| Course | NUR-6320 Nursing Administration Standards and Structures |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Integrated nursing services plan |
| Length | About 1,070 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | M.S., Nursing Administration Concentration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 6320 Module 6
By What Authority? A One-Year Nursing Services Plan for a Critical Access Hospital with the Source Named Beside Each Decision
Student Name
M.S., Nursing Administration Concentration, Thomas Edison State University
NUR-6320: Nursing Administration: Standards and Structures
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
By What Authority? A One-Year Nursing Services Plan for a Critical Access Hospital with the Source Named Beside Each Decision
Across the earlier modules, the nurse executive of this small rural hospital has examined the role against the nursing administration standards, sorted the rules that govern floating, tied quality and accreditation requirements to their sources, mapped decision rights and analyzed accountability after a medication error. This final paper brings that work together into a one-year nursing services plan to be presented to hospital leadership and its governing board. Each decision in the plan names its authority, whether a federal condition of participation, a state rule, a professional standard or guideline or a hospital policy, so that readers can see which elements are required, which are recommended and which reflect the director's judgment.
Purpose and Scope of the Plan
The plan spans every place nurses work in the hospital: emergency care, acute and swing-bed care, and outpatient infusions. It addresses staffing, competence, delegation, quality, governance and accountability. Its goals for the year are to meet every applicable condition of participation without findings at the next survey, to reduce reliance on agency nurses for night shifts by half, to complete competency profiles for all nursing staff, and to improve two quality measures chosen by the practice council. The plan was drafted by the director with the practice council and reviewed by the chief executive officer, consistent with the nursing administration standards' expectation that administrators plan collaboratively and evaluate outcomes (American Nurses Association, 2016).
Staffing and Competence
The federal staffing condition requires at least one licensed nurse, RN, CNS or LPN, on duty whenever any inpatient is present (42 C.F.R. § 485.631), and the provision of services condition makes an RN responsible for overseeing and evaluating every patient's nursing care and that assignments fit what the available staff are qualified and competent to do (42 C.F.R. § 485.635). The plan exceeds the federal minimum: it schedules two registered nurses on every night shift, one of whom holds validated emergency competency, plus a nursing assistant. This is a local policy decision based on the hospital's emergency volume and the review of the downtime insulin event, which showed how thin night coverage limits safeguards.
Competence is addressed through the competency profiles developed earlier in the course. Every nurse's profile lists the units and populations for which the nurse is validated; nurses float only to areas on their profiles. The authority for this rule combines the federal competence requirement with the state board's standards of nursing conduct, which require nurses to undertake only practice they are competent to perform; the hospital applies both through its floating policy.
| Plan element | Decision | Authority | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night coverage | Two RNs on every night shift, one with emergency competency | 42 C.F.R. § 485.631; § 485.635 | Federal minimum exceeded by local policy |
| Care plans and supervision | RN supervises and evaluates each inpatient's care; care plans updated each shift | 42 C.F.R. § 485.635 | Federal requirement |
| Delegation to assistants | Charge RN delegates using written task lists | NCSBN (2016) guidelines | Professional guidance adopted as policy |
| Floating | Only to areas on a validated competency profile | § 485.635 and state conduct standards | Federal and state, applied by policy |
| Quality measures | Falls, medication events, transfer communication reviewed monthly | 42 C.F.R. § 485.641 | Federal requirement |
| Practice decisions | Practice council charter | ANA (2016) standards | Professional standard |
| Error response | Just culture policy and staff support | ANA (2016) ethics and culture of safety | Professional standard and hospital policy |
Delegation
Nursing assistants care for inpatients and swing-bed residents under registered nurse direction. The plan adopts the national delegation guidelines as hospital policy: the hospital, as employer, identifies tasks that may be delegated and ensures that assistants are trained and competent; the charge registered nurse assesses each patient before delegating and supervises the result (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2016). Because the guidelines are professional guidance rather than state law, adopting them in policy gives them force within the hospital. Written task lists by role will be completed by the educator and approved by the practice council in the first quarter.
Quality and Performance Improvement
The hospital-wide quality program is a federal requirement, overseen by the governing body and required to use objective measures and to track harm events, conditions acquired in the hospital and care transitions (42 C.F.R. § 485.641). Nursing's part of the program for the year includes monthly review of falls, medication events, pressure injuries and emergency department transfer communication, using counts and run charts because small numbers make rates unstable. The practice council chose two improvement targets: complete transfer communication for every patient sent to the regional hospital, and a reduction in falls among swing-bed residents. Results will be reported to the quality committee quarterly and to the board twice a year.
Governance and Accountability
The nursing practice council, with its charter of decision rights, is a hospital policy grounded in the professional standards that call on nurse administrators to create structures in which nurses participate in decisions about their practice (American Nurses Association, 2016). The council decides practice policies and competency standards; the director decides budget, positions and hiring with consultation. Accountability after errors follows the just culture policy adopted after the downtime event, which answers mistakes with consolation, risky shortcuts with coaching and only conscious disregard of risk with discipline, and which supports the staff involved. The director will report each serious event and its follow-up to the quality committee.
