NURS FPX 8020 Assessment 1 Sample FREE DOWNLOAD
NURS-FPX 8020 Assessment 1
Strategic Plan Appraisal
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Capella University
NURS-FPX8020
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Submission Date
Strategic Plan Appraisal
Healthcare organizations need to have an in-depth strategic plan to manage a complex regulatory environment and changing patient needs. The strategic plans have to strike a balance between competing priorities such as financial sustainability, quality improvement, workforce development, and community health outcomes, and operational excellence (Huebner & Flessa, 2022). Effective healthcare strategic planning involves stakeholder involvement, evidence-based decision-making, and performance measurement based on a systematic approach in clinical and administrative areas. Strategic implementation in any healthcare environment requires a constant adjustment to the changes in the regulatory environment, technological innovations, and demographic trends ( 2024). This analysis of the strategic planning approach of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will include the analysis of the reliability of the data, the processes of stakeholder engagement, and the holistic performance measurement systems of the institution.
Strategic Plan Analysis
Most organizations have elaborate strategic plans that are used to determine institutional direction and resource allocation. The Forging Ahead 2024-2028 strategic plan adopted by the UAB shows a high level of correspondence between the mission of enriching society and making it healthier and wellbeing and five main pillars of education, research/innovation, community engagement, patient care, and foundational elements of financial sustainability, diversity, and environmental stewardship (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The focus of the plan on transformational education, breakthrough research, and high-quality patient care contributes directly to the university’s vision as a world-class research institution dedicated to enhancing the human experience.
The strategic priorities of higher education show the strength and market positioning of an institution. Research and patient care are priorities in the UAB plan, with aggressive goals such as 28 percent growth in external research spending to $913 million and 15 percent more patient visits (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The emphasis on the growth of economic impact to 15 billion and the preservation of robust clinical programs in the plan is consistent with the fact that UAB is the largest research institution and comprehensive academic medical center in Alabama (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The strategic planning should have clear priorities that can take advantage of the organizational capabilities as well as meet the needs of the stakeholders.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis offers an organization a logical approach to assessing its internal capacities and external environmental conditions. The UAB boasts considerable institutional capabilities, including a well-developed research infrastructure, the 27th highest research expenditure in the country, and a well-developed peer benchmarking system strategically placed among similar institutions (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). However, the university faces significant weaknesses, including a lack of comprehensive baseline data on key performance indicators and ongoing disparities in graduation rates between different student groups, which require targeted interventions. The external environment has significant opportunities, especially by aligning with national research funding trends and the needs of workforce development in Alabama, which may underpin the ambitious growth goals of UAB (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). On the other hand, risks are the stiff competition with aspirational peer organizations that rank higher and the possible scarcity of available resources due to the simultaneous growth strategy in eight strategic priority areas. Environmental scanning is an essential aspect of strategic planning that facilitates decision-making and deployment of resources.
The table below presents the data of the SWOT of the University of Alabama at Birmingham taken by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2024).
Table 1
SWOT Analysis of UAB Strategic Positioning
Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
1. UAB has developed robust peer benchmarking against six similar institutions and three aspirational peers using more than 100 measures. | 1. Measurement frameworks do not have baseline data on several important metrics, such as sustainability flags and wellbeing participation (marked TBD). | 1. The target increase of 28 percent in research expenditure to $913 million is consistent with the national patterns of funding and the UAB high ranking of #27 in the HERD. | 1. The current credit ratings of Aa2/AA+ could be challenged by the ambitious and simultaneous expansion of eight strategic areas. |
2. The organization developed a strong research infrastructure that was ranked 27th in NSF HERD with a baseline expenditure of 713$ million and a full-service academic medical center. | 2. There is a gap in graduation rates across student populations that needs to be improved by 5% which demonstrates that there are still challenges of equity in education. | 2. The needs of the Alabama workforce development present possibilities to achieve the objective of UAB to retain 77 percent of the graduates in the state to be employed and educated. | 2. Rivalry in faculty hiring and research funding to be obtained with bigger aspirational universities (University of Pittsburgh #9, Rutgers #28). |
Note. Data reflects internal assessments and public institutional benchmarks, including NSF HERD rankings and graduation metrics.
