DNP 603 Module 3 Mid-Course Reflection Example

Reviewed by Ingrid Vasterling, MSN, RN Arizona State University Updated October 2026

This DNP 603 Module 3 sample is the mid-course reflection in Health Equity and Social Justice at ASU, written in Week 7 after the course's units on theory and the social determinants of health. ASU DNP 603 wants each reflection to return to three themes, justice, equity and the nurse's public role,. The composite emergency nurse rereads her preflection and describes what changed. She explains why she has stopped calling post-release overdose a choice, which belief she still holds about personal agency, how the readings on imprisonment and homelessness reshaped her idea of equity, and how her picture of the DNP nurse's role has moved from referral to system design.

CourseDNP 603 Health Equity and Social Justice
ModuleModule 3
Paper typeCourse reflection
LengthAbout 482 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramDNP
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for DNP 603 Module 3

1

Halfway, and the Word I Stopped Using: A Mid-Course Reflection on Responsibility and Equity

Student Name

Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University

DNP 603: Health Equity and Social Justice

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title signals a specific change in thinking, a word the writer no longer uses, which is what a mid-course reflection should show.
2

Halfway, and the Word I Stopped Using: A Mid-Course Reflection on Responsibility and Equity

Mid-Course Reflection

I reread my preflection before writing this. In Week 1 I described a man who overdosed nine days after leaving jail and admitted that I used to call it a choice. Seven weeks later, I have stopped using that word for it, and I want to explain why without pretending that my old views have disappeared.

The theoretical foundations paper forced me to put structures into words. Writing about structural violence, I listed what happened to people at the jail door: addiction treatment stopped, coverage paused, housing uncertain, a criminal record in every job application. Farmer and colleagues describe how such arrangements put people in harm's way and urge clinicians to see them in the patients in front of them (Farmer et al., 2006). Once I had listed them, "choice" no longer described what I was seeing. It described the last step in a long chain I had not been looking at.

The weeks on social determinants deepened that. Reading about imprisonment, homelessness and immigration status together showed me how these conditions overlap. Many of my patients who leave jail are also unhoused, and some fear any contact with government services. Each condition makes the others harder to escape. My definition of health equity has become more concrete: it now includes asking which of these overlapping barriers a person faces and which ones a health system can remove.

One belief I still hold is that people have agency. I do not want to replace "choice" with a story in which my patients are only victims. The man in my preflection had stayed off opioids for four months and wanted to stay off. What the readings have changed is my sense of where agency meets structure: his effort was real, and the system around his release made it much harder to sustain. A recent study found that people released from North Carolina prisons had an opioid overdose death risk 40 times that of other residents in the first two weeks (Ranapurwala et al., 2018). No amount of individual resolve should have to overcome odds like those.

My view of the graduate-prepared nurse's role has moved. In Week 1, I thought of better referrals. Now I think about design: what would a release process look like if it were built to keep people alive? That question belongs to nurses with advanced preparation because we understand both the clinical risks and how systems work. A trial showing that a primary care program built for people leaving prison cut emergency visits (Wang et al., 2012) convinced me that design matters. I am beginning to plan my organizational interview with a reentry program, and I want to learn what they need that a nurse could provide.

My goal for the second half is to move from understanding to a concrete intervention.

References

Farmer, P. E., Nizeye, B., Stulac, S., & Keshavjee, S. (2006). Structural violence and clinical medicine. PLoS Medicine, 3(10), e449. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030449

Ranapurwala, S. I., Shanahan, M. E., Alexandridis, A. A., Proescholdbell, S. K., Naumann, R. B., Edwards, D., & Marshall, S. W. (2018). Opioid overdose mortality among former North Carolina inmates: 2000-2015. American Journal of Public Health, 108(9), 1207-1213. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304514

Wang, E. A., Hong, C. S., Shavit, S., Sanders, R., Kessell, E., & Kushel, M. B. (2012). Engaging individuals recently released from prison into primary care: A randomized trial. American Journal of Public Health, 102(9), e22-e29. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300894

Reading the DNP 603 Module 3 assignment instructions

The posted syllabus places the Mid-course Reflection in Week 7, worth 50 points, after weeks on the historical and theoretical foundations of social justice and on social determinants including socioeconomic status, race, age, gender, sexuality, disability, homelessness, immigration status and imprisonment. Like the other reflections, it should revisit social justice values, health equity and what graduate-prepared nurses owe the public, meeting the same one-page or five-minute minimum. Rereading your preflection first helps you describe change specifically. Because the reflection follows the theoretical foundations paper, many students draw on what writing that paper revealed about their beliefs. Write it soon after the midterm week.

How this DNP 603 Module 3 example is built

The reflection begins by rereading the preflection, which anchors the comparison. It names one change precisely, a word the writer stopped using, and explains which course work caused it. A paragraph on overlapping social determinants shows how her definition of equity changed. A paragraph on agency shows she has not simply swapped one simple story for another, which adds credibility. The final paragraphs describe how her idea of the nurse's role has moved and connect it to the upcoming interview. The writer quotes no long passages from readings; instead she names what each part of the course did to her thinking, which keeps the reflection personal. A short goal for the rest of the term closes the reflection.

DNP 603 Module 3 rubric: what earns full marks

Mid-course reflections are usually judged on whether they address the three required elements, show specific change since the first reflection, connect that change to course content, and demonstrate honest self-examination. Faculty tend to value reflections that acknowledge what has not changed as well as what has. Linking reflection to upcoming assignments shows engagement with the course as a whole. Because the syllabus sets no detailed rubric, depth and candor matter more than polish. A reflection that admits a belief still held, and explains how it now fits with new understanding, often reads as more mature than one that claims complete change. Faculty also notice links to upcoming assignments. Specific examples from course weeks strengthen it.

DNP 603 Module 3 help from the desk

Reflections often summarize readings but never say what they changed. Name the change and its cause. Another is overstating transformation; honest, partial change is more convincing. Reread your preflection first. Include all three required elements. Keep patient details composite. If you would like help comparing your early and current thinking for this reflection, bring it to the desk. Use concrete examples from course weeks, such as a specific reading or discussion, to show where your thinking moved. Keep it personal rather than academic. Reread your preflection first, and quote one sentence from it if that helps show the change. Note one belief you still hold.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

Request this one custom, free All DNP 603 module samples

More DNP 603 and DNP sample papers

DNP 603 Module 3 questions, answered

Where can I find a free DNP 603 Module 3 sample paper?

The mid-course reflection is shown above in full: what changed since the preflection, a word the writer stopped using, agency and structure, a sharper view of equity and the DNP nurse's role.

When is the DNP 603 mid-course reflection due?

The syllabus places it in Week 7.

How do I show change in a mid-course reflection?

Reread your first reflection, name a specific belief or habit that changed, and explain which course content caused it.

How many points is the DNP 603 mid-course reflection?

The syllabus lists it at 50 points, 5% of the grade.

Can my DNP 603 reflection be recorded?

Yes. The syllabus allows written, video or audio reflections, with at least 5 minutes for recordings.