Resources, Risks and Evaluation
The plan requires funding for two additional night registered nurse positions, offset by reduced agency spending, and protected time for the educator and council members. Its main risks are recruitment in a rural labor market and the time small staff can give to councils and drills. The director will evaluate the plan at six and twelve months using the survey outcome, agency hours, competency profile completion, the two quality targets, staff turnover and the annual governance and practice environment surveys. The plan will be revised as rules change, since conditions of participation and state regulations are updated regularly.
Conclusion
A nursing services plan for a small hospital must be short enough to use and clear enough to defend. Naming the authority beside each decision does both: it shows the board where the hospital has no choice, where it follows professional guidance and where the director has exercised judgment, and it gives staff a reason for every rule they are asked to follow.
References
American Nurses Association. (2016). Nursing administration: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). American Nurses Association.
42 C.F.R. § 485.635 (2024). Condition of participation: Provision of services. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-485/subpart-F/section-485.635
42 C.F.R. § 485.641 (2024). Condition of participation: Quality assessment and performance improvement program. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-485/subpart-F/section-485.641
42 C.F.R. § 485.631 (2024). Condition of participation: Staffing and staff responsibilities. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-485/subpart-F/section-485.631
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2016). National guidelines for nursing delegation. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 7(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(16)31035-3
What the NUR 6320 Module 6 instructions ask for
NUR-6320's sixth module typically asks for a culminating paper that integrates the course. Directions may call for a strategic plan, nursing services plan, policy proposal or comprehensive analysis of an organization that applies standards, regulations, accreditation requirements, structure and leadership concepts covered earlier. Several sections let you reuse your earlier module work as raw material. Check the TESU classroom for required elements, length, and whether a presentation or executive summary accompanies the paper. Integrate rather than repeat; summarize earlier analyses briefly and show how they connect in one plan with measurable goals. An executive summary at the front, under a page, is expected by many mentors for this final paper.
How the NUR 6320 Module 6 example is put together
The plan opens by naming the course's earlier analyses and stating its approach: every decision carries its authority. The purpose section sets four measurable goals and shows how the plan was developed. Staffing and competence decisions are tied to federal conditions and state standards, with a table listing each decision, its authority and the type of source. Delegation shows professional guidance adopted as policy. Quality is tied to the federal condition with nursing targets. Governance and accountability are linked to professional standards and earlier policies. The final sections cover resources, risks and evaluation. The table's last column labels each source as required, recommended or local, which a board can scan quickly. Risks are paired with the measures that would show whether they are materializing.
NUR 6320 Module 6 rubric: what earns full marks
Integrated nursing administration papers are commonly assessed on coherent integration of course concepts, accurate use of regulations and standards, clear and measurable goals, feasibility, attention to resources and risks, an evaluation plan, and professional writing suitable for executive readers. Mentors look for a plan that hangs together around goals, with each element justified, rather than a collection of earlier assignments. Distinguishing required, recommended and discretionary elements shows mature administrative judgment. Accurate citation of legal and professional sources in APA format is expected, along with a concise structure a board could follow. A table or appendix summarizing decisions and their sources is often welcomed by mentors. Realistic resource requests, with offsets where possible, strengthen the plan's feasibility.
Common NUR 6320 Module 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A capstone plan often fails because it restates every earlier paper at length. Summarize, connect and move on. Another weakness is a plan with no measurable goals or evaluation, which a board cannot approve. Keep legal requirements and organizational choices apart, and mark which is which. Make resource needs explicit, including staff time. Keep the audience in mind: executives and board members need decisions, reasons and risks, not theory. The desk can build an integrated nursing services plan from your earlier module papers and your section's directions. Attach a metric, a target and a deadline to every goal, and hold the executive summary to one paragraph. Assign an owner to every element of the plan.
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.
More NUR 6320 and M.S., Nursing Administration Concentration sample papers
- NUR 6320 Module 1: Scope and Standards Paper
- NUR 6320 Module 2: Regulation and Licensure Analysis
- NUR 6320 Module 3: Accreditation and Quality Paper
- NUR 6320 Module 4: Decision Rights Analysis
- NUR 6320 Module 5: Leadership and Accountability
NUR 6320 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 6320 Module 6 sample paper?
The complete plan sits above; its decision-and-authority table is the part to study first. Use its approach for the plan your directions require.
What is a nursing services plan?
A document that sets out how nursing care will be organized, staffed, governed and evaluated over a period, with goals, resources and measures, usually approved by senior leadership or the board.
Why name the authority for each decision?
It shows which elements are legally required, which follow professional guidance and which reflect local judgment, which helps executives make choices and helps staff understand the reasons for rules.
Can professional guidelines become hospital requirements?
Yes. When an organization adopts guidance, such as national delegation guidelines, into its policies, staff must follow it as hospital policy even if state law does not require it.
How should a capstone plan be evaluated?
With measurable goals reviewed at set intervals, such as survey outcomes, staffing measures, quality targets and staff survey results, and with a commitment to revise the plan as rules change.