| Course | NU 726 Professionalism and Leadership for Advanced Practice |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Professional development plan |
| Length | About 630 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU 726 Unit 7
Professional Development Plan for My First 18 Months as a Family Nurse Practitioner
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NU 726: Professionalism and Leadership for Advanced Practice
Instructor Name
March 12, 2026
Professional Development Plan for My First 18 Months as a Family Nurse Practitioner
Where I Stand Now
Education: I will complete my Master of Science in Nursing, family nurse practitioner track, in August 2026, with 660 supervised clinical hours: 280 in family practice, 180 in pediatrics, 120 in women's health, and 80 in an urgent care clinic. Certification: I am scheduled to sit for the family nurse practitioner board examination on September 22, 2026. Experience: seven years as a registered nurse, five on a cardiac step-down unit and two in a primary care clinic as a care coordinator. Offer: I have accepted a position at a rural health clinic that serves a largely agricultural community, starting in November 2026, pending certification and licensure.
Honest assessment of where I am not yet strong: I can interpret an electrocardiogram well from my cardiac background, but I cannot yet independently manage common dermatologic conditions or perform skin biopsies. I have inserted two contraceptive implants under supervision and am not yet competent. I have limited experience prescribing controlled substances and none managing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, which my new clinic offers. I do not understand billing and coding well enough to document visits that are reimbursed correctly. The transition from experienced nurse to novice nurse practitioner is known to be difficult, with new nurse practitioners describing uncertainty, limited orientation, and a need for mentoring (Barnes, 2015), and I expect to return to the level of an advanced beginner in several areas, in the sense Benner (1984) described, where experience in a new role has not yet built the pattern recognition that guided my nursing practice.
Gaps, Actions, and Evidence of Completion
Each gap below carries a specific action, a resource, a date, and a way to tell it happened.
| Gap | Action | Resource | Target date | Evidence of completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board certification | Complete a review course and two full practice examinations | National review course; practice question bank | September 22, 2026 | Certification letter; state license issued |
| Dermatology diagnosis and skin biopsy | Complete a procedures workshop; perform 10 punch or shave biopsies under supervision | Regional NP association workshop; collaborating physician at the clinic | March 2027 | Procedure log signed by preceptor; biopsy reports reviewed |
| Contraceptive implant insertion and removal | Complete manufacturer's clinical training; perform 5 insertions and 3 removals under supervision | Manufacturer training; clinic women's health nurse practitioner | February 2027 | Training certificate; supervised procedure log |
| Opioid use disorder treatment | Complete buprenorphine training; see 20 patients with the clinic's addiction medicine lead | Federal training course; clinic addiction medicine physician | June 2027 | Course certificate; case review with mentor |
| Billing and coding | Complete an evaluation and management coding course; have 30 notes audited | Clinic compliance officer; online course | April 2027 | Audit results with 90% agreement |
| Rural emergency stabilization | Complete advanced cardiac life support renewal and a pediatric advanced life support course | Hospital education department | January 2027 | Course cards |
Mentoring and Support
I have asked the clinic's senior nurse practitioner, who has practiced there for 12 years, to serve as my mentor for my first year. We agreed on a 30-minute meeting every two weeks for the first six months and monthly thereafter, with case review as the main agenda. I will also join the state nurse practitioner association's new graduate peer group, which meets virtually once a month, because rural practice can be isolating. The clinic has agreed to a 12-week onboarding period with longer visit slots, starting with 30-minute visits and moving to 20-minute visits by month four.
Order of the Work
The sequence follows risk and necessity. Certification comes first, because nothing else is possible without it. Rural emergency skills come next, because the clinic is 45 minutes from the nearest hospital and I may be the only clinician on site on some afternoons. Billing and coding follows early, because documentation habits formed in the first months are hard to change. Procedures and addiction treatment follow, because they require supervised volume that builds over months.
Two areas are deliberately left out of this plan. I have no goal for hospital privileges, because the clinic does not admit patients, and no goal for a doctoral degree within this period, because the first 18 months are for becoming safe and efficient in the role I have accepted. Leaving them out keeps the plan realistic enough to finish.
How I Will Review the Plan
At six and twelve months, my mentor and I will review each row: completed, in progress, or behind, with reasons. The plan will be revised at each review; for example, if patient demand for dermatology is lower than expected, I may shift time toward diabetes management or women's health. The plan also connects to the competencies expected of advanced practice graduates, including person-centered care, scholarship for practice, and personal and professional development (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2021), so that my development continues after the formal orientation ends.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Barnes, H. (2015). Exploring the factors that influence nurse practitioner role transition. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 11(2), 178-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2014.11.004
Benner, P. (1984). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. Addison-Wesley.
