NUR 602 Module 4 Poster Presentation: State of the Science on Nurse Staffing and Mortality Example

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

This NUR 602 Module 4 sample is the Poster in State of the Science in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation, part of ASU's PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation. At 10%, with the class presentation counted separately, the poster in ASU NUR 602 accompanies a talk on the student's final review and is judged on best practices for visual displays of data and on presenting ideas graphically. The composite PhD student turns her review of ten nurse staffing studies into a poster. Its panels give a one-line takeaway, the review question, a search flow, a display of findings by design, three key findings, the gap in rural hospitals and the implications, and talk notes cover her search experience and critique for the 20-minute presentation.

CourseNUR 602 State of the Science in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation
ModuleModule 4
Paper typeResearch poster content with presentation notes
LengthAbout 446 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramPhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for NUR 602 Module 4

1

More Nurses, Fewer Deaths, Stronger Evidence: A Research Poster on the State of the Science in Hospital Nurse Staffing

Student Name

Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University

NUR 602: State of the Science in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe poster title states the main takeaway in plain words, a common poster practice that lets passersby grasp the finding before reading the panels.
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More Nurses, Fewer Deaths, Stronger Evidence: A Research Poster on the State of the Science in Hospital Nurse Staffing

Header Panel

Title: More Nurses, Fewer Deaths, Stronger Evidence. Subtitle: what ten studies published since 2016 say about RN staffing and deaths in hospital. Author line and program.

Takeaway banner: Ten of ten studies link higher registered nurse staffing to lower mortality, and newer longitudinal designs make the case stronger.

What this page is doingA one-sentence takeaway at the top follows poster best practice: viewers who stop for ten seconds should leave with the main finding.
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Panel 1: Question

Do hospitals with more registered nurses per patient lose fewer adult patients, and how close is the evidence to proving cause?

Panel 2: Method

A flow diagram traces the search from two databases through duplicate removal, screening and full-text reading to the final ten studies. Criteria are listed beside the diagram in short phrases.

Panel 3: What the Studies Looked Like

A bar chart counts the studies by design, with longitudinal work the tallest bar at four and the reviews, cross-sectional and policy studies beside it. A second row of icons marks the countries represented.

Panel 4: Key Findings

1. One direction: all ten studies tie better RN staffing to fewer deaths.

2. Stronger designs agree: longitudinal studies tracking each patient's staffing exposure found the same pattern within hospitals (Griffiths et al., 2019; Dall'Ora et al., 2022).

3. Substitution does not work: more assistant staff did not offset fewer registered nurses (Aiken et al., 2017; Griffiths et al., 2019).

Panel 5: Policy Evidence

After ratio legislation in Queensland, staffing rose, and deaths and readmissions dropped faster than in hospitals outside the law (McHugh et al., 2021). In Illinois, modeling of a 4:1 minimum suggested lives and money would both be saved (Lasater et al., 2021).

Panel 6: Gaps

No studies of rural or small hospitals; few U.S. studies outside policy projections; staffing measured in different ways, so no agreed safe threshold.

Panel 7: Implications

For research: study rural and critical access hospitals; test mechanisms such as missed surveillance. For policy: treat registered nurse hours as a safety measure.

Visual Design Notes

Three colors only, with one accent color for the takeaway and key findings; the flow diagram and design chart replace text wherever possible; font sizes readable from two meters; references in small type at the bottom, limited to the studies named on the poster.

Notes for the 20-Minute Presentation

Minutes 1 to 3: why staffing matters and the question. Minutes 4 to 8: the search experience, including how adding a subject heading for mortality removed many off-topic burnout studies. Minutes 9 to 14: findings by design. Minutes 15 to 18: critique, including measurement differences and the missing rural evidence. Minutes 19 to 20: implications and my next study. Then ten minutes of questions.

