Collect stories from your care setting. You may collect stories through interviews or conversations with colleagues or provide your own.

Learning Goal: I’m working on a nursing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Analysis Requirements

Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so at a minimum, be sure to address each point. In addition, you are encouraged to review the performance level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

Writing, Supporting Evidence, and APA Style

• Communicate professionally when conducting interviews and collecting data.
• Write clearly, with professionalism and respect for stakeholders and colleagues.
• Integrate relevant sources of evidence to support your assertions.

• • Cite at least 3–5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence.
  • Include relevant interview information.
• Format your document using APA style. Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX]. Be sure to include:

• • A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
  • Properly formatted citations and references.
• Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult to focus on the substance of your analysis.

Part 1: Appreciative Inquiry Discovery and Dream

• Synthesize stories and evidence about times when a care setting performed at its best with regard to quality and safety goals.

• • Collect stories from your care setting. You may collect stories through interviews or conversations with colleagues or provide your own.
  • Explain how your stories are related to quality and safety goals.
  • Describe the evidence you have that substantiates your stories.
  • Identify the positive themes reflected in your stories.
  • Describe other evidence (for example: data, awards, accreditations) that validates your care setting’s positive core.
• Propose positive, yet attainable, quality and safety improvement goals for your care setting.

• Explain how accomplishing these goals will lead to ethical and culturally-sensitive improvements in quality and safety.
• Explain how your proposed goals align with your care setting’s mission, vision, and values.

Part 2: SWOT Analysis

• Conduct a SWOT analysis of your care setting, with respect to quality and safety goals.

• • Provide a narrative description of your analysis.
  • Identify the assessment tool you used as the basis of your analysis.
  • Describe your key findings and their relationships to quality and safety goals.
• Describe one area of concern that you identified in your SWOT analysis—relevant to your care setting’s mission, vision, and values—for which you would propose pursuing improvements.

• Explain how this area of concern relates to your care setting’s mission, vision, and values.
• Explain why you believe it will be necessary and valuable to pursue improvements related to this area of concern.

Part 3: Comparison of Approaches

Compare the AI and SWOT approaches to analysis and reflect on the results.

• Describe your mindset when examining your care setting from an AI perspective and from a SWOT perspective.
• Describe the types of data and evidence you searched for when taking an AI approach and a SWOT approach.
• Describe the similarities and differences between the two approaches when communicating and interacting with colleagues.

Part 4: Analysis of Relevant Leadership Characteristics and Skills

Analyze the leadership characteristics and skills most desired in the person leading potential performance improvement projects, taking both an AI and SWOT approach.

• Explain how these characteristics and skills would help a leader facilitate a successful AI-based project and a successful SWOT-based project.
• Comment on any shared characteristics or skills you identified as helpful for both AI and SWOT approaches.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Evaluate qualities and skills that promote effective leadership within health care organizations.

• • Analyze the leadership characteristics and skills most desired in the person leading potential performance improvement projects, taking both an appreciative inquiry (AI) and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) approach.
• Competency 2: Apply strategies to lead high-performing health care teams to meet organizational quality and safety goals.

• • Synthesize stories and evidence about times when a care setting performed at its best with regard to quality and safety goals.
  • Conduct a SWOT analysis of a care setting, with respect to quality and safety goals.
  • Describe an area of concern identified in a SWOT analysis—relevant to a care setting’s mission, vision, and values—that should be improved.
  • Compare the AI and SWOT approaches to analysis with regard to data gathering and interactions with others.
• Competency 3: Apply cultural, ethical, and regulatory considerations to leadership decision making.

• • Propose positive, attainable quality and safety improvement goals for a care setting.
• Competency 5: Communicate with stakeholders and constituencies to build collaborative partnerships and create inclusive work environments.

• Communicate analyses clearly and in a way that demonstrates professionalism and respect for stakeholders and colleagues.
• Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.