Validity of Data and Analytical Strategies
The overall analysis of data is what organizations are using to develop meaningful performance indicators and strategic priorities. The UAB has used more than 100 distinct measures based on various reputable databases such as the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD), and U.S. News & World Report ranking (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The university included the metrics provided by the National Student Clearinghouse, Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Other sources of data were the Association of American Universities (AAU), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and the U.S. Census Bureau demographics (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The multi-source method enabled a comprehensive analysis of peer comparisons across research expenditures, enrollment patterns, retention rates, and operational metrics. The validity of strategic planning and the process of decision-making within an organization are enhanced by comprehensive data collection.
Internal performance data and external benchmarking standards should be well integrated with strategic planning. The current research expenditures, enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of the UAB are the baseline metrics with the values of 713 million dollars, 22,164 students, 84.2 percent, and 62.6 percent, respectively, which are obtained based on the institutional records (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The university had the financial goals of FY24 philanthropic giving ($80 million), alums giving ($9.0 million), and credit ratings of Moody (Aa2) and S&P (AA+) (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The metrics used in patient care involved the use of health system data across several entities that had a variation of >90 percent satisfaction baseline (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The number of community engagement hours (24,704) and economic impact information ($12.1 billion) formed quantitative bases of growth indicators (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Strategic planning based on data makes planning accountable and allows monitoring of progress systematically across organizational priorities.
Stakeholder Input
Effective strategic planning involves the involvement of stakeholders in a meaningful way so that there is complete input and institutional buy-in. In January 2022, the Strategic Planning Council of the UAB started its work under the guidance of President Ray Watts to update the 2018-2023 plan called Forging the Future to the next five-year cycle ( The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). In spring 2022, the council expanded to include several subcommittees and subject matter experts, providing research, analysis, and insights across education, research, patient care, community engagement, and foundational areas. Faculty, staff, students, and health system personnel numbering at least 55 across the university and the health system were involved in the development process (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The presentation at a campus-wide town hall took place on October 25, 2023, and a comment period that was widely publicized to encourage the participation of broad communities was launched (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). President Watts also discussed the importance of stakeholder input, explaining that UAB’s most valuable resources are its students, faculty, and staff, who positively impact lives. The participation of stakeholders in strategic planning enables these plans to be more reflective of the diverse views and organizational needs of all institutional constituents.
The process of effective strategic planning includes feedback systematically, but with the focus on the priorities of the institution. All the feedback that was given was carefully reviewed, considered, and evaluated in opposition to other similar and competing feedback given by other members of the campus community. The final plan underwent several revisions based on stakeholder recommendations and suggestions. Feedback was provided in a narrow or area-specific manner with relevant schools, colleges, or units to be used in localized strategic planning activities (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). It was a tradeoff between extensive input and the necessity of a larger-than-life, institutional-level guidance. The ownership that comes out of structured stakeholder engagement enables the successful implementation of strategic plans at different levels of the organization.
Balanced Scorecard
A balanced scorecard is a methodology that offers an organization a wide-ranging strategy for measuring strategic performance, beyond the conventional financial measures. Kaplan and Norton created the methods and incorporated four overlapping points of view: economic, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth, so that the leaders could transform their strategic vision into practical goals and quantifiable results (Madsen, 2025). The financial aspect is concerned with conventional financial metrics, such as the goal of raising philanthropic donations by $12.5 million from an $80-million base, and attaining a 0.75 spendable cash proportion, as opposed to 0.57 points (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The customer view will consider the satisfaction metrics of the UAB, aiming to raise the graduation rates to 70 percent based on the current 62.6 percent, and ensuring that patient satisfaction is more than 90 percent and that the visits increase by 15 percent (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Operational efficiency is assessed through internal processes, such as the ambitious goal of UAB to increase research expenditure by 28 percent to 913 million and 25 percent in IP disclosures that rose to 104 per year (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The learning and growth lens focuses on such development goals as surpassing 27,000 community engagement hours compared to 24,704 in the baseline and increasing economic impact to 15 billion compared to 12.1 billion (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Balanced measurement systems are being used increasingly by modern organizations to gain sustainable competitive advantage by measuring strategic objectives in quantitative terms.
