| Course | MHA 543 Tackling the Talent War in the Health Sector (MHA/543) |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Succession planning paper |
| Length | about 1,229 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | MHA |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for MHA 543 Week 5
Nine Managers Eligible to Retire and No One Ready: A Succession Plan That Builds a Nurse Leader Pipeline From Inside a Two-Hospital System
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
MHA/543: Tackling the Talent War in the Health Sector
Week 5 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The health system, its managers, candidates and program are composites written for a model paper; research findings come from the sources cited.
In one month, three nurse managers at the composite Omaha health system announced they would retire within the year. When the chief nursing officer asked who could replace them, the answer for two of the three units was no one internally. The system would recruit from outside, as it had for most recent vacancies, with long gaps and new managers unfamiliar with the organization. She turned to the system's talent executive for a succession plan. This paper presents it.
Why Succession Planning Matters Now
Nurse managers shape whether nurses stay. Earlier analysis showed that units with stretched or struggling managers had the lowest engagement and highest turnover. A vacancy in a manager role, or a poorly prepared successor, can undo years of work on a unit.
Mapping the Risk
The vice president mapped 38 nurse leader roles: 30 unit managers, 6 directors and 2 associate chief nursing officers. Nine incumbents were eligible to retire within three years. In addition, turnover among managers in their first two years was 30%, and outside hires took an average of five months to fill. Critical roles were those with high retirement risk, large teams and specialized knowledge, such as the intensive care and emergency units.
What the Research Shows About Succession Programs
A nurse manager succession planning program that identified high-potential nurses and developed them through a structured leadership program found that participants' perceived leadership and management competencies increased significantly; one year after completion, all participants remained with the organization and 73% had moved into leadership roles (Titzer et al., 2014). A pipeline built inside keeps people who already know the organization and gives them a reason to stay.
What Keeps Nurse Managers
Preparing successors is only half the task; they must stay once promoted. A systematic review of factors influencing nurse manager retention found that managers who were empowered, satisfied with their work, received constructive feedback and found meaning in their roles showed greater intent to stay, and recommended giving managers authority to make decisions and regular constructive feedback (Penconek et al., 2024).
Identifying Candidates Fairly
Informal succession, in which leaders tap people they know, tends to favor those who resemble current leaders and overlooks capable people who are less visible. The plan uses an open application process for the program, announced to all registered nurses with at least three years of experience.
Selection Criteria
Candidates are assessed on published criteria: clinical credibility, demonstrated informal leadership such as precepting or committee work, feedback from peers and managers, interest in leadership and commitment to the organization. A panel of three nurse leaders from different units reviews applications and interviews candidates against the same written criteria. The panel includes at least one leader from outside the candidate's service line.
The First Cohort
Forty-one nurses applied, and the panel selected 16 for the first cohort, including charge nurses, educators and clinical specialists from both hospitals, day and night shifts and a mix of backgrounds and ages.
Development Through Experience
Most leadership learning happens through work. Each participant takes on stretch assignments over eighteen months: leading a unit improvement project, serving as acting manager during a manager's leave, participating in budget and staffing meetings and leading a staff conversation after an engagement survey.
Development Through Learning
Participants complete a leadership curriculum covering finance and budgeting, staffing and scheduling, human resources and labor relations, quality and safety, communication and conflict and self-care. A partnership with a local university allows the curriculum to count toward a graduate degree.
Mentoring
Each participant is paired with a current nurse leader, not their own manager, who meets with them monthly to discuss challenges and career goals.
Coaching
Participants also receive six sessions with a professional coach. Research pooling workplace coaching studies found benefits across the board, from job skills and performance to how people handle stress, feel about their work and steer toward their goals (Theeboom et al., 2014). Coaching helps participants reflect on their stretch assignments and on feedback.
Readiness Assessment
At six-month intervals, each participant is rated as ready now, ready within a year or developing, based on assignment performance, feedback and self-assessment. Readiness ratings inform, but do not guarantee, selection for vacancies, which remain open to all qualified applicants.
Preparing for the First Year
Because new managers leave at high rates, the plan includes a first-year support program for anyone promoted: a reduced span of control where possible, a peer group of new managers, continued coaching and quarterly feedback from the director. These reflect the review's finding that empowerment and constructive feedback support retention.
Early Lessons From the First Cohort
Six months into the program, two participants served as acting managers during leaves and both were later selected for permanent roles. Participants said the stretch assignments taught them most, particularly budget meetings, which revealed how staffing decisions are made. Several said the program's most important effect was feeling that the organization saw a future for them, and two who had been considering jobs elsewhere decided to stay.
What Managers Gain
Current managers were initially wary of losing charge nurses to the program's time demands. The plan backfills participants' hours and involves their managers in choosing stretch assignments, so managers gain help with unit projects. Managers who mentor also report learning from explaining their decisions to someone preparing for the role.
Candidates Not Selected
Twenty-five applicants were not selected for the first cohort. Each received feedback from the panel on strengths and development areas, and a development plan with their manager. Eight reapplied the following year, and six were selected. Treating unsuccessful applicants with care keeps the open process credible.
