| Course | NU108 Health Professions Transitions |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Goal plan |
| Length | About 850 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BSN (prelicensure) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU108 Unit 8
Three Goals With Dates Someone Else Could Check: A Goal Plan for a Composite First-Year Prelicensure Nursing Student, Anchored to the Program Calendar, With Named Obstacles and Checkpoints Set to Catch Slippage Early
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU108: Health Professions Transitions
Unit 8 Goal Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The student, program calendar and dates are composite; dates are bracketed because terms vary by start.
Why These Three Goals
I chose goals that match the next twelve months of my program, which moves from prerequisite and foundation courses into my first clinical courses in [Month]. Goal-setting research has long found that specific, challenging goals lead to better performance than vague instructions to do one's best, particularly when people receive feedback on progress (Locke & Latham, 2002). Each goal below therefore states what will be achieved, how it will be measured and by when, and each has a checkpoint where I will compare progress with the plan. The format follows the familiar SMART approach, each goal concrete, countable, within reach, connected to the larger aim and tied to a date, first proposed for management objectives (Doran, 1981).
Goal One: Academic
Goal: Earn a final grade of [B] or higher in pharmacology, the course students in my program most often repeat, by the end of [Term 3].
Measure: final course grade, plus unit exam scores of [80] percent or higher on at least four of five exams.
Steps: use the retrieval-based study schedule from my Unit 3 plan, write a drug card for every medication the week it is taught, and attend the optional weekly review session.
Obstacles: my work schedule overlaps the review session every other week, and drug content builds quickly, so falling behind in the first three weeks is hard to recover from.
Responses: I have asked my manager to schedule my shifts around the review session for that term, and I will watch the recording on weeks I miss it.
Checkpoints: after exam one in week [3], and after exam three in week [7]. If either score falls below [80], I will book an appointment with the course tutor within one week rather than waiting for the next exam.
Goal Two: Clinical
Goal: Pass the fundamentals skills check-off on the first attempt in week [8] of [Term 4], including medication administration, sterile technique and head-to-toe assessment.
Measure: a pass recorded by the skills lab instructor on the first attempt.
Steps: practice each skill in the open lab at least [three] times before the check-off and once with a classmate acting as evaluator using the program's checklist.
Obstacles: open lab hours are limited and fill quickly near check-off weeks.
Responses: I will book open lab times as soon as the schedule is posted, in week [1], rather than in week [6].
Checkpoints: by week [4], I will have completed at least one practice of every skill; by week [7], a full mock check-off with a classmate.
Booking lab time in the first week is a small step, but it removes the obstacle that most often turns a clinical goal into a missed one.
Goal Three: Professional
Goal: By [Month, Year], complete a basic life support course and request a transfer from unit secretary to patient care technician at my hospital, so that I gain hands-on patient care experience before my first clinical rotation.
Measure: a current basic life support card and a submitted transfer application.
Steps: register for the hospital's basic life support class, speak with my manager about the technician role and its training, and update my résumé.
Obstacles: technician openings may not appear when I am ready, and the role's evening shifts could conflict with classes.
Responses: I will tell my manager of my interest now, so I hear of openings early, and I will apply only to positions whose schedules fit my program calendar.
Checkpoint: by [Month], the basic life support course completed and the conversation with my manager held.
How the Goals Fit Together
The three goals support one another. Strong pharmacology knowledge feeds directly into safe medication administration at the skills check-off, and patient care experience as a technician will make head-to-toe assessment and patient communication more familiar before my first rotation. Novice nurses build competence through experience in real situations (Benner, 1984), and the professional goal is meant to begin that experience earlier.
Review and Accountability
I will review all three goals on the first Sunday of each month, recording progress in the same notebook as my study log. I have also asked my advisor to review the plan with me at our scheduled meeting in week [10]. Sharing the goals with someone who will ask about them on a date is part of what makes them checkable. If a goal is missed at a checkpoint, I will not simply move its date. I will write down what got in the way, decide whether the obstacle was one I had named or a new one, and change the steps before setting a new date, so that the next attempt is different from the last.
References
Benner, P. (1984). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. Addison-Wesley.
Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives. Management Review, 70(11), 35-36.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
Reading the NU 108 Unit 8 instructions
Unit 8 usually asks for two or three goals written so that progress can be checked, often in a SMART format. Prompts commonly want each goal tied to your program calendar, with a measure, action steps, likely obstacles and checkpoints, and sometimes a rationale drawn from goal-setting research. A few pages usually suffice, and graders check for goals that are specific enough for another person to verify, dates anchored to real terms, and obstacles that are honest rather than generic. A response planned for each obstacle, and checkpoints early enough to catch slippage, show the plan is meant to work. Explaining how the goals connect to each other and to your profession adds depth.
How this NU108 Unit 8 example is built
The plan opens with why these three goals fit the next year of the program, citing goal-setting research and the SMART format. Goal one sets a pharmacology grade with exam targets, study steps, a work-schedule obstacle and checkpoints after the first and third exams. Goal two sets a first-attempt skills pass, with open lab practice booked in week one, the highlighted line explaining why. Goal three pairs a life support course with a request to move into a technician role, with responses to timing obstacles. A section shows how the three goals support one another and cites the novice-to-expert model. Monthly review, an advisor meeting and a rule for missed checkpoints close the plan.
NU108 Unit 8 rubric: what earns full points
Goal plans in NU 108 are generally graded on specificity and measurability, alignment with the program, quality of planning for obstacles, and evaluation. Specificity earns credit when each goal names what will be achieved, how it will be measured and by what date. Alignment rewards goals anchored to the real program calendar and relevant to the profession. Obstacle planning is judged on honest, specific obstacles paired with responses. Evaluation points go to dated checkpoints and a stated plan for what to do if one is missed. A short rationale supported by goal-setting research, cited in APA 7, strengthens the plan, and clear headings for each goal make it easy for a grader to verify.
NU108 Unit 8 help: mistakes that cost points
Goal plans often state intentions such as doing well in nursing school, which no one could check. Another common gap is listing goals without the dates of real terms or courses, so checkpoints float free of the calendar. Some plans name obstacles like time management without saying what will be done about them. Many forget to say what happens when a checkpoint is missed. Write each goal so a stranger could verify it on a date, tie dates to your program, name the obstacle most likely to stop you, plan a response, place checkpoints early, and decide in advance how you will revise rather than simply move the deadline.
Get an NU108 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
Goals depend on facts only you have, so include your program, its term dates and any constraints you want reflected along with the Unit 8 prompt and rubric. Your free first goal plan is built on those facts and delivered in 24-48h, and it assumes no personal details beyond the ones you supply. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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NU108 Unit 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NU108 Unit 8 sample paper?
This page presents the full NU108 Unit 8 goal plan, with three checkable goals, measures, steps, obstacles and responses, dated checkpoints, how the goals connect and a review schedule, with three references. We can write a goal plan around your own program calendar.
What makes an NU108 Unit 8 goal checkable?
It names what will be achieved, how it will be measured and the date, so another person could confirm it. A B or better in pharmacology by the end of a named term is checkable; doing well in school is not.
Why book lab time in the first week?
Open lab hours fill quickly near check-off weeks. Booking as soon as the schedule is posted removes the obstacle most likely to turn the clinical goal into a missed one.
What happens if a goal checkpoint is missed?
The sample does not simply move the date. The student records what got in the way, decides whether it was a named obstacle or a new one, and changes the steps before setting a new date.
Does goal-setting research support specific goals?
Yes. Decades of research summarized by Locke and Latham found that specific, challenging goals lead to better performance than vague instructions to do one's best, especially when people get feedback on progress.