| Course | NUR 530 Systems Leadership and Collaborative Practice |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 10 |
| Paper type | Closing reflective journal |
| Length | About 400 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Journal entry with APA 7 citations |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 530 Module 10
Module Ten Journal
The Day I Stopped Blaming the Hospitalist
For six years as a charge nurse, I have spent part of most afternoons irritated at someone. Usually it was the hospitalist whose discharge order came at one o'clock, sometimes the family whose car appeared at four. I chose late discharges for this course because I thought I understood the problem already. What I did not understand was that I was part of it.
The first shift came in the second week, when I mapped out who did what in each discharge and at what hour. The hospitalist I blamed most was doing exactly what the hospitalist group expects, seeing the sickest patients first. Her late orders were produced by the design of the day, not by carelessness. Plsek and Greenhalgh (2001) describe organizations in which sensible local rules add up to results no one wants, and I recognized my unit in every line. I had spent years trying to fix people who were following the rules correctly.
The second shift came from a conversation I almost skipped. Building the stakes table, I asked our pharmacist what an earlier discharge would cost. The answer was that afternoon reconciliation would look like idle time on the productivity report the pharmacy director reads every week. I had assumed he would welcome a calmer midday. Bolman and Deal's (2017) political frame had seemed abstract in the reading; that afternoon it became a single line on a productivity report, and the reason my first plan would have failed.
The third shift was about honesty. I wanted to promise that the huddle would shorten stays, because that is what executives like to hear. The evidence did not support it: most team interventions on medical wards have not shortened length of stay (Pannick et al., 2015). Writing a proposal that promised less, but promised it truthfully, felt riskier. It also made the proposal harder to dismiss.
Three habits will stay with me. I will map the process and its owners before I decide whose fault anything is. I will ask every discipline what a change costs them before I ask them to make it. And I will promise only what the evidence supports. The Tomorrow List starts on our unit next month. Whether or not it reaches its target, I already lead differently than I did in week one, and my afternoons are less angry.
References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (6th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Pannick, S., Davis, R., Ashrafian, H., Byrne, B. E., Beveridge, I., Athanasiou, T., Wachter, R. M., & Sevdalis, N. (2015). Effects of interdisciplinary team care interventions on general medical wards: A systematic review. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(8), 1288-1298. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.2421
Plsek, P. E., & Greenhalgh, T. (2001). The challenge of complexity in health care. BMJ, 323(7313), 625-628. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7313.625
What the NUR 530 Module 10 instructions ask for
The last module of NUR 530 usually closes with a reflective journal on your growth as a leader over the term. Prompts often ask how your understanding of systems leadership and collaboration has changed, which course concepts affected your thinking most, how your projects shaped your practice and what leadership goals you are setting next. Journals are usually read only by the instructor and written in the first person, typically one to two pages with a citation or two from course readings. Because the projects in this course are long and technical, the journal is your chance to show the personal side of the work: what you noticed about yourself while doing it.
How this NUR 530 Module 10 journal example is built
In the entry above, a composite charge nurse on a medical unit looks back on a term spent working on late discharges. Rather than summarizing the projects, it describes three moments: realizing that a hospitalist's late orders came from the design of the day, hearing a pharmacist explain what an earlier discharge would cost the pharmacy and choosing to promise less about length of stay because the evidence required it. Each moment is tied to a real course source, complexity science, the political frame or a systematic review. The entry closes with three habits the writer will keep and a small personal detail that makes the change believable. Three real references support the reflection.
Where the NUR 530 Module 10 rubric puts the points
Reflection in this course is typically assessed for depth of self-awareness, links between experience and course concepts, the practical application of learning and clear writing. Graders look hardest for self-awareness, which shows most clearly when you describe a belief or habit of your own that changed, with the moment it changed. Links to concepts are strongest when a specific reading explains a specific experience. Application should be concrete, in the form of habits or actions you will take in your role. A journal that only lists what each module covered tends to earn average marks, even when it is well written, because it shows attendance rather than growth. Growth is easiest to see when the entry contrasts week one with week ten.
NUR 530 Module 10 help: the mistakes that cost points
Closing journals usually fall flat when they describe the course instead of the writer, when they stay general about becoming a better leader or when they leave out the citation the prompt asks for. Choose two or three moments that surprised you, say what you believed before and after, name the reading that helped explain it and end with habits you will keep. Honesty about mistakes reads as maturity, not weakness. If the last week of term is crowded, we can draft a journal from your notes on your projects and setting, written in the first person for you to revise into your own voice.
Get NUR 530 Module 10 written to your instructions
Share your instructor's reflection questions, a short account of your projects and what changed for you this term. A first-person closing journal tied to your course readings is ready in 24 to 48 hours, and the first one is free. 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.
More NUR 530 papers and related MSN samples
- NUR 530 Module 1 Systems Thinking Paper: A Late Discharge as a System Problem
- NUR 530 Module 2 Discussion: Four Leadership Frames on One Discharge Delay
- NUR 530 Module 3 Milestone One: A Clinical Microsystem Assessment of a Medical Unit
- NUR 530 Module 4 Interprofessional Collaboration Paper: What Each Discipline Gains and Gives Up When Discharge Moves Earlier
- NUR 530 Module 5 Project One: A Systems Analysis of Discharge Delays on a Medical Unit
- NUR 530 Module 6 Evidence Appraisal: Appraising the Evidence on Interdisciplinary Rounds and Discharge Planning
- NUR 530 Module 7 Milestone Two: A Draft Implementation Plan for Afternoon Discharge Huddles
- NUR 530 Module 8 Stakeholder Memo: A Memo to Senior Leaders Requesting Support for a Discharge Pilot
- NUR 530 Module 9 Project Two: A Final Systems Change Proposal for Earlier Discharges
- NUR 508 Module 7 Interprofessional Collaboration Paper
- NUR 506 Module 7 Implementation Plan Paper
- NUR 502 Module 6 Technology in Teaching Paper
- NUR 520 Module 5 Statistical Inference Paper: Confidence Intervals Around County Estimates
NUR 530 Module 10 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 530 Module 10 Journal sample?
The complete journal on this page is free to read: a charge nurse's reflection on three moments that changed how they lead, tied to complexity science, the political frame and evidence on ward teams, with three real references.
What should the NUR 530 final journal cover?
How your view of systems leadership and collaboration changed, which concepts mattered most, how your projects affected your practice and your next leadership goals.
Can I mention colleagues in a reflective journal?
Yes, by role rather than name, and with respect. Focus on what you learned from the interaction, not on judging the other person.
How many citations does a reflective journal need?
Usually one to three from course readings. Use them to explain an experience, not to pad the entry.
How do I show growth in a journal?
Describe a belief or habit you held at the start, the moment it changed and what you now do differently as a result.