Executive Succession
The same principles apply at the executive level. The plan identifies potential successors for the chief nursing officer and associate roles, with development through system-level projects and executive education, and an emergency succession plan naming interim leaders for each critical role.
Diversity and Equity
The system's nurse leaders were less diverse than its nursing staff. The open application, published criteria and diverse selection panels aim to widen the pipeline. The vice president will report the composition of applicants, participants and promotions by race, ethnicity and gender each year.
Costs
The program costs about $380,000 a year, including coaching, curriculum, backfill for participants' time and coordination. Filling one manager role from outside costs the system an estimated $40,000 to $60,000 in recruiting and months of vacancy, and a failed new manager costs far more in unit turnover.
Measures
Measures include the share of critical roles with a ready-now or ready-within-a-year successor, time to fill manager vacancies, the share filled internally, retention of program participants, retention of new managers at one and two years and pipeline diversity.
Targets
Within three years, the system aims to have a ready successor for at least 80% of critical roles, fill at least 60% of manager vacancies internally and reduce first-year manager turnover from 30% to 15%.
Conclusion
Three retirements in a month revealed an empty bench. A risk map, an open and transparent selection process, development through assignments, learning, mentoring and coaching and support for new managers in their first year form a succession plan grounded in evidence that such programs retain and advance nurse leaders. The plan builds leaders from within and helps them stay once they lead.
References
Penconek, T., Tate, K., Lartey, S. A., Polat, D., Bernardes, A., Moreno Dias, B., Nuspl, M., & Cummings, G. G. (2024). Factors influencing nurse manager retention, intent to stay or leave and turnover: A systematic review update. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 80(12), 4825-4841. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16227
Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.837499
Titzer, J. L., Shirey, M. R., & Hauck, S. (2014). A nurse manager succession planning model with associated empirical outcomes. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 44(1), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000019
What the MHA 543 Week 5 instructions ask
The fifth MHA 543 paper generally calls for a succession plan covering key positions. Students may need to identify critical roles and risks of vacancy, describe methods for identifying and assessing high-potential employees, design development activities, explain how the plan supports retention and diversity and set measures. Some versions focus on executive succession, others on front-line leaders. Read your prompt to see which level it expects and whether a readiness chart is required. Strong plans rest on data about retirement and turnover risk, use transparent criteria to identify candidates, combine experience, education, mentoring and coaching, prepare leaders for the roles most at risk and track readiness and retention over time.
How this MHA 543 Week 5 example is built
As the paper opens, three unit managers announce retirements in the same month, and that none had a successor. A risk map shows nine of 38 nurse leaders eligible to retire within three years and high turnover among new managers. Research on a nurse manager succession planning program and on what keeps nurse managers in their roles frames the plan. Transparent criteria and an open application identify a first cohort of 16 emerging leaders. An eighteen-month program combines assignments, coursework, mentoring and coaching. First-year support for new managers, diversity, costs, early lessons from the cohort and measures close the paper.
MHA 543 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
The succession planning week is typically graded on risk analysis, fair identification of candidates, credible development activities and measures. Graders look for critical roles identified with data, clear and transparent selection criteria, development that combines experience with learning, attention to retaining both candidates and new leaders, consideration of diversity and equity and measures of readiness and results. Research on leadership development and retention strengthens the plan, particularly studies of nurse leaders. Explaining how the plan avoids favoritism and widens access to leadership roles earns credit. The final points cover organization and APA style. Plans that rely on informal tapping of favorites, or end once someone is promoted, commonly lose points, as do plans that ignore diversity in the pipeline.
MHA 543 Week 5 help: mistakes to avoid
MHA 543 Week 5 plans often stop at naming successors. Start with data: which roles are critical, how many incumbents could leave soon and how long it takes to fill each role. Identify candidates with transparent, published criteria and an open application process, since informal tapping tends to favor people who resemble current leaders. Develop them through real assignments, learning, mentoring and coaching, not courses alone. Plan for the first year in the new role, when new managers are most likely to struggle and leave. Finally, measure readiness, promotions, retention of new leaders and the diversity of the pipeline, and review the plan every year as retirements, turnover and strategy change.
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MHA 543 Week 5 questions, answered
What does MHA/543 Week 5 usually ask for?
The fifth paper generally asks students to develop a succession plan for key roles, including risk analysis, candidate identification, development activities, retention and measures.
Where can I find a free MHA 543 Week 5 sample paper?
The nurse leader succession plan above costs nothing to read; each element carries a note. Tell us which roles you are planning for, and your first paper is written free.
Do succession planning programs work in nursing?
One nurse manager succession planning program reported that all participants remained with the organization a year after completing it and 73% had moved into leadership roles.
What keeps nurse managers in their jobs?
A systematic review found that nurse managers who were empowered, satisfied with their work, received constructive feedback and found meaning in their roles showed greater intent to stay.
Does coaching help develop leaders?
Yes; pooled workplace studies show coaching improving performance, stress management, job attitudes and progress toward goals.
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