HCD 575 Module 1 Final Project Outline: A Transformation and Leadership Challenge Example

Reviewed by Emmett Rockwell, MBA Arizona State University Updated October 2026

This HCD 575 Module 1 sample is the outline for the Final Project in Health Care Transformation and Leadership, a graduate leadership course offered in ASU's MS in the Science of Health Care Delivery. For 10 points, the outline in ASU HCD 575 is submitted for review before the final paper, in which each student studies one change-and-leadership problem in a real setting and sets out findings, solutions and reflections. The composite student, a practice manager for an outpatient specialty group, chooses physician burnout. Her outline states a working thesis, lists the evidence she will use, diagnoses causes in her group, sketches a change plan built on organizational strategies and authentic leadership and names the reflection that will close the paper.

CourseHCD 575 Health Care Transformation and Leadership
ModuleModule 1
Paper typePaper outline
LengthAbout 381 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramMS in the Science of Health Care Delivery
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HCD 575 Module 1

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Outline: Leading a Specialty Group Out of Burnout

Student Name

MS in the Science of Health Care Delivery, Arizona State University

HCD 575: Health Care Transformation and Leadership

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title signals the document type and names the challenge the final paper will address.
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Outline: Leading a Specialty Group Out of Burnout

Working Title and Thesis

Working title: Leading a Specialty Group Out of Burnout.

Working thesis: Burnout among physicians in my outpatient specialty group is an organizational problem rather than a personal failing, and it will respond to a leadership-driven transformation that combines structural changes to work with the development of supervisors who listen, recognize and involve their physicians.

I. Introduction

A. The challenge: burnout in a 14-physician specialty group, shown by turnover, sick days and an internal survey.

B. Why it matters: effects on patient care, safety, retention and cost.

C. Purpose of the paper and its structure.

II. Findings From the Literature

A. Burnout responds to intervention: a meta-analysis found that individual and organizational strategies reduced overall burnout from 54% to 44% (West et al., 2016).

B. Leadership matters: at one large organization, each 1-point increase in a supervisor's leadership score was associated with a 3.3% lower likelihood of burnout among the physicians supervised (Shanafelt et al., 2015).

C. Organizational strategies: the nine executive actions proposed by Shanafelt and Noseworthy (2017), with emphasis on measurement, leader development and flexibility.

D. Course frameworks: transformation lessons from Rescuing Healthcare and authentic leadership from True North (George & Sims, 2007).

What this page is doingEach finding is paired with the source that supports it, so the instructor can check the evidence base before the paper is written.
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III. Analysis of the Challenge in My Group

A. Drivers: documentation load, schedule control, inbox volume, limited voice in decisions.

B. Leadership gaps: supervisors chosen for clinical skill without leadership training.

C. Stakeholders: physicians, nurses, administrators, patients.

IV. Proposed Solutions

A. Measure burnout annually and report results openly.

B. Train physician supervisors in listening, recognition and career development.

C. Redesign work: scribe pilot, protected inbox time, more schedule flexibility.

D. Create a physician well-being committee with real decision authority.

E. Sequence the change: urgency, coalition, quick wins, embedding.

V. Evaluation

A. Measures: burnout survey, turnover, sick days, patient satisfaction.

B. Timeline: baseline, six months, one year.

VI. Reflection

A. My own leadership: what True North exercises revealed about my values and blind spots.

B. What I would do differently as a leader in this change.

VII. Conclusion

Restate thesis and main recommendations.

Questions for the Instructor

1. Is the scope of one specialty group appropriate, or should the paper address the whole organization?

2. Should the reflection draw on my True North exercises in detail?

References

George, B., & Sims, P. (2007). True north: Discover your authentic leadership. Jossey-Bass.

Shanafelt, T. D., & Noseworthy, J. H. (2017). Executive leadership and physician well-being: Nine organizational strategies to promote engagement and reduce burnout. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(1), 129-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.10.004

Shanafelt, T. D., Gorringe, G., Menaker, R., Storz, K. A., Reeves, D., Buskirk, S. J., Sloan, J. A., & Swensen, S. J. (2015). Impact of organizational leadership on physician burnout and satisfaction. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 90(4), 432-440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2015.01.012

West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., Erwin, P. J., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2016). Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 388(10057), 2272-2281. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31279-X

HCD 575 Module 1 instructions, in plain terms

HCD 575's Final Project is an individual paper on a specific transformation and leadership challenge in health care, and the course overview says students first submit an outline for review, worth 10 of the project's 50 points, then incorporate feedback into the final paper worth 40. The paper must articulate findings, solutions and reflections, so the outline should show where each will go. Choose a challenge narrow enough to analyze in depth; a specific organization or unit works better than a national problem. The course texts, Rescuing Healthcare and True North, are natural frameworks, and the outline is the place to show how you will use them. A strong outline makes the final paper faster to write and easier to grade.

How the HCD 575 Module 1 example is put together

Laid out in standard outline form, the sample begins with a working title and a one-sentence thesis. Each main section of the future paper appears with lettered points: introduction, findings from the literature with sources attached, analysis of the challenge in the student's own group, proposed solutions, evaluation, reflection and conclusion. The findings section cites three peer-reviewed studies and a course text. The outline ends with two questions for the instructor, which makes the review step useful. It is detailed enough that the instructor can judge the argument before the paper is written. Each solution in section IV answers a driver named in section III, which shows the instructor that the plan will follow from the analysis rather than from a generic list.

HCD 575 Module 1 rubric: what earns full marks

The outline is worth 10 points under the project rubric in Canvas. Outlines are typically credited for a clear and arguable thesis, a structure that covers findings, solutions and reflections as the assignment requires, identified sources with key evidence, a challenge specific enough to analyze and evidence that course frameworks will be applied. Outlines lose credit when the thesis restates the topic, when sources are missing or listed without their relevance and when sections are headings only, with no indication of content. An outline that already shows how the course texts will be used, and where reflection will appear, gives the instructor something concrete to comment on.

HCD 575 Module 1 help with common mistakes

Write the thesis first and test it: could a reasonable person disagree? If not, sharpen it. Attach a source to each finding, with the number or point you will use. Make solutions specific to your setting. Add questions for your instructor, since the outline review is your chance for direction before the 40-point paper. The desk can help you narrow a topic if your challenge feels too broad. Keep the outline to two pages or so; enough detail to judge the argument, not a draft in disguise. A good outline also shows the order of sections you intend, so the instructor can suggest moving or cutting material before you invest time in writing it out.

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More HCD 575 and MS in the Science of Health Care Delivery sample papers

HCD 575 Module 1 questions, answered

Where can I find a free HCD 575 Module 1 sample paper?

This page holds a full HCD 575 Module 1 sample: a final project outline on physician burnout as a transformation and leadership challenge.

What is the HCD 575 final project?

An individual paper that researches, analyzes and evaluates a specific transformation and leadership challenge in health care, with findings, solutions and reflections.

How much is the HCD 575 outline worth?

The outline is worth 10 points and the final paper 40, for 50 of the course's 210 points.

Which textbooks does HCD 575 use?

Bell and Cortese's Rescuing Healthcare and George and Sims's True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership.

Does leadership affect physician burnout?

In a study of 2,813 physicians, each 1-point increase in a supervisor's leadership score was linked to a 3.3% lower likelihood of burnout.