Strategic Priority Balance Assessment
Strategic organizations must carefully balance competing priorities to optimize overall performance and mission achievement. The UAB’s strategic plan shows clear emphasis on research and innovation priorities, evidenced by the aggressive 28% target increase in external research expenditures to $913 million and substantial focus on intellectual property development (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Patient care receives significant attention through 15% visit increases and telehealth expansion, while education priorities focus on modest enrollment growth of 5% and retention improvements (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Community engagement and sustainability initiatives receive relatively less emphasis, with smaller percentage targets and fewer specific metrics. The financial foundation receives appropriate attention through diversified revenue strategies and by maintaining strong credit ratings. Successful strategic implementation requires prioritization while maintaining organizational mission alignment across all operational areas.
Conclusion
The UAB comprehensive strategic planning process is a best practice since it has widespread stakeholder involvement, strong data verification, and priority setting. The balanced scorecard strategy of the university is an effective way of converting the strategic vision into a quantitative result in terms of financial, customer, internal process, and learning. A high degree of institutional mission and strategic pillars integration establishes accountability structures, but the priorities of research and patient care are more emphasized than community engagement activities. The success of the implementation hinges on managing the distribution of resources across the eight strategic areas and filling the baseline data gaps related to sustainability measures. To have transformational organizational results, effective strategic planning must involve continuous monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive management.
Appendix A: Balanced Scorecard for RUSH Health Equity Strategic Plan
The data for the balanced scorecard of The University of Alabama at Birmingham in the table below is taken from The University of Alabama at Birmingham (2024)
Domain | Objectives | Metrics | Target for Metrics | Initiatives |
Financial | Increase philanthropic support | Philanthropic gift amounts received | Increase by $12.5 million from $80 million baseline | Increase estate planning gifts and scholarship endowments; increase giving for scholarships and endowments |
Enhance alum engagement | Alums giving amounts | Increase by $1.25 million from $9.0 million baseline | Engage alums in campus activities, including arts and athletics; connect alums with gift recipients | |
Improve financial stewardship | Spendable cash and investment to operations ratio | Achieve a 0.75 ratio from a 0.57 baseline | Explore revenue opportunities consistent with the mission; assess opportunities to increase efficiencies and reduce expenses. | |
Maintain credit strength | External credit ratings | Maintain Aa2 (Moody’s) and AA+ (S&P) ratings | Assess ongoing debt capacity using revenue projections; monitor the market for promising debt issuance periods. | |
Customer | Improve student success | Six-year graduation rate | Achieve 70% from 62.6% baseline | Reduce graduation gaps by 5% for diverse populations; promote high-impact practices and experiential learning. |
Enhance student retention | First-time, full-time freshmen retention rate | Increase by 2.9 percentage points from 84.2% baseline | Enrich student belonging through enhanced engagement opportunities; provide flexible course offerings for various student types | |
Enhance patient satisfaction | Patient satisfaction scores across health entities | Maintain above 90% satisfaction scores | Achieve national recognition for highly satisfying health care; enhance patient experience from appointment to post-care communication. | |
Expand patient access | Patient visits across health-related entities | Increase by 15% from varying entity baselines | Develop a phased process to integrate care, identifying and removing barriers to world-class health care access. | |
Increase telemedicine utilization | Telemedicine patient interactions | Increase by 25% from 3,974 baseline visits | Create a centralized telehealth support system; develop a statewide partnership network to enhance patient access. | |
Internal Processes | Grow research capacity | External research expenditures | Increase 28% to $913 million from $713 million baseline | Strengthen priority research areas; promote interdisciplinary collaborations internally and externally; grow and diversify funding sources |
Enhance innovation output | Intellectual property disclosures | Increase by 25% from the 104 three-year average baseline | Facilitate IP development; streamline internal processes to lower barriers to realizing innovative ideas | |
Increase total enrollment | Student enrollment across all programs | Increase 5% from 22,164 baseline (1% per year) | Grow recruitment focused on a diverse student body; provide innovative academic programming and flexible offerings. | |
Expand sustainable practices | LEED-certified new construction percentage | 80% of new square footage meets LEED standards | Pursue LEED certification on projects over 20,000 sq ft; analyze energy use and environmental impacts of construction. | |
Increase sustainability education | Students earning the Sustainability flag in the Blazer Core | Increase by 8% from FY23 baseline TBD | Pursue academic department collaboration for sustainability learning outcomes; explore Blazer Core sustainability participation. | |
