| Course | DNP 715 Dynamics and Principles of Information in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Project charter and team presentation |
| Length | About 449 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | Doctor of Nursing Practice |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DNP 715 Module 8
Handoff at the Bedside: A Project Charter for Redesigning Emergency Department to Medical Unit Transfers
Student Name
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University
DNP 715: Dynamics and Principles of Information in Healthcare
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Handoff at the Bedside: A Project Charter for Redesigning Emergency Department to Medical Unit Transfers
Project Charter
Project title: Bedside structured handoff for emergency department to medical unit admissions.
Problem statement: At the pilot hospital, emergency nurses give report by phone, often while the receiving nurse is busy with other patients. A review of 40 recent transfers found that 14 handoffs omitted pending results or medications due and that receiving nurses called back for missing information in 22.
Aim: Within six months, 90% of transfers from the emergency department to the pilot medical unit will include a structured handoff completed at the bedside, and callbacks for missing information will fall by half.
Scope: In scope, adult admissions from the emergency department to one 30-bed medical unit. Out of scope, intensive care transfers and physician handoffs.
Current and Future Workflow
| Step | Current | Future |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bed assigned; emergency nurse calls unit | Bed assigned; electronic handoff note auto-populates from the record |
| 2 | Phone report when receiving nurse is free | Emergency nurse completes the structured note before transport |
| 3 | Patient transported | Receiving nurse reviews the note before arrival |
| 4 | Receiving nurse finds gaps, calls back | Brief bedside handoff with the transport nurse and patient, using the note's headings |
| 5 | No confirmation | Receiving nurse confirms by reading back key items |
Evidence
The strongest support comes from a nine-hospital study in which errors and preventable harm both dropped after a handoff bundle was introduced, and handoffs took no longer (Starmer et al., 2014). SBAR gives clinicians a shared mental model for communication (Haig et al., 2006), and the electronic note reduces reliance on memory. The read-back at step 5 closes the communication loop, a core coordinating mechanism of teamwork (Salas et al., 2005).
Measures
Outcome: medication and treatment delays in the first four hours after arrival. Process: percentage of transfers with a completed note and bedside handoff. Balancing: emergency department boarding time after bed assignment, to make sure the new process does not slow throughput.
Stakeholders and Roles
Executive sponsor: chief nursing officer. Project lead: medical unit nurse manager. Team: emergency and medical unit nurses, charge nurses, informatics, bed management, a hospitalist and a patient family advisor.
Risks and Mitigation
Emergency throughput pressure: allow phone handoff with the electronic note when boarding exceeds a set threshold. Note fatigue: limit the note to essential headings. Staff resistance: involve frontline nurses in testing the note.
Timeline
Months 1 to 2: build and test the note with informatics. Month 3: train staff. Months 4 to 6: pilot with weekly run charts. Month 6: report and decide on spread.
Presentation Outline
Problem with local data; current-state map; evidence; future-state map; measures; risks; ask for approval of a six-month pilot.
References
Haig, K. M., Sutton, S., & Whittington, J. (2006). SBAR: A shared mental model for improving communication between clinicians. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 32(3), 167-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1553-7250(06)32022-3
Salas, E., Sims, D. E., & Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a "big five" in teamwork? Small Group Research, 36(5), 555-599. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496405277134
Starmer, A. J., Spector, N. D., Srivastava, R., West, D. C., Rosenbluth, G., Allen, A. D., Noble, E. L., Tse, L. L., Dalal, A. K., Keohane, C. A., Lipsitz, S. R., Rothschild, J. M., Wien, M. F., Yoon, C. S., Zigmont, K. R., Wilson, K. M., O'Toole, J. K., Solan, L. G., Aylor, M., ... Landrigan, C. P. (2014). Changes in medical errors after implementation of a handoff program. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(19), 1803-1812. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1405556
What the DNP 715 Module 8 instructions ask for
The posted syllabus grades the Final Team Assignment and the Team Assignment Presentation at 100 points each, the largest team grade in the course. Teams identify a process that needs workflow redesign to improve patient outcomes, patient safety or provider practices and efficiencies, and complete a project charter that addresses a plan to implement the redesign. Expect the charter to include a problem statement, aim, scope, current and future workflow, measures, stakeholders, risks and timeline, and the presentation to summarize it for the class. Use the project plan from your revised team charter as the starting point, and check Canvas for the charter template. Use your revised team charter's project plan as the outline for this charter, and update it as the team learns more.
How the DNP 715 Module 8 example is put together
The charter follows the standard elements of a quality improvement project charter, each labeled. Local review data anchor the problem statement, and the aim carries a target, a population and a deadline. A table contrasts current and future workflow step by step, which is the center of a redesign project. Evidence supports the future state. Measures include outcome, process and balancing measures, showing awareness that a change can cause new problems. Stakeholders, risks with mitigations and a timeline make the plan implementable. A short presentation outline shows how the charter becomes the team's talk. The aim statement includes a number, a date and a population, which makes the project measurable and lets faculty judge whether the plan could succeed.
DNP 715 Module 8 rubric: what earns full marks
Workflow redesign projects are usually graded on a clearly defined process and problem, a measurable aim, a well-described current and future workflow, evidence supporting the redesign, appropriate measures, stakeholder and risk analysis, a realistic timeline, and an organized presentation with balanced participation. Faculty look for charters that could be used in a real organization. Including a balancing measure shows maturity. A step-by-step workflow comparison makes the redesign concrete. Local data in the problem statement shows that the problem is real. Clear roles show the team's planning. Faculty also notice whether the team considers people affected by the change but not on the team, such as bed managers or families.
DNP 715 Module 8 help from the desk
Charters often skip the current-state workflow and jump to solutions. Map what happens now, step by step, before designing what should happen. Aims also fail when they carry no target or deadline. Add a balancing measure. Keep scope narrow enough to pilot. For help drafting the redesign charter, send your team's process, data and template to the desk. Test the future workflow on paper with a nurse who does the job now; their questions often reveal missing steps. Divide the presentation by charter section. Rehearse the presentation with every member speaking, and plan who answers questions on each section.
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 715 Module 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DNP 715 Module 8 sample paper?
The workflow redesign charter above is complete: a bedside structured handoff for emergency to medical unit transfers, with aim, workflows, evidence, measures, stakeholders, risks and timeline.
How many points is the DNP 715 final team project?
The final team assignment and its presentation are worth 100 points each.
What goes in a workflow redesign project charter?
A problem statement, aim, scope, current and future workflow, measures, stakeholders, risks and a timeline.
What is a balancing measure?
It watches for side effects of an improvement in another part of the system, for example longer emergency boarding.
What processes are good for a DNP 715 workflow redesign?
Ones that touch safety or outcomes and can be piloted on one unit, for example report between departments or the discharge process.