NRS-451VN Nursing Leadership and Management Assessment Task 3: Health Organisation Evaluation Due: Week 5, Semester 1 2026 | Word count: 1,000–1,250 words (excluding references)

Assessment description Select one health care organisation or network that operates across multiple US states (examples include Banner Health, UnitedHealthcare, or HCA Healthcare). Evaluate how ready that organisation appears for meeting citizens’ health care needs through the next decade. Write a formal paper that describes the chosen organisation, assesses its current readiness, outlines a targeted strategic plan addressing network growth, nurse staffing, resource management and patient satisfaction, identifies any relevant organisational culture issues and their possible impact on the plan, then recommends one theory or model to guide implementation of the plan and explains the choice.

Use APA 7th edition formatting throughout. Submit via the course portal as a single Word document. No abstract is required.

Learning outcomes addressed

• Critically analyse the structure and operations of a multi-state health system.
• Evaluate organisational preparedness against projected population health demands.
• Develop evidence-based recommendations for key operational domains.
• Apply change theory to support strategic execution.

Task instructions

1. Introduce the selected organisation and provide a concise overview of its scope, services and mission.
2. Present an assessment of overall readiness drawing on recent public reports, financial trends and quality indicators.
3. Construct a practical strategic plan with specific, measurable actions for the four required areas (network growth, nurse staffing, resource management, patient satisfaction).
4. Discuss one or two current or emerging cultural issues inside the organisation and analyse how each could help or hinder elements of the strategic plan.
5. Propose a single theory or model (for example Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model or goal-based strategic planning) and justify why it fits this organisation better than alternatives.

Marking focus Clear description (15 %), readiness analysis with evidence (20 %), strategic plan depth and feasibility (25 %), culture discussion linked to plan (15 %), theory selection and rationale (15 %), APA accuracy and academic writing (10 %).

Banner Health runs 28 hospitals plus clinics and specialty services across six states and continues to expand outpatient and telehealth capacity while shifting reimbursement toward value-based contracts. Recent community health needs assessments show the system has already prioritised primary care access and workforce development for the 2025–2028 cycle. A nurse leader reviewing these documents can see that targeted investments in simulation training and flexible staffing pools directly support safe ratios even as patient volumes rise.

The same reports highlight that leadership still leans toward top-down decision making in some divisions, which can slow idea uptake from frontline staff. Bringing more bedside nurses into planning committees removes that barrier and strengthens ownership of the new initiatives. Kotter’s eight-step model supplies a sequenced roadmap that starts with creating urgency around demographic shifts and ends with anchoring new behaviours in policy, matching Banner’s need for sustained culture shift more closely than purely goal-setting frameworks.

Organisations that embed such structured change processes report higher staff engagement and faster achievement of quality targets, according to peer-reviewed evaluations in acute-care settings. Students who follow this brief produce focused, evidence-supported papers that meet every rubric criterion while demonstrating genuine insight into real-world health-system challenges.

Suggested references (APA 7th) Banner Health. (2025). Banner Fort Collins Medical Center 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment report. https://www.bannerhealth.com/-/media/files/project/bh/chna-reports/2025/colorado/banner-fort-collins-medical-center-fort-collins.pdf

Miles, M. C., et al. (2023). Using Kotter’s change management framework to redesign graduate medical education recruitment. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 15(1), 98–103. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-22-00485.1

Weston, M. J. (2020). Strategic planning in an age of uncertainty: Creating clarity in uncertain times. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 44(3), 205–212. https://doi.org/10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000424

Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change (Updated ed.). Harvard Business Review Press. (Still the foundational text cited in 2025–2026 healthcare studies.)

Next assignment (Week 7,  Benchmark – Applying Leadership Models and Conflict Resolution Develop a 750–900-word paper that selects two leadership models, applies each to a current workplace conflict scenario drawn from your clinical placement or case study, then recommends one evidence-based resolution strategy. Include a personal reflection on your preferred style and how it aligns with interprofessional team outcomes. Submit with a minimum of four peer-reviewed sources published 2020–2026.