| Course | HCM-5020 Healthcare Administrator Leadership |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: team development and analysis |
| Length | About 1,058 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Science in Healthcare Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HCM 5020 Module 6
Who Can Do What at Two in the Morning: A Knowledge and Skills Analysis of a Hospital CT Team
Student Name
Master of Science in Healthcare Management, Thomas Edison State University
HCM-5020: Healthcare Administrator Leadership
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Who Can Do What at Two in the Morning: A Knowledge and Skills Analysis of a Hospital CT Team
A team's performance depends on what its members know, what they can do and how they work together. In the imaging department I lead, part of a made-up community hospital near the Jersey Shore, the CT team of 14 technologists covers the scanner 24 hours a day, including scans for suspected stroke, trauma and pulmonary embolism. Daytime performance is good. At night, when one or two technologists work alone, the time from a stroke alert to completed images is longer, and two recent stroke scans had to be repeated because the perfusion study was set up incorrectly. This paper analyzes the team's knowledge and skill levels, explains how members' characteristics contribute to its performance, and sets out a development plan.
Knowledge, Skill and Why the Difference Matters
Knowledge is what a person understands: anatomy, contrast safety, the principles of radiation dose, the purpose of each step in a stroke protocol. Skill is what a person can do reliably, under time pressure, with a real patient: placing a large intravenous line in a frail arm, timing a contrast bolus for a perfusion study, repositioning a combative trauma patient without losing the scan. The two often diverge. A recent graduate may know dose principles better than a 20-year veteran yet lack the speed to run a stroke protocol alone at night. A veteran may perform flawlessly on familiar scans yet be uncertain about a newer low-dose protocol introduced last year.
Distinguishing them matters because the remedies differ. Gaps in knowledge can be closed through reading, teaching sessions and online modules. Gaps in skill require supervised practice, repetition and feedback, often on the job. A development plan that treats every gap as a knowledge problem wastes time on lectures that do not change performance at the scanner.
The Team's Current Profile
The lead CT technologist and I reviewed each technologist's competency records, scan repeat logs and stroke timing data for the past year and asked each person to rate their own confidence on key tasks. The team falls into three groups.
| Group | Members | Knowledge | Skill under pressure | Main gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experienced | 5 technologists, 10+ years in CT | Strong on anatomy and routine protocols; uneven on the 2025 low-dose and perfusion updates | High; fast with trauma and difficult IV access | Updated protocol knowledge |
| Established | 5 technologists, 3 to 9 years | Solid | Good on routine and trauma scans; perfusion setup inconsistent | Perfusion skill when working alone |
| Newer | 4 technologists, under 3 years | Current from training | Limited speed on stroke and trauma; rarely work nights alone | Supervised repetition of time-critical scans |
How Members' Characteristics Shape Team Performance
Team researchers stress that performance depends on more than the sum of individual abilities. Mathieu et al. (2008), reviewing a decade of team research, described how inputs such as members' characteristics and team composition influence performance through team processes and emergent states, such as coordination, shared understanding and trust. Salas et al. (2008) summarized evidence that effective teams share an accurate picture of the task and each other's roles, monitor one another's work, adapt when conditions change and communicate in ways that prevent errors.
For the CT team, composition at night is the critical input. When an experienced and a newer technologist work together, the pair can cover each other's gaps: the veteran handles a difficult line while the newer technologist sets up the updated perfusion protocol. When two established technologists work together, both are uncertain on perfusion. When one technologist works alone after 1:00 a.m., there is no one to monitor or back up. Characteristics beyond skill matter too. Two experienced technologists are informal mentors whom others seek out; one is reluctant to ask for help with the new protocols; several newer staff are comfortable with the scanner software but hesitant to speak up to emergency physicians about timing.
Team behaviors can be trained and improve clinical performance. Schmutz and Manser (2013) reviewed 28 studies linking team processes to clinical performance and found that every study reported at least one significant relationship, with mostly medium or large effects, and that training in team behaviors improved performance.
Development Plan
The plan targets each gap with the right kind of development. For the experienced group's knowledge gap, the radiology group's lead neuroradiologist will run two short sessions on the updated low-dose and perfusion protocols, followed by a written check. For the established group's skill gap, each technologist will complete five supervised perfusion setups with a lead technologist, then a sign-off. For the newer group, the plan pairs each with an experienced technologist on four night shifts a month for six months, with a checklist of time-critical scans they must perform while observed.
The plan also changes team structure. Night schedules will be built so that every shift pairs at least one experienced or signed-off technologist with any newer colleague, and the overnight single-coverage window will be covered by a call-in technologist for stroke alerts until all established staff are signed off on perfusion. Monthly stroke simulations in the CT suite, including an emergency nurse and the radiology resident, will rehearse communication and backup. Finally, the reluctant veteran will be invited to co-lead the protocol sessions, which turns a gap into a strength.
