Nine indicators, agreed ahead of any recommendation, define how NU507's Unit 8 memo will judge team against primary nursing: NDNQI, CMS and local measures, balancing measures included. Searches like "nu 507 unit 8 assignment example", "nu507 unit 8 sample" and "nu507 unit 8 example" land here.
Indicator Selection Memo: Agree on How the Model Choice Will Be Judged Before Choosing the Model
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU507: Promoting Optimal Models and Systems for Health Care Delivery
Unit 8 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The system, committee and baseline windows are composite; the measures and data sources named are real.
Memo Header
To: Director of Nursing, Medical Services; Accountable Care Committee From: [Student Name], RN, MSN student, Medical Unit Practice Council Date: [Date] Re: Approval of an indicator set before the care delivery model decision
Request
Please approve the nine indicators below at the committee's next meeting, before the decision between continuing team nursing and piloting primary nursing on one section. A measure chosen after the preferred model is known tends to favor it, so this set is fixed while both options are still open.
Indicators
Each indicator gives its definition, source, baseline window and owner.
1. Thirty-day all-cause readmission, defined population. Definition: share of index discharges of adults 65 and older with two or more listed chronic conditions and a prior admission in 12 months, readmitted to any of the system's hospitals within 30 days. Source: system admission data. Baseline: the prior 12 months. Owner: quality analyst. This is the decision measure.
2. CMS risk-standardized all-cause unplanned admissions for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Definition: the measure CMS has applied to accountable care organizations in the Shared Savings Program, as reported for the system's ACO for the performance years available. Source: the ACO's quality reports. Baseline: most recent two reported years. Owner: ACO quality lead. Context only: its attribution and risk adjustment differ from anything the unit can compute, so it will not be used to judge the pilot.
3. Injurious falls, counted per thousand patient days. Source: NDNQI definitions and the unit's submissions (Montalvo, 2007). Baseline: prior eight quarters. Owner: unit quality nurse.
4. Pressure injuries acquired in hospital at stage 2 or worse, as a prevalence. Source: NDNQI quarterly prevalence survey. Baseline: prior eight quarters. Owner: wound care nurse.
5. Total nursing hours per patient day. Source: NDNQI staffing data. Baseline: prior four quarters. Owner: unit manager.
6. Skill mix: registered nurse share of nursing hours. Source: NDNQI staffing data. Baseline: prior four quarters. Owner: unit manager.
7. HCAHPS communication with nurses composite. Source: the hospital's HCAHPS results, a standardized, publicly reported survey (Giordano et al., 2010). Baseline: prior four quarters. Owner: patient experience office.
8. Nurse continuity index, defined population. Definition: the share of a patient's day shifts covered by the same registered nurse, averaged across the defined population. Source: staffing assignment records. Baseline: a four-week sample before the decision. Owner: practice council.
9. Registered nurse turnover and vacancy on the unit. Source: human resources. Baseline: prior 12 months. Owner: unit manager. A balancing measure.
Why These Indicators
Outcome indicators come first and are tied to the population's defining problem, repeat admission. The internal rate is the decision measure because the unit can compute it for exactly the population the pilot targets; the CMS measure is included as external context because the committee is accountable for it, but the memo says plainly that it will not be used to judge a one-section pilot.
Nursing-sensitive and structure indicators follow because a model change moves staffing, and staffing moves harm. A switch to primary nursing raises registered nurse hours and changes skill mix; falls and pressure injuries should be watched to confirm that the change does not cause harm elsewhere on the unit.
The continuity index is defined precisely because it is the mechanism primary nursing claims to change. If the pilot does not raise continuity, any change in readmissions cannot be credited to primary nursing. Research using electronic records has found continuity low on many units (Stifter et al., 2015), so the baseline is worth measuring in its own right.
Experience is limited to the nurse communication composite, which is less diluted by non-nursing factors than overall hospital ratings. Registered nurse turnover is a balancing measure, since a model the staff cannot sustain will fail regardless of patient outcomes.
Indicators Considered and Left Out
Three others were considered. Length of stay was left out because primary nursing may lengthen some stays slightly if teaching is scheduled around caregivers' visits, and the committee should not penalize that. Emergency department visits within 30 days were left out for now because the system cannot yet link visits at other hospitals, though they would be a useful addition later. Staff satisfaction surveys were left out in favor of turnover, which is harder to argue with and already collected.
What the Committee Is Not Being Asked
This memo does not propose a model or targets. Those come in the transition plan, once the committee has agreed on how success will be judged.
References
Giordano, L. A., Elliott, M. N., Goldstein, E., Lehrman, W. G., & Spencer, P. A. (2010). Development, implementation, and public reporting of the HCAHPS survey. Medical Care Research and Review, 67(1), 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558709341065
Montalvo, I. (2007). The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 12(3), Manuscript 2. https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol12No03Man02
Stifter, J., Yao, Y., Lodhi, M. K., Lopez, K. D., Khokhar, A., Wilkie, D. J., & Keenan, G. M. (2015). Nurse continuity and hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: A comparative analysis using an electronic health record "big data" set. Nursing Research, 64(5), 361-371. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000112
How this NU507 Unit 8 example is structured
The memo rests on one argument: a measure picked once the preferred model is known tends to favor it, so this set is fixed while both models remain open. Outcome indicators come first and are tied to the population's defining problem, repeat admission, with the internal rate as the decision measure and the CMS measure as external context, since its risk adjustment and attribution differ from anything the unit can compute. Nursing-sensitive and structure indicators follow because a model change moves staffing, and staffing moves harm. The continuity index is defined precisely, the share of a patient's shifts covered by the same RN, because it is the mechanism primary nursing claims to change. Experience is limited to nurse communication, a composite less diluted by non-nursing factors. RN overtime watches the cost to staff. What was left out, and why, closes the memo.
Get an NU507 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
An indicator memo turns on the population and the models still open, so describe both, name the memo's intended readers and attach this unit's rubric. NDNQI and CMS measures named accurately, with definitions, sources, a balancing measure and dates where programs change, come back within 24-48h to your instructions, and the first custom sample is free. 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.
NU507 Unit 8 questions, answered
What is NDNQI and can I cite it without access?
The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, now part of Press Ganey, defines nursing-sensitive indicators such as falls with injury, pressure injuries and nursing hours per patient day, and subscribing hospitals receive benchmark reports. Its indicators and definitions can be named from published descriptions without a subscription. The sample uses NDNQI definitions and brackets the unit's figures, since only a subscribing hospital holds its own data.
Why select indicators before choosing a model?
Because measures chosen afterward can be picked to favor the conclusion, even without intending it. Fixing them first means both models are judged by the same standard. The sample asks the committee to approve the set while team and primary nursing are both still options, and states that no measure will be added later without a documented reason.
How many indicators are enough?
Enough to cover outcomes for the population, the nursing-sensitive effects of a staffing change, and at least one balancing measure; often six to ten. More than that dilutes attention and data collection. The sample proposes nine and lists three it considered and excluded, so the reader sees the boundary was drawn on purpose.