NU 726 Unit 7 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 7 calls for a written plan covering your move from student into the advanced practice role. Expect to assess your current knowledge, skills and credentials, identify gaps, set goals with specific actions and timelines, and describe how you will measure progress. Many versions ask you to address certification, licensure, mentoring, continuing education and professional organization involvement. Some sections ask you to align goals with the AACN Essentials or a role competency set. Check whether a table is required or allowed; many plans are clearer in that form. Ground the plan in your actual circumstances, such as your clinical hours and the setting you plan to enter, and cite literature on new nurse practitioner transition to support choices like mentoring.
Inside the NU 726 Unit 7 example
The plan opens with a factual inventory: degree date, clinical hours by setting and credentials in progress. The gap table is the core, and every row has the same four parts, so the grader can check each goal for an action, a resource, a date and evidence of completion. Gaps reflect the rural setting, including emergency skills that a suburban clinic might not need. The mentoring section is specific about who, how often and what each meeting covers. A short section explains the order of the work, putting certification first because nothing else can happen without it. The review section sets dates and describes how rows will be marked complete, in progress or behind, with an example of how the plan might change if patient demand differs from what was expected.
Where the points sit in the NU 726 Unit 7 rubric
Herzing rubrics for a professional development plan generally score the self-assessment, goals and objectives, action steps and timeline, resources and support, evaluation, and writing. Self-assessment points reward honest, specific inventory of strengths and gaps. Goal criteria look for measurable goals tied to the role and setting. Action step points require concrete activities with dates, not intentions. Resource and support criteria are earned through mentoring, continuing education and professional organizations matched to the goals. The evaluation criterion gives full credit when progress will be reviewed on set dates with clear indicators. Some rubrics include alignment with the AACN Essentials. Writing covers clear organization, often a table, and APA 7 citations for transition research such as Barnes and for Benner's model.
NU 726 Unit 7 help: mistakes that cost points
The most common Unit 7 problem is a plan of good intentions, such as stay current with evidence, with no actions, dates or evidence of completion. Another is a self-assessment that lists only strengths. Students often write goals that do not fit their planned setting, for example skipping emergency skills when entering rural practice. Mentoring is frequently mentioned without saying who or how often. Plans that stop at graduation miss the transition period the assignment is about. Leaving out a review process makes the plan static. Some students describe their clinical hours vaguely; give the numbers. Finally, support at least the mentoring and transition choices with literature, because a plan without citations reads as a personal to-do list rather than graduate work.
Get a NU 726 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 7 instructions and the rubric from your NU 726 classroom, plus your certification status, practice settings and the role you are aiming at. We write a custom example with gaps mapped to competencies and every action dated and evidenced, returned in 24 to 48 hours. Practicum hour logs and preceptor forms stay yours. The first custom sample is free.
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NU 726 Unit 7 questions, answered
How far ahead should the plan reach?
Use whatever period the instructions set. When the choice is left open, a plan covering the first year in detail and the following two in outline reads best, because near-term actions can carry dates and evidence while distant ones cannot. Say plainly which horizon each goal belongs to, and give the near ones enough specificity to be checked.
Do I have to use a published competency set?
In many sections the rubric names one, and using it makes the paper easier to grade because each gap points at a published expectation. Where none is named, a recognized set for advanced practice or a specialty organization's competencies both work. Cite whichever you use, and map gaps to specific items rather than to the framework as a whole.
Will you write my practicum hours or preceptor evaluation?
No. Hour logs, clinical documentation and preceptor evaluations are records of your own supervised work, and they have to be completed and signed by you and your preceptor. What we model is the written plan itself, so you can see how goals, competencies, dates and evidence sit together before you fill in your own.
Where can I find a free NU 726 Unit 7 sample paper?
The full NU 726 Unit 7 rural FNP plan is posted here without charge, from the self-inventory and gap table to mentoring and review dates. A custom plan can be built around your own role, clinical hours and the setting you plan to enter.
What should a new nurse practitioner professional development plan include?
Include a current inventory of hours and credentials, gaps with specific actions, resources, dates and evidence of completion, a named mentor and meeting schedule, and review dates. This sample puts all of that in a table for an FNP's first 18 months.