Development also has to fit the schedule. Supervised perfusion setups will be booked on weekday evenings, when volume is moderate and a lead technologist is present, rather than squeezed into busy daytime hours. Time spent in protocol sessions will be paid, and sign-offs will be recorded in the competency system so that schedulers can see at a glance who may work alone overnight.
Measures
Progress will be measured by the median time from stroke alert to completed images on nights, the number of repeated perfusion studies, the share of technologists signed off on each competency, and the team's ratings on a short teamwork survey at baseline and six months.
Conclusion
Separating what CT technologists know from what they can do under pressure shows that the team's night weakness comes mainly from skill gaps and from how shifts are composed, not from a lack of knowledge. Development matched to each kind of gap, schedules that pair complementary members and regular team rehearsal give the team the best chance of performing at night as well as it does by day.
References
Mathieu, J., Maynard, M. T., Rapp, T., & Gilson, L. (2008). Team effectiveness 1997-2007: A review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future. Journal of Management, 34(3), 410-476. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308316061
Salas, E., Cooke, N. J., & Rosen, M. A. (2008). On teams, teamwork, and team performance: Discoveries and developments. Human Factors, 50(3), 540-547. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872008X288457
Schmutz, J., & Manser, T. (2013). Do team processes really have an effect on clinical performance? A systematic literature review. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 110(4), 529-544. https://doi.org/10.1093/bja/aes513
HCM 5020 Module 6 instructions, in plain terms
Module 6 of HCM-5020, Team Development and Analysis, covers the fifth and sixth objectives: differentiating knowledge and skill levels to see how team members' characteristics contribute to success, and critiquing skill sets, knowledge and strengths to improve the organization. Prompts here generally want a real team examined member by member: what people know, what they can do, how their traits affect the group, where the gaps lie and how you would close them. Use scholarly research on teams beyond the module readings, as the syllabus requires for every written assignment. Protect privacy by describing people by role or group rather than name, and include a title page and references in APA format. Name the measures you will use to judge whether development worked.
How the HCM 5020 Module 6 example is put together
The paper opens with a measurable performance gap, night stroke timing and repeated scans, so the analysis has a reason. It then defines knowledge and skill with examples and explains why the difference changes the remedy. A review of records, repeat logs, timing data and self-ratings produces a table that sorts the team into three groups with separate knowledge and skill ratings. Team research explains how composition and team processes turn individual abilities into performance, applied to night pairings and to personalities. A review of 28 studies supports training team behaviors. The development plan matches each gap to its remedy and changes scheduling, and measures close the paper.
Where the marks sit in the HCM 5020 Module 6 rubric
For the Module 6 paper, mentors check whether knowledge and skill are genuinely distinguished rather than used as synonyms, and whether the analysis of team members leads to specific development actions. Credit goes to papers that consider how members' characteristics and team composition affect performance, not only individual competence, and that support those points with team research. A development plan should be realistic, match remedies to gaps and include measures. Professional treatment of team members, with no unflattering detail about identifiable people, is expected. Scholarly sources beyond the module, clear structure, accurate citations and correct APA format complete the 0 to 100 grade for this written assignment.
HCM 5020 Module 6 help: mistakes that cost marks
The commonest Module 6 mistake is listing each team member's credentials and years of experience without analyzing what they can actually do. Experience is not the same as skill, and credentials are not the same as current knowledge. Another weakness is a development plan that relies entirely on in-service lectures, which address knowledge but rarely skill. Students also overlook how the team is assembled on each shift, even though composition often explains performance better than individual ability. Keep the tone respectful when describing gaps. For an analysis of a team you lead or belong to, our desk can write a Module 6 paper following the prompt your mentor posted. Finally, tie each development step to a measure you could actually collect.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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HCM 5020 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HCM 5020 Module 6 sample paper?
You can read the whole team analysis paper on this page, with the knowledge and skill table, the team research, the development plan and its measures, plus annotations explaining why each part earns credit.
What is the difference between knowledge and skill?
Knowledge is what a person understands, such as the purpose of a protocol. Skill is what a person can do reliably in practice, often under pressure. They can differ in the same person.
Why does team composition matter?
Research shows performance depends on how members' abilities combine and on team processes such as backup and shared understanding. Pairing complementary members can cover individual gaps.
Can teamwork really be trained?
A review of 28 studies found that team process behaviors were linked to clinical performance and that training in those behaviors improved performance.
How do I describe team members without naming them?
Group them by experience or role, as in the sample's three groups, and describe gaps in professional terms.