NUR 453 Module 3 Paper 1: Logic Model and SMART Goals Example

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

This NUR 453 Module 3 sample is Paper 1, the logic model and SMART goals, in Integration Concepts in the Health Care, one of the final courses in ASU's prelicensure BSN. ASU NUR 453 asks each student to take the group's Health Care in America issue and plan an individual innovation, set out first as a logic model with SMART goals. Her plan places a nurse with behavioral health experience in a Phoenix pediatric emergency department to guide youth who wait there for psychiatric beds. Her logic model runs from inputs and activities to outputs and on to outcomes over three time frames, and three SMART goals set first-year targets. A short section names the assumptions that, if wrong, would break the chain.

CourseNUR 453 Integration Concepts in the Health Care
ModuleModule 3
Paper typeLogic model paper with SMART goals
LengthAbout 510 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramBSN in Nursing
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for NUR 453 Module 3

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From Waiting to Plan: A Logic Model and SMART Goals for a Behavioral Health Nurse Navigator in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Student Name

Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University

NUR 453: Integration Concepts in the Health Care

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title states the change the innovation seeks, turning idle waiting into a plan, and names both required elements of the paper.
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From Waiting to Plan: A Logic Model and SMART Goals for a Behavioral Health Nurse Navigator in a Pediatric Emergency Department

The Innovation in Brief

A registered nurse with behavioral health experience works as a navigator in the pediatric emergency department during its twelve busiest daytime and evening hours. Whenever a child or teen is kept for a psychiatric emergency, this nurse starts a telepsychiatry consult within four hours, writes a daily boarding care plan covering safety, activity, schoolwork and family contact, updates the family twice a day and coordinates the search for an inpatient or crisis bed.

Logic Model

ComponentContent
InputsOne navigator position (1.0 FTE across two nurses); telepsychiatry service contract; tablet carts; boarding care plan template in the electronic record; support from the emergency department manager and psychiatry consult service
ActivitiesScreen each mental health arrival; start telepsychiatry within four hours; write and update the daily care plan; twice-daily family updates; daily bed search calls; staff huddle on each boarding patient
OutputsNumber of youth navigated; percentage with telepsychiatry within four hours; care plans written; family updates completed
Short-term outcomes (1 to 3 months)Faster psychiatric evaluation; families report knowing the plan
Medium-term outcomes (6 to 12 months)Fewer restraint events among boarding youth; shorter boarding hours; some youth discharged home with follow-up instead of admitted
Long-term outcomes (beyond one year)Safer, more therapeutic boarding; less staff moral distress; lower readmission to the emergency department within 30 days
What this page is doingThe logic model reads from left to right as a chain, so each outcome can be traced back to an activity and an input, which is the test a logic model must pass.
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Why the Chain Should Hold

Each link rests on evidence or on a clear mechanism. Telepsychiatry in emergency departments has been associated with more outpatient follow-up and fewer inpatient admissions (Narasimhan et al., 2015), which supports the link between early consults and some youth going home safely. Parents and clinicians interviewed about boarding described unclear roles and poor communication with families (McCarty et al., 2022), which the navigator role and twice-daily updates address directly. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation's guide presents the logic model as a picture of a program's theory of change, one that planners can question before money is spent (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2004).

SMART Goals for the First Year

1. By month three, 80% of youth held for a mental health emergency will have a telepsychiatry evaluation started within four hours of arrival, measured by a monthly record review.

2. By month six, 90% of youth who board longer than 12 hours will have a written boarding care plan updated each day, measured by a weekly audit of ten records.

3. By month twelve, restraint events among boarding youth will fall by 25% from the prior year's baseline, measured through the hospital's restraint log.

Assumptions and Risks

The model assumes the telepsychiatry service can respond within four hours on evenings and weekends, that emergency staff will accept a new role in their department, and that families can be reached by phone. If any of these fails, the chain weakens: a slow telepsychiatry response would undo the first goal, and poor staff acceptance would limit care plans. The next paper will look for evidence on each link.

