DNP 709 Module 1 Immersion Reflection: Leadership Vision Example

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

This DNP 709 Module 1 sample is the Immersion 1 reflection on leadership vision in Individual and Innovation Leadership in Healthcare Practice, a core course in ASU's Doctor of Nursing Practice. ASU DNP 709 opens with an in-person immersion on innovation and leadership principles and asks each student to write a short reflection afterward. The composite writer manages a 32-bed medical unit at a Phoenix hospital. She describes the vision exercise she struggled with, drafts a one-sentence vision for her unit, names the values that sit under it, explains how an activity on mission and core values changed her view of her own role, and commits to three leadership behaviors to practice and report on later in the course.

CourseDNP 709 Individual and Innovation Leadership in Healthcare Practice
ModuleModule 1
Paper typeImmersion reflection on leadership vision
LengthAbout 366 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramDoctor of Nursing Practice
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for DNP 709 Module 1

1

A Unit Where Good Ideas Get Tried: Reflections on a Leadership Vision After the First Immersion

Student Name

Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University

DNP 709: Individual and Innovation Leadership in Healthcare Practice

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title states the vision itself in plain words, which a reflection on vision should be able to do before it explains anything.
2

A Unit Where Good Ideas Get Tried: Reflections on a Leadership Vision After the First Immersion

What the Immersion Asked of Me

The morning began with a question I could not answer quickly: what would your unit look like if you had led it well for five years? My first draft described lower falls and better scores, which are outcomes, not a vision. A classmate pointed out that I had described a dashboard, not a place people would want to work.

What this page is doingStarting with what the immersion asked and how it felt gives the reflection a real event to reflect on, rather than general thoughts about leadership.
3

My Vision

I want to lead a unit where any nurse can bring a good idea and see it tried within a month. Behind that sentence are three values I hold: curiosity, safety for the people who speak up, and follow-through.

What Changed in My Thinking

The session on mission, vision and core values showed me that a vision is only useful if it guides choices when the schedule is short and the census is high. I realized that my unit's ideas usually die not because staff lack them but because nobody owns the next step. The literature on nursing leadership supports this shift. In a systematic review of nursing leadership studies, leaders who focused on people and relationships tended to have more satisfied, healthier staff who stayed longer, whereas leaders focused narrowly on tasks saw the reverse (Cummings et al., 2018). Ethical leadership adds that leaders teach by example, through what they reward and how openly they communicate (Brown et al., 2005).

What this page is doingThe vision is one sentence a staff nurse could repeat, and the next section explains how the immersion changed it, which is the reflective step graders look for.
4

Three Behaviors for This Term

1. Close the loop on every staff idea within two weeks, even if the answer is no, and explain why.

2. Hold a ten-minute huddle each Friday where one nurse presents an idea and the team picks the smallest test.

3. Ask before I tell: in each one-on-one, start with a question about what is getting in the way. The huddle borrows the Experimenter's habit of quick, rough tests from the course's innovation text (Kelley & Littman, 2016).

What this page is doingTurning the vision into three observable behaviors makes the reflection measurable, which the final synthesis paper can later check.
5

How I Will Know

I will track how many ideas staff raise and how many reach a test. If the vision is working, both numbers should rise by the second immersion, and I will bring them to that day.

References

Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002

Cummings, G. G., Tate, K., Lee, S., Wong, C. A., Paananen, T., Micaroni, S. P., & Chatterjee, G. E. (2018). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work environment: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 85, 19-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.04.016

Kelley, T., & Littman, J. (2016). The ten faces of innovation: Strategies for heightening creativity. Profile Books.

Reading the DNP 709 Module 1 assignment instructions

The posted syllabus lists Immersion 1 (Leadership Vision) as a 10-point individual written document: a reflection based on the content and activities of the first in-person immersion. It falls in Weeks 1 to 4, the innovation and leadership principles block, alongside the leadership reflection mind map and the live Faces of Innovation discussion. Because it is a reflection, the grade depends on how well you connect the day's activities to your own leadership, not on a long literature review. Expect to describe what you did at the immersion, state a leadership vision, and say what you will do with it. Look in Canvas for the prompt and length. Write it within a day or two, while the activities are fresh. Faculty use it to see whether the opening immersion changed how you think about your own role.

Inside the DNP 709 Module 1 example

The reflection opens with an honest moment from the immersion, a first attempt at a vision that missed the point, which makes the learning visible. The vision is one plain sentence with its values named. A section on what changed ties a specific immersion activity to a new insight about the writer's unit and supports it with two sources on leadership. Three behaviors make the vision concrete and testable, and the closing section names a simple measure she can report at the second immersion. The paper stays short, personal and specific, which suits a 10-point reflection while still showing scholarship. Because the behaviors come with a count to track, the later synthesis paper can measure them against this starting point instead of relying on memory.

DNP 709 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks

Immersion reflections are generally graded on thoughtful connection to immersion content, a clear and personal leadership vision, insight into the student's own growth, specific next steps and clear writing. Faculty want to see how the day moved your thinking, not a list of what happened. One plain sentence that a staff nurse could repeat, and that settles real choices, earns credit. Linking insights to a source or two shows that reflection is informed by evidence. Concrete behaviors with a way to measure them show that the student will act on the vision. Honest admission of a struggle reads as more credible than polished certainty. A reflection that ends with something the writer will do on Monday reads as more serious than one that ends with a hope.

DNP 709 Module 1 help with common mistakes

Weak reflections offer a vision built from words such as excellence and quality, which could hang on the wall of any unit. Write one sentence someone on your team would recognize. Another is summarizing the immersion agenda instead of reflecting on it. Pick one or two moments that changed your thinking and explain why. End with behaviors, not intentions. If you would like help shaping your leadership vision reflection, send the prompt and your notes from the immersion to the desk. Keep the reflection in first person and in your own voice. A reflection this short should not need more than two or three sources. Save a copy, since the final synthesis paper asks you to look back at where you started.

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.

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DNP 709 Module 1 questions, answered

Where can I find a free DNP 709 Module 1 sample paper?

The leadership vision reflection above is complete: an immersion moment, a one-sentence vision with values, what changed, three behaviors and a way to measure them.

How many points is the DNP 709 leadership vision reflection?

Immersion 1 (Leadership Vision) is a 10-point individual written document.

What is a leadership vision statement?

A short description of the future you want to lead toward, specific enough to guide decisions and simple enough to remember.

When is the DNP 709 Immersion 1 reflection due?

It belongs to Weeks 1 to 4, after the first in-person immersion; check Canvas for the date.

Does a DNP leadership reflection need references?

A few sources help connect insights to evidence, but the focus is your own learning.