| Course | NUR-8000 DNP Role Development |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Leadership self-assessment and development plan |
| Length | About 1,052 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Doctor of Nursing Practice |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 8000 Module 2
More Rounding, Fewer Directives: A Leadership Self-Assessment and Six-Month Plan for a Cardiac Step-Down Unit Director
Student Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice, Thomas Edison State University
NUR-8000: DNP Role Development
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
More Rounding, Fewer Directives: A Leadership Self-Assessment and Six-Month Plan for a Cardiac Step-Down Unit Director
The Unit Under Pressure
Leadership is often described in terms of style, and most nurse leaders can name their own: transformational, servant, democratic. Naming a style is easy; seeing how one actually leads under pressure is harder. My unit has had a difficult year, with vacancies, two experienced nurses leaving for travel contracts and a rise in rapid response calls. In that environment I have relied on directives, quick decisions and close monitoring of tasks. This paper assesses my leadership against the evidence on what leadership styles produce for nurses and patients, and sets out a plan to change.
What the Evidence Says About Leadership Styles
Cummings et al. (2018) screened tens of thousands of records and kept 129 studies that linked a leader's style to what happened to nurses and their workplaces. The authors sorted styles into two families: people-centered ones, including transformational and resonant leadership, and task-centered ones, including transactional leadership and managing by exception, which attend to getting work done and catching mistakes. Across their sample the direction never really changed: dozens of studies tied people-centered leaders to happier nurses, a smaller set tied task-centered leaders to unhappier ones, and the same split showed up for staff health, team relations, the work setting and output.
Wong and Cummings (2007) had already turned the question toward patients: good leadership behavior went with more satisfied patients and fewer adverse events, while the data on deaths did not settle either way. Boamah et al. (2018) helped explain the mechanism. In a survey of 378 acute care nurses in Ontario, managers' transformational leadership strongly increased nurses' sense of workplace empowerment, which in turn raised job satisfaction and lowered the reported frequency of adverse patient events.
Assessing My Own Leadership
To assess my leadership honestly, I used three sources: my own log of decisions over two weeks, a brief anonymous survey of my charge nurses asking how decisions on the unit are made, and my most recent employee engagement results. The picture was consistent. When the unit is fully staffed, I spend time with staff, explain the reasons for changes and ask for ideas. When staffing is short, which has been most weeks this year, I make decisions alone, send instructions by email and focus on correcting errors. My charge nurses described me as fair and available but said that most decisions arrive already made. My engagement scores on the item about having a voice in decisions fell by 12 points this year.
In the terms of the review by Cummings et al. (2018), I lead relationally when conditions are easy and fall back on task-focused leadership under stress, which is when relational leadership matters most. The evidence suggests that this pattern may be contributing to the dissatisfaction and turnover I am trying to fix.
Why the Pattern Appears
Reflecting on the log, I can see why I lead this way under pressure. When a shift is short, the fastest way to fill a gap is to decide and announce, and consulting six people feels like a luxury. I also feel personally responsible for safety on those days, and directing tasks closely gives me a sense of control. Yet the charge nurses' comments suggest that the cost is hidden: nurses who are told rather than asked stop raising problems early, and problems raised late are harder to solve. The habit that feels safest to me in the moment may be making the unit less safe over time, which is exactly the pathway through empowerment that Boamah et al. (2018) describe.
| Behavior | Under normal staffing | Under short staffing |
|---|---|---|
| Presence on the unit | Daily rounds | Mostly office and meetings |
| Decision making | Shared with charge nurses | Made alone, sent by email |
| Response to errors | Coaching conversation | Correction and reminder |
| Recognition | Weekly | Rare |
A Six-Month Development Plan
The plan sets three changes, each with a measure.
First, I will round on the unit every day for at least 30 minutes, regardless of staffing, talking with each nurse on shift about what is getting in the way of good care that day. I will log each round and what I did about the barriers raised. The measure is the number of rounds completed and the share of barriers resolved within a week.
Second, I will move scheduling and staffing decisions for the next quarter into a shared governance group of four staff nurses and two charge nurses, who will propose the schedule and the rules for floating. The measure is the group's attendance and a repeat of the charge nurse survey question on how decisions are made.
Third, once a month on days, evenings and nights I will host an open hour where anything can be raised, starting each one by reporting on last month's list. The measure is attendance and the number of issues closed.
Barriers to the Plan
The plan will meet obstacles. Daily rounding competes with meetings that my own director expects me to attend, so I will ask to move one standing meeting and block the rounding time on my calendar. Shared scheduling may produce decisions I would not have made, and I must accept them unless they are unsafe, or the group will learn that its voice is only advisory. Monthly forums lose value if nothing changes after them, so the report on last month's issues is the most important part of each one.
Measuring Change
Half a year in, the charge nurses get the same anonymous questions again, and I will set the new engagement results on voice and recognition beside the old. I will also track the unit's turnover and the number of nurses who report unsafe conditions through our safety system, since the evidence links empowerment to both. A coach from our leadership development program will review my logs monthly, because self-assessment is easier to bias than an outside view.
Conclusion
The evidence on leadership styles is clear that relational leadership supports nurses' satisfaction, empowerment and, through them, patient safety. My self-assessment shows that I lead that way when conditions are easy and drift toward directives when they are hard. The plan commits me to three relational behaviors with measures, and to an outside check, so that the change can be seen rather than claimed.
References
Boamah, S. A., Spence Laschinger, H. K., Wong, C., & Clarke, S. (2018). Effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. Nursing Outlook, 66(2), 180-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.10.004
Cummings, G. G., Tate, K., Lee, S., Wong, C. A., Paananen, T., Micaroni, S. P. M., & Chatterjee, G. E. (2018). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work environment: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 85, 19-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.04.016
Wong, C. A., & Cummings, G. G. (2007). The relationship between nursing leadership and patient outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Nursing Management, 15(5), 508-521. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00723.x
Reading the NUR 8000 Module 2 assignment instructions
The NUR-8000 catalog text centers on the leader a DNP is expected to become, so this second module, in the absence of a public syllabus, turns that expectation into an honest self-assessment. Expect a paper that reviews evidence on leadership styles and their outcomes, assesses your own leadership with more than one source of information and sets a development plan with measurable goals. Some classrooms require a specific instrument, such as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire or a strengths inventory, and ask you to report and interpret your scores. Check the directions. Be honest in the assessment, since a plan built on an inflated self-image will not change anything, and attach a measure to every goal. Expect obstacles and say how you will handle them.
Inside the NUR 8000 Module 2 example
The paper begins with the gap between naming a style and seeing how one leads under pressure. Two systematic reviews and an Ontario survey supply the evidence and the mechanism of empowerment. The self-assessment draws on a decision log, a charge nurse survey and engagement scores, and shows a slide toward task-focused leadership when staffing is short. A four-row table compares behaviors in two conditions. The six-month plan sets three changes, daily rounding, shared scheduling decisions and monthly forums, each with a measure. A section on measuring change adds a repeat survey, turnover, safety reports and a coach, and the conclusion restates the commitment. A short section on obstacles shows how the plan will survive a busy month.
Where the marks sit in the NUR 8000 Module 2 rubric
Mentors score three things here: the strength of the leadership evidence, how candid and well sourced the self-assessment is and how concrete the plan becomes. Mentors look for more than one source of information about the student's leadership, such as surveys or feedback, rather than self-description alone. Linking the evidence on outcomes to the student's own patterns shows synthesis. Goals should be specific, timed and measurable, with a plan for checking progress. Reflection on why the pattern occurs, such as stress, adds depth. A side-by-side table of behavior under two staffing conditions tends to be credited, and APA citations finish the work. Naming the barriers to the plan, and how they will be handled, shows realism.
NUR 8000 Module 2 help from the desk
A common weakness is a self-assessment that lists strengths and calls a weakness something minor. Find a real pattern, preferably with data from others. Plans also fail when they promise to "communicate better" and never say how often, with whom or by when. Name behaviors and how you will count them. Do not describe leadership styles at length without connecting them to your situation. Use reviews rather than single studies where possible. Include an outside check on your progress, and name the obstacles you expect. Explain why your pattern appears, not just what it is. The desk can draft your NUR-8000 leadership self-assessment from the instrument results and directions you send, with the first one free.
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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NUR 8000 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 8000 Module 2 sample paper?
Above, in full. A step-down unit director assesses her leadership against evidence on relational and task-focused styles and sets a six-month plan.
What is relational leadership in nursing?
Leadership aimed at people rather than tasks, transformational and resonant styles among them; large reviews tie it to nurses who stay, feel supported and work in healthier units.
Does nursing leadership affect patient outcomes?
The best review so far ties good leadership to happier patients and fewer adverse events; whether it changes death rates remains unsettled.
How does transformational leadership improve patient safety?
An Ontario study found that it increases nurses' sense of workplace empowerment, which raises job satisfaction and is associated with fewer adverse events.
How should I write a leadership development plan?
Choose a few specific behaviors, attach a measure and a timeline to each, and include an outside check, such as a repeat survey or a coach's review.