What this page is doingNaming the assumptions that could break the chain shows the student understands a logic model as a hypothesis to test, not a promise, and it sets up the evidence table that follows.
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References

McCarty, E. J., Nagarajan, M. K., Halloran, S. R., Brady, R. E., House, S. A., & Leyenaar, J. K. (2022). Healthcare quality during pediatric mental health boarding: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 17(10), 783-792. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhm.12906

Narasimhan, M., Druss, B. G., Hockenberry, J. M., Royer, J., Weiss, P., Glick, G., Marcus, S. C., & Magill, J. (2015). Impact of a telepsychiatry program at emergency departments statewide on the quality, utilization, and costs of mental health services. Psychiatric Services, 66(11), 1167-1172. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400122

W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Logic model development guide. W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

NUR 453 Module 3 instructions, in plain terms

The posted syllabus grades Paper 1, Logic Model and SMART Goals, at 15 of 200 points and marks it as a literacy requirement, so writing quality and APA form carry weight. Its purpose is to take your group's Health Care in America presentation and plan, individually, an innovative solution to the issue. Canvas holds the template and rubric. Expect to describe your innovation briefly, lay out a logic model that runs from resources and activities to what gets produced and what changes in the short, medium and long term, explain why the links should hold, and write first-year goals that pass every SMART test. The evidence table, outline and paper that follow all grow from this plan, so choose an innovation you can find research on. Keep a copy of the model handy, since later papers refer back to it.

Inside the NUR 453 Module 3 example

The paper opens with a one-paragraph description of the nurse navigator role so the reader can picture it. A table lays out the logic model, inputs first and long-term outcomes last. The next section explains why each link should hold, citing a telepsychiatry study for the clinical link, a qualitative study for the communication link and the Kellogg guide for the method. Three SMART goals follow, each with a target, a deadline and a data source. A final section names three assumptions and what would happen if each proved false, which leads into the evidence table. Three sources support the paper.

Where the marks sit in the NUR 453 Module 3 rubric

Logic model papers are likely scored on a clear description of the innovation, a complete and logically connected model, outcomes that follow from activities, SMART goals that meet every criterion, use of evidence and literacy elements such as organization, grammar and APA format. Goals lose points most often for missing a measure or a deadline. A model earns credit when short, medium and long-term outcomes are distinct and realistic. Explaining why links should hold shows understanding beyond filling in boxes. Naming assumptions shows critical thinking. Because this is a literacy requirement, proofreading and correct citations matter as much as content. Tying each outcome to a data source shows faculty the goals can actually be checked.

NUR 453 Module 3 help: mistakes that cost marks

A common error is listing activities in the outcomes column, such as "nurses will write care plans." Outcomes describe changes for patients or the system. Another is writing goals that are not measurable, such as "improve family satisfaction"; name the measure and the target. Keep the innovation small enough for one unit or service. If you want a draft logic model for the innovation you are planning, outline the idea for the desk with the template your course uses. Check each SMART goal letter by letter before submitting. Use your group presentation's data to set realistic baselines. Draw the model by hand once before typing it into the template.

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.

More NUR 453 and BSN in Nursing sample papers

NUR 453 Module 3 questions, answered

Where can I find a free NUR 453 Module 3 sample paper?

The paper above is a complete NUR 453 Paper 1 sample with a logic model and three SMART goals for a behavioral health nurse navigator in a pediatric emergency department.

What is a logic model?

A table or diagram that links the resources and activities of a program to its outputs and to the outcomes it is expected to produce over time.

What makes a goal SMART?

The acronym works as a checklist: a precise target, a number to hit, a level the team can reach, a link to the purpose and a date, so success can be judged later.

How many points is NUR 453 Paper 1?

Fifteen points, and the syllabus flags it as one of the course's literacy requirements.

What is the difference between outputs and outcomes?

An output is a tally of work done, such as consults started; an outcome is what improves because of that work, such as a shorter wait or fewer restraints.