The Benefits of Getting a BSN

 N450: Leadership & Management Paper (WAC)

Prepared Nurse Leaders: The Benefits of Getting a BSN

Purpose: This writing assignment is to advance your awareness, understanding, and evaluation of leadership styles and choices. Additionally, this assignment is designed to help prepare you when making leadership choices in your nursing practice, as well as stress the importance of making conscious leadership choices. Moreover, the assignment emphasizes the importance and benefits of utilizing the knowledge, concepts, and skills learned in non-clinical courses—nursing and general education—gained from getting a BSN.

Audience: Audience of the journal, Nurse Education in Practice: current nurses, future nurses, and nursing faculty

Genre: You are writing an article for Nurse Education in Practice, described on its website as:

Nurse Education in Practice enables lecturers and practitioners to both share and disseminate evidence that demonstrates the actual practice of education as it is experienced in the realities of their respective work environments, that is both in the University/faculty and clinical settings. It is supportive of new authors and is at the forefront in publishing individual and collaborative papers that demonstrate the link between education and practice.

Review articles from Nurse Education in Practice in order to understand the level (vocabulary, complexity, etc.) at which to write your paper. 

Objectives:At the completion of the written assignment the student will:

1. Evaluate and analyze leadership and management styles and choices

2. Understand and promote the need for awareness of leadership styles and choices

3. Integrate knowledge, concepts, and skills from a variety of courses (non-clinical) and disciplines into nursing practice

4. Demonstrate writing competence at a baccalaureate graduate level

Specifications: 

1. 4-5 pages in length not including the title page and references page (you must meet the minimum four-page requirement)

2. You must use the scenario you identified in step one (see below)

3. You must use and refer to each of the four courses you identified in step one (see below)

4. APA format and style

5. Minimum of four scholarly, peer reviewed, non-textbook sources used as support: sources must be recent (within 5 years); older sources must be approved by instructor 

6. Written in first and third person where appropriate in the writing

7. Written in a scholarly and professional manner

Writing the Paper: 

1. Introduction

• Introduce the overarching concept of the paper.

• Do not discuss the scenario.

2. Discuss and explainnursing leadership. What are the ways in which nurses are leaders? What is the importance of effective leadership choices and actions in nursing? What are the benefits, for nurse leaders, of a BSN education (focus on what is learned in non-clinical nursing courses and in general education courses)? Use scholarly source material for support.

3. Thoroughly discuss how the knowledge, concepts, and skills learned in non-clinical nursing and general education courses can be used to more effectively be a nurse leader through a hypothetical scenario (use one of the provided scenarios). Directly refer to your chosen courses and their content (at least one non-clinical nursing and one general education course). 

4. Briefly describe the scenario, you chose, that you might face as a nurse leader.

5. Formulate a plan of action. Describe the plan and your rationale for it.

• Thoroughly describe what you plan to do and the intended resolution.

• Explain your rationale for the leadership choices and plan of action. This needs to include some knowledge, concepts, and/or skills you learned in your chosen non-clinical nursing and general education courses.Use scholarly source material for support, and directly refer to your chosen courses and their content (at least one non-clinical nursing and one general education course).

• Defend your choice of leadership style(s) by comparing and contrasting it to another possible style. Explain why your choice would be the most effective for the scenario and why.Use scholarly source material for support.

6. Describe how you would implement your plan. What steps would you take? Be specific. Clearly identify how the steps you are taking reflect your chosen leadership style(s). What knowledge, concepts, and/or skills from your non-clinical nursing and general education courses do you plan to use in the execution of your plan and why?Use scholarly source material for support, and directly refer to your chosen courses and their content (at least one non-clinical nursing and one general education course).

7. Explain the need and benefit for the constant awareness and use of effective leadership and management styles and choices.Use scholarly source material for support.

8. Conclusion

• Provide a synopsis of the importance of a BSN education for nurse leaders and the importance of effective leadership choices. 

• Do not recap the scenario itself.

Steps for Completing WAC Project

1. Choose and identify one of the provided scenarios. Identify the non-clinical courses and their corresponding skills and concepts you plan to use in your decision making and solution to the scenario.

10 points – Due: 

2. Complete an annotated bibliography for sources for the paper with a minimum of five scholarly sources. The annotated bibliography will help you evaluate your sources and determine if they are relevant for your paper.

20 points – Due: 

3. Write a plan for your paper. 

20 points – Due: 

4. Write first full draft of your paper. This is a complete first draft, not a rough draft. It must be 4-5 pages plus your title page and references page. The first full draft needs to be in proper APA format and complete all of the requirements of the assignment. 

40 points– Due:

5. After reviewing your first full draft, your instructor will provide a feedback and response video. You need to review the video before revising your paper. It is recommended that you review the video multiple times. For assistance with writing conventions and APA, make an appointment and work with a tutor in the CSS.

6. Revise your first full draft to create the final draft of your paper. 

200 points – Due: