HIM 520 Module 10 Reflection Example

Reviewed by Delia Ravenscroft, MSN, RN

This HIM 520 Module 10 Reflection sample closes the leadership course by examining what the writer learned about leading people, not only processes. It is written for SNHU HIM 520 (HIM-520), the point in the MS Health Information Management program where leadership growth is assessed most directly. The composite director of a merged three-hospital HIM department in central Tennessee reflects on discovering that the hardest problems were human ones, on nearly issuing a written warning to a coder who needed training and support, on the discomfort of declining a physician's request to change a note and on learning to ask before announcing. The reflection draws on research about feedback, psychological safety and relational leadership, names the leadership skills still to build and sets a concrete plan.

CourseHIM 520 Leading as a HIM Professional
ModuleModule 10
Paper typegraduate reflection on learning to lead people in health information management
LengthAbout 380 words, 3 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolSouthern New Hampshire University
ProgramMS Health Information Management
UpdatedSeptember 2026

Free sample paper for HIM 520 Module 10

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Module Ten Reflection

The Warning I Did Not Write

I started this course believing that merging three health information departments was mainly a procedures problem: one log, one fee schedule, one way to complete records. By the end, I had learned that every procedure problem was also a people problem. Staff at the acquired hospital resisted the flagship's methods not because the methods were bad but because nobody had asked them what they knew.

What this page is doingThe reflection opens with a changed understanding.
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The moment that taught me most was one I nearly got wrong. When Dana's accuracy fell from 96% to 88%, her supervisor wanted a written warning, and my first instinct was to agree. The meta-analysis by Kluger and DeNisi (1996), which found that feedback interventions made performance worse in a sizable share of cases when they turned attention to the person rather than the task, made me slow down. The conversation we had instead revealed a training gap the merger created and a mother recovering from a stroke. A warning would have added shame to both problems.

The hardest moment was declining a physician who asked me to change a note after a patient fell. I believed the answer was clear, but I still felt the weight of saying no to a respected colleague who was frightened. What helped was offering something real in return, a properly labeled late entry and a call to risk management, rather than only a refusal.

Across the term I also learned to ask before announcing. Edmondson (1999) tied team learning and results to a climate in which raising a concern carries no penalty, and Cummings et al. (2018) linked relational leadership to better outcomes for health care staff. In practice, that meant listening sessions before the leadership plan, design groups before new procedures and staff review before the remote work policy was final. Each step took longer and worked better.

What this page is doingThree lessons are drawn from specific moments and research.
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I still have much to learn. I need to become better at difficult conversations with physicians and at reading financial statements well enough to defend my budget. Next quarter I will ask our chief medical officer to let me observe a peer review meeting and will take the system's finance course for managers. The most lasting lesson is simple: when something goes wrong in a department, look first at what the system asked people to do.

What this page is doingThe writer names gaps, next steps and a lasting lesson.
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References

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

Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254-284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254

What the HIM 520 Module 10 instructions ask for

The closing HIM 520 reflection asks what you learned about leading people in health information management. Write it as yourself, briefly, with research brought in only where a study explains why a moment mattered. Build the reflection around a few specific moments from your course work, such as a performance case, an ethical decision or a change you led, and describe what you did, what you nearly did and what you learned. Connect each lesson to research where it adds understanding. Be candid about discomfort and remaining weaknesses, name concrete next steps with a timeframe and finish with one lesson you expect to carry into every leadership role you hold.

How this HIM 520 Module 10 reflection example is built

The director of Sycamore Bend Health's merged HIM department begins by admitting that a procedures problem turned out to be a people problem. Three moments carry the reflection: nearly approving a written warning for Dana until Kluger and DeNisi's feedback research prompted a conversation that revealed a training gap and a caregiving crisis, declining a frightened physician's request to change a note while offering a real alternative and learning to ask before announcing, supported by Edmondson and Cummings and colleagues. Gaps in physician conversations and finance lead to concrete next steps in this HIM 520 reflection, and a final lesson about looking first at what the system asked of people closes it.

Where the HIM 520 Module 10 rubric puts the points

HIM 520 reflections are usually graded on specific moments rather than summaries, honest self-assessment including near mistakes, lessons connected to research, candor about discomfort and weaknesses, concrete development plans and clear writing in the first person. The most convincing entries show how a leader's instinct was tested and changed by evidence or experience. Graders reward writers who describe what they almost did as well as what they did, since that reveals real learning. Ending on one plainly stated lesson for future roles sharpens the whole piece and signals that the writer is ready to lead others. Specific timeframes for next steps also help.

HIM 520 Module 10 help: the mistakes that cost points

Weak HIM 520 reflections retell the syllabus instead of the writer's growth, show only wins, drop in citations unconnected to any moment or close with intentions too vague to act on. Some avoid discomfort altogether, which makes the account less believable. When a prompt ties the reflection to named leadership competencies or to career goals, pass those along together with a few lines about the projects you completed, and every competency will be addressed through your own examples. Mention the leadership role you hold or want, and the size of the team involved. HIM 520 reflections we write move from a changed understanding to three moments with research, then gaps, next steps and one lasting lesson.

Get HIM 520 Module 10 written to your instructions

Send the HIM 520 Module 10 reflection prompt with a few moments from your course projects. The reflection will explore what you did and nearly did, connect each lesson to research, admit discomfort and weaknesses and close with concrete next steps and a lasting lesson, completed in 24 to 48 hours, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.

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HIM 520 Module 10 questions, answered

Where can I find a free HIM 520 Module 10 Reflection sample?

The complete HIM 520 Module 10 reflection is on this page: what leading a merged HIM department taught about people, feedback, integrity and asking first.

What makes a leadership reflection credible?

Specific moments, honest near mistakes, lessons tied to evidence, candor about weaknesses and concrete next steps.

Why include near mistakes in a reflection?

Describing what you almost did and why you changed course shows genuine learning more clearly than listing successes.

What is the most common lesson for new HIM leaders?

Many find that procedure problems are people problems, so asking and listening before announcing changes makes change work.

How should a reflection end?

With concrete next steps and one clearly stated lesson the writer will carry into future roles.