Learning and Growth | Enhance community engagement | Community engagement hours completed | Exceed 27,000 hours from 24,704 baseline | Increase the proportion of students in community activities; elevate and reward faculty/staff community engagement activities. |
Retain graduates in-state | Graduating students remaining in Alabama | Achieve 77% from 69% baseline | Address state workforce needs through degree programs and certificates, while retaining students for employment and graduate school. | |
Expand health initiatives | Live HealthSmart Alabama program sites | Add five sites beyond the current five Birmingham area sites | Align internal resources to enable action; expand inclusive processes for UAB and community participation | |
Increase economic impact | UAB’s total economic impact on the state | Increase to $15 billion from $12.1 billion FY22 baseline | Strategically invest in student enrollment and retention; facilitate faculty/staff hiring and increase patient volume | |
Enhance wellbeing education | Students earning Wellbeing flag in Blazer Core | Increase by 8% from FY23 baseline TBD | Integrate health and wellbeing in curricular and co-curricular experiences; promote UAB as a Health Promoting University signatory. |
Instructions To Write NURS FPX 8020 Assessment 1
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Instruction file for 8020 Assessment 1
Assessment 1
Strategic Plan Appraisal
Write a 6–7 page critical appraisal of an organization’s strategic plan from the perspective of a nurse executive, taking into consideration the organization’s mission, vision, and other contextual factors.
Introduction
A strategic plan is constructed from a clear, well-articulated vision and a comprehensive environmental scan. An analysis of the internal and external environments provides a clear picture of the current state and the potential hurdles to overcome in reaching the desired future state. Leaders can then establish goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic, timely, and rewarding.
Strategic objectives balance short-term and long-term opportunities and consider the needs of all key stakeholders. From the objectives flow the strategies and tactics for achieving the goals. Building skill in strategic planning positions, the DNP nurse is one who makes things happen.
This assessment provides an opportunity for you to critically examine an organization’s strategic plan. An understanding of the organization’s vision, mission, and strategic priorities is crucial to departmental strategic planning that aligns with, and supports, organizational priorities.
Preparation
For this assessment, you will appraise an organizational strategic plan, develop a departmental strategic plan, and propose a quality improvement initiative, respectively. The choice of healthcare setting as the context for this work is up to you. You may choose the organization in which you currently work, an organization in which you worked previously, or an organization about which you would like to learn more. You will use this healthcare organization, and a department or division within the organization, as the basis for the remaining assessments in this course.
Note: The assessments in this course must be completed in the order presented; subsequent assessments should be built on both your earlier work and your faculty’s feedback on earlier assessments. If you choose to submit assessments prematurely, without considering and integrating your faculty’s feedback, your assessment may be returned ungraded, resulting in your loss of an assessment attempt.
Note: For FIengath learners, if you choose to make revisions based on feedback from a previous attempt, you should highlight your revisions in yellow. For example, if you made revisions from attempts one and would like faculty to review the content when grading attempt two, the content needs to be highlighted. Therefore, faculty reviews only the content highlighted on attempts two and three. If the entire paper is highlighted, the paper will be returned ungraded and will count as an attempt. Track changes are not a substitution for highlighted text.
After choosing your organization, obtain a copy of the organization’s strategic plan. Most large health systems post their strategic plans, visions, and missions on the Internet.
If it is helpful to you, below is an example of how you may format your balanced score card table.
| Domain | Objectives | Metrics | Target for Metrics | Initiatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial | What is your objective for this domain? | How will you measure if you achieved the objective? | What is your target number for the metric? | What initiative will help you achieve your objective? |
| Customer | What is your objective for this domain? | How will you measure if you achieved the objective? | What is your target number for the metric? | What initiative will help you achieve your objective? |
| Internal Processes | What is your objective for this domain? | How will you measure if you achieved the objective? | What is your target number for the metric? | What initiative will help you achieve your objective? |
| Learning and Growth | What is your objective for this domain? | How will you measure if you achieved the objective? | What is your target number for the metric? | What initiative will help you achieve your objective? |
Instructions
Before you get started, please watch the following video:
NUBS-FPX8020 Assessment 1 Video (F)
Write a critical appraisal of the organization’s strategic plan. Identify strategic priorities and orient yourself to the key performance indicators (KPI) the organization uses to drive quality. Include the quantitative metrics of the scorecard.
