NURS 522 is Liberty's MSN course on performance management for nurse leaders. Its written work is a reflection paper, two blogs with replies, an article critique, three group discussion forums and two 6 to 8-page papers.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 522 Performance Management in Healthcare, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS522.
What NURS 522 covers
The catalog description: This course will allow students to explore the concepts that support a sound approach to managing performance. Performance management is a proactive and ongoing process which strives to align individual, unit, and/or team performance with the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the organization. When organizational goals are established, performance metrics are created along with a methodical measurement process that will support analysis of performance. Performance management also implies that leaders are managing their individual staff through relationship and rapport building, investment in the ongoing growth of employees, goal setting, motivating and rewarding staff, and giving feedback at regular intervals.
The course treats performance management as an ongoing process that aligns individual, unit and team performance with the organization's mission and strategy: setting goals and metrics, measuring them, and leading people through feedback, development and recognition. The texts are Poister et al., Managing and Measuring Performance in Public and Non-Profit Organizations, and Wheelan, Creating Effective Teams.
Many assignments ask for biblical principles alongside recent research: the blogs and their replies integrate biblical principles, and the reflection paper and both papers list the Bible with the course textbooks as required sources. The guide also has an Organization Support Checklist in Week 3, a checklist from the Wheelan text applied to your employer; it has no written component, so it has no guide here.
Textbook named in the published guide: Poister et al., Managing and Measuring Performance in Public and Non-Profit Organizations (2015). Wheelan, Creating Effective Teams (2016). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 522 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reflection Paper | 100 | 3 to 5 pages |
| 2 | Blog 1 | 75 | Post at least 500 words |
| 3 | Article Critique | 100 | 2 to 4 pages |
| 4 | Group Discussion Board Forum 1 | 100 | As set in the Canvas instructions (the guide sets no word count) |
| 5 | Paper 1 | 100 | 6 to 8 pages |
| 6 | Group Discussion Board Forum 2 | 100 | As set in the Canvas instructions (the guide sets no word count) |
| 7 | Group Discussion Board Forum 3 | 100 | As set in the Canvas instructions (the guide sets no word count) |
| 7 | Blog 2 | 75 | Post at least 500 words |
| 8 | Paper 2 | 200 | 6 to 8 pages |
Week 1: Reflection Paper
A 3 to 5-page research-based reflection on your current impressions of performance management. How to write NURS 522 Week 1 Reflection Paper.
Week 2: Blog 1
A 500-word blog post with a recent peer-reviewed article and biblical principles, plus three 250-word replies. How to write NURS 522 Week 2 Blog 1.
Week 3: Article Critique
A 2 to 4-page critique of the article provided in the course, with 2 to 3 recent peer-reviewed references. How to write NURS 522 Week 3 Article Critique.
Week 4: Group Discussion Board Forum 1
The first group forum, where your assigned group communicates and collaborates to produce the assignment. How to write NURS 522 Week 4 Group Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 5: Paper 1
The first 6 to 8-page paper on the topic outlined in the course, with 5 peer-reviewed articles plus the textbooks and the Bible. How to write NURS 522 Week 5 Paper 1.
Week 6: Group Discussion Board Forum 2
The second group forum, collaborating with your group to produce the assignment. How to write NURS 522 Week 6 Group Discussion Board Forum 2.
Week 7: Group Discussion Board Forum 3
The third group forum, in the same week as Blog 2. How to write NURS 522 Week 7 Group Discussion Board Forum 3.
Week 7: Blog 2
The second blog: a 500-word post with a recent peer-reviewed article and biblical principles, and three 250-word replies. How to write NURS 522 Week 7 Blog 2.
Week 8: Paper 2
The largest item in NURS 522: a second 6 to 8-page paper with 5 peer-reviewed articles plus the textbooks and the Bible. How to write NURS 522 Week 8 Paper 2.
How NURS 522 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. Paper 2 is the largest item at 200. The reflection paper, article critique, Paper 1 and each of the three group forums are 100. The two blogs are 75 each, the organization support checklist 50 and the course requirements checklist 10.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Paper 2 | 200 |
| Paper 1 | 100 |
| Reflection Paper | 100 |
| Article Critique | 100 |
| Group Discussion Board Forums (3) | 300 |
| Blogs (2) | 150 |
| Organization Support Checklist | 50 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 940 to 1010 points.
How to approach NURS 522
Learn your group in Week 1, because the three group forums in Weeks 4, 6 and 7 are used to collaborate and produce assignments with the same people.
Keep a running list of recent peer-reviewed articles on performance measurement and team effectiveness: the blogs, replies, critique and papers all require sources from the last five years, and the two papers need at least five peer-reviewed articles each.
Questions students ask
How long are the NURS 522 papers?
Each of the two papers is 6 to 8 pages in current APA on the topic outlined in the course, with at least five peer-reviewed journal articles in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible.
How many replies does a NURS 522 blog need?
At least three, each at least 250 words, citing at least one peer-reviewed article from the last five years and integrating biblical principles.
Working through NURS 522 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.