the topic?
Make sure that the paper places its findings in the context of real social change.
4. Is there a sense of closure?