References

Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D., Griffiths, P., Rafferty, A. M., Bruyneel, L., McHugh, M., Maier, C. B., Moreno-Casbas, T., Ball, J. E., Ausserhofer, D., & Sermeus, W. (2017). Nursing skill mix in European hospitals: Cross-sectional study of the association with mortality, patient ratings, and quality of care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 26(7), 559-568. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2016-005567

Dall'Ora, C., Saville, C., Rubbo, B., Turner, L., Jones, J., & Griffiths, P. (2022). Nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 134, Article 104311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104311

Griffiths, P., Maruotti, A., Recio Saucedo, A., Redfern, O. C., Ball, J. E., Briggs, J., Dall'Ora, C., Schmidt, P. E., & Smith, G. B. (2019). Nurse staffing, nursing assistants and hospital mortality: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study. BMJ Quality & Safety, 28(8), 609-617. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2018-008043

Lasater, K. B., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D., French, R., Martin, B., Alexander, M., & McHugh, M. D. (2021). Patient outcomes and cost savings associated with hospital safe nurse staffing legislation: An observational study. BMJ Open, 11(12), Article e052899. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052899

McHugh, M. D., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Windsor, C., Douglas, C., & Yates, P. (2021). Effects of nurse-to-patient ratio legislation on nurse staffing and patient mortality, readmissions, and length of stay: A prospective study in a panel of hospitals. The Lancet, 397(10288), 1905-1913. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00768-6

Reading the NUR 602 Module 4 assignment instructions

The final poster carries 10% of the NUR 602 grade, and the class presentation it accompanies carries another 10%. The syllabus asks students to prepare a poster describing their final literature review and holds them responsible for best practices in visual displays of data, for presenting ideas clearly and graphically and for adding content that illustrates the findings. The presentation, about 20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions, describes the search experience and process and gives a professional summary and critique of the state of the science. A draft poster is one of the course's eight reviewed drafts, so the final version should show the changes that review prompted. Plan the poster and the talk together, since the same structure should serve both.

How this NUR 602 Module 4 example is built

Panel by panel, in the order a viewer reads them, the sample sets out the poster's content, then notes on visual design and a timed outline for the talk. A header with a plain-language title is followed by a one-sentence takeaway banner. Panels cover the question, a flow diagram of the search and screening, a chart of studies by design, three numbered key findings with citations, policy evidence, gaps and implications. Design notes limit color, replace text with graphics where possible and set readable font sizes. The talk outline allots time to the search experience and the critique the syllabus asks for, ending with questions.

Reading the NUR 602 Module 4 grading rubric

The poster is graded on a Canvas rubric for 10%. Research posters in doctoral courses are typically judged on a clear message that can be grasped quickly, accurate representation of the review, effective use of graphics for the search flow and findings, readable layout and typography, appropriate citations and alignment with the accompanying talk. Posters lose credit when they are dense blocks of text copied from the manuscript, when graphics are decorative rather than informative, when the main finding is hard to find and when the poster and talk tell different stories. The separate presentation grade rewards the account of the search process and the quality of the critique. A poster that a viewer can follow without the presenter beside it shows the visual skill this part of the grade targets.

NUR 602 Module 4 help: mistakes that cost marks

Posters fail most often by trying to hold the whole manuscript. Choose one takeaway and build the layout around it. Turn your search process into a flow diagram and your study designs into a simple chart. Limit text to short phrases and numbered findings. Use a few colors consistently. Make sure the poster can be read from a short distance. Practice the talk with the poster, so each section of the talk points to a panel. Leave room for questions. The desk can review a draft layout if you would like feedback on clarity. Print a draft at reduced size first to test whether the takeaway still stands out.

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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More NUR 602 and PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation sample papers

NUR 602 Module 4 questions, answered

Where can I find a free NUR 602 Module 4 sample paper?

The NUR 602 Module 4 sample on this page is a full research poster on nurse staffing and mortality, with panel content, design notes and a talk outline.

How much is the NUR 602 poster worth?

The final poster is worth 10% of the grade, and the class presentation adds another 10%.

How long is the NUR 602 presentation?

About 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers.

What makes a strong research poster?

One clear takeaway, graphics that show the method and findings, short text, consistent colors and a layout readable at a distance.

What should the NUR 602 presentation cover?

The search experience and process and a professional summary and critique of the state of the science in your research area.