Note: Lessons learned from your appraisal will inform your work in subsequent assessments in this course.
Appraisal Format and Length
Format your document using APA style.
Length: Your appraisal should be 6–7 pages in length, excluding the title page, references page, and appendix.
APA Format: Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial (DOCK) ⇨ to help you in writing and formatting your appraisal. Be sure to include:
A title page and references page.
An abstract and running head are not required.
Appropriate section headings.
Additional Information: In addition to an introduction with a thesis statement and a conclusion, use the following section headings to format the body of your paper to ensure thorough content coverage and flow.
Strategic Plan Analysis.
SWOT.
Validity of Data and Analytical Strategies.
Stakeholder Input.
Balanced Scorecard.
Nomenclature: Please save the document you are submitting for grading using the following format.
Lastname, First name – Assessment 1 Attempt #
Evaluation
The following tasks correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment rubric, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.
Select an organization and analyze their strategic plan.
Analysis of strategic plan.
How well do the priorities align with the mission and vision of the organization?
What priorities appear to take precedence?
Approach your SWOT analysis from a systems perspective at a macro level.
Perform a SWOT analysis taking into account both internal and external key elements.
Include a four-part grid of the SWOT quadrants as an APA properly formatted figure within your paper.
Provide a description of the SWOT analysis.
Evaluate the validity of data and analytical strategies used to develop organizational priorities.
What data was most likely used to develop key performance indicators (KPIs)?
For example: patient satisfaction data, 30-day readmission data, other internal performance indicators or external regulatory measures.
What was the source of the data?
For example: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), internal data, public health data, financial data.
Explain how input from stakeholders might have been elicited and incorporated into the development of strategic priorities.
For example, strategic priorities can be developed by the board of directors, elicited from employee focus or patient advocacy groups, or derived from a combination of these approaches.
You may need to interview an organizational stakeholder for this information. If this information is unavailable to you, identify the stakeholders you would
approach for their inputs.
Create a balanced scorecard for an organization.
Use four standard balanced scorecard domains: 1) financial, 2) customer, 3) internal processes, and 4) learning and growth.
Include quantitative measures for each domain.
Are the organization’s strategic priorities balanced, or do one or more priorities receive more emphasis than the others?
Include the scorecard as an APA properly formatted appendix.
Articulate meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and purpose of the prompt.
Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards.
Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your appraisal.
Apply APA formatting to in-text citations, references, figure, and appendix.
APA formatted citations and references for a minimum of six scholarly references.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Analyze organizational priorities, strategic planning, and system wide processes using data to optimize outcomes from a leadership perspective.
Analyze an organization’s strategic plan, noting organizational priorities and mission and vision statements.
Analyze an organization’s strategic plan using SWOT technique.
Evaluate the validity of data and analytical strategies used to develop organizational priorities.
Explain how input from stakeholders might have been elicited and incorporated into the development of strategic priorities.
Create a balanced scorecard for an organization.
Competency 5: Address assessment purpose in effective written or multimedia presentations, incorporating appropriate evidence and communicating in a form and style consistent with applicable professional and academic standards.
Convey purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Scoring Guide for 8020 Assessment 1
Scoring Guide for this assessment will be added soon.
References For NURS FPX 8020 Assessment 1
Huebner, C., & Flessa, S. (2022). Strategic management in healthcare: A call for long-term and systems-thinking in an uncertain system. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148617
Madsen, D. O. (2025). Balanced scorecard: History, implementation, and impact. Encyclopedia, 5(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia5010039
Ștefan, A.-M., Rusu, N.-R., Ovreiu, E., & Ciuc, M. (2024). Empowering healthcare: A comprehensive guide to implementing a robust medical information system, components, benefits, objectives, evaluation criteria, and seamless deployment strategies. Applied System Innovation, 7(3), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi7030051
The University of Alabama at Birmingham. (2024). University of Alabama at Birmingham strategic plan 2024-2028: forging ahead. In uab.edu. https://www.uab.edu/plan/images/2024-2028-plan/forging-ahead.pdf
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Best Professors To Choose From For This Class
Donna Ryan, DNP, MSN
Michael Ruth, DNP, MSN
Brianna Seaver, DNP, CERT, MSN
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