| Course | NR 531 Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Organizations |
|---|---|
| Week | 7 |
| Paper type | Resource request memo |
| Length | About 920 words, 1 pages |
| Format | Memo with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | MSN, Nurse Executive |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NR 531 Week 7
Memorandum
To: Chief Operating Officer; copy to Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Finance
From: Student Name, MSN Student, RN, Nurse Manager, Medical Unit
Date: Month Day, Year
Re: Request for 0.6 FTE clinical dietitian time: in-year exception February to June, and submission for the next fiscal year
The Request
I am asking for 0.6 of a full-time clinical dietitian position to cover the added consults from the automatic dietitian consult protocol, which the Medical Executive Committee approved on December 3 and which takes effect on February 1. The request has two parts. First, an in-year exception of about 520 per diem dietitian hours from February through June, at an estimated cost of $22,900, one time. Second, a permanent 0.6 position in next year's budget, at an estimated $54,900 a year, recurring.
Why the Request Comes Now
I know this request arrives in month seven of a fiscal year whose planning closed in month two. The protocol did not exist when this year's budget was set. It was approved through the hospital's governance route over the fall, and its effect on dietitian workload could only be estimated once the Medical Executive Committee set the final exclusions. I am therefore submitting the permanent position through the regular planning round for next year, due March 15, and asking for the five-month exception separately, so that the protocol does not start without the staff it needs.
The Numbers
The Malnutrition Screening Tool, which our admitting nurses already use, identifies patients at risk from two questions about weight loss and appetite (Ferguson et al., 1999). Our screening data from the last six months show that about 15 adult inpatients a day score 2 or more. Under the current process, in which a nurse must page a provider for a consult order, about 9 a day receive a consult, and the typical wait between screen and consult is between two and three days. Under the protocol, all 15 will receive one. The additional six consults a day average about 35 minutes each, including assessment, documentation and follow-up, which is roughly 3.5 dietitian hours a day, or 0.6 of a full-time position across a seven-day week.
The hours are costed at the contract's loaded per diem rate of $44 an hour. The five-month exception is 520 hours, or $22,880. The permanent position is 1,248 hours a year, or $54,912. Both figures come from the food service contract manager and have been checked by the finance analyst for our division.
Where the Money Sits
Clinical dietitians are employed through the food service contract, so the cost would be charged to the clinical nutrition cost center under a contract amendment. The in-year exception would be a one-time amendment for per diem hours. The permanent position would be a change to the contract's staffing schedule at renewal on July 1, which is why it belongs in next year's budget rather than this one.
What Returns to the Hospital
I do not want to overstate the return. Earlier nutrition care is associated with fewer complications, shorter stays and fewer readmissions in published reviews (Tappenden et al., 2013), but our own effect will not be measurable for at least a year. One return is more direct. A dietitian assessment is how malnutrition gets diagnosed and documented, and documented severe malnutrition is classified as a major complication or comorbidity in Medicare's inpatient payment system, which can change payment for the stay. The coding office estimates that some of the added consults will lead to documentation that is currently missed. I have not counted this in the request, because the amount is uncertain, but the finance analyst agrees it will offset part of the cost.
What We Would Give Up if the Answer Is No
If no new money is available this year, the protocol will still start on February 1 with a two-tier response the Medical Executive Committee approved as a fallback: dietitians will see patients scoring 4 or 5 within 24 hours and patients scoring 2 or 3 within 72 hours. That keeps the dietitians' workload manageable but gives up much of the gain, since most at-risk patients score 2 or 3 and many will be discharged before 72 hours. The alternative is for the medical division to fund some of the per diem hours from unfilled nursing vacancy savings, which would mean holding two nurse positions open longer than planned. I do not recommend that, because it moves the shortage from dietitians to nurses.
Why This Is Worth Funding
Authors arguing for a national malnutrition goal described the condition as common, underrecognized and associated with poor outcomes, and urged hospitals to identify and treat it consistently (Guenter et al., 2015). The hospital has already done the harder part: the screening exists and the governance approvals are complete. What remains is enough dietitian time to act on what the screen finds. Without it, we will have built a faster route to a department that cannot take the extra patients.
Next Steps
I would be grateful for a decision on the in-year exception by January 23, so that per diem hours can be scheduled before February 1. The permanent request will be entered in the planning system by March 15 with this memo attached. I will report consult volumes, response times and discharge nutrition plans monthly from February, so that the planning round can use real figures rather than estimates. I am happy to meet with you and the director of finance at any time before then.
References
Ferguson, M., Capra, S., Bauer, J., & Banks, M. (1999). Development of a valid and reliable malnutrition screening tool for adult acute hospital patients. Nutrition, 15(6), 458-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0899-9007(99)00084-2
Guenter, P., Jensen, G., Patel, V., Miller, S., Mogensen, K. M., Malone, A., Corkins, M., Hamilton, C., & DiMaria-Ghalili, R. A. (2015). Addressing disease-related malnutrition in hospitalized patients: A call for a national goal. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 41(10), 469-473. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1553-7250(15)41061-X
Tappenden, K. A., Quatrara, B., Parkhurst, M. L., Malone, A. M., Fanjiang, G., & Ziegler, T. R. (2013). Critical role of nutrition in improving quality of care: An interdisciplinary call to action to address adult hospital malnutrition. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 37(4), 482-497. https://doi.org/10.1177/0148607113484066
Reading the NR 531 Week 7 instructions
For Week 7 you generally write a memo requesting resources such as staff, equipment or funding. Prompts ask for the request, justification with data and evidence, costs, the funding source, alternatives and the consequences of not funding it. Put the request and its figure in the first lines. Place it in the organization's budget calendar: an in-year exception and a request for next year's budget are different asks with different readers. Say which cost center pays and whether the cost recurs. Show your arithmetic. Do not overstate returns. Describe what the department would do if the answer is no. Keep the clinical argument brief and cited in APA 7, and use memo format.
How the NR 531 Week 7 example is put together
The memo opens with both requests and their costs. A section explains why a request arrives mid-year: the protocol did not exist at planning time. The numbers section shows current and expected consult volume, time per consult and the resulting hours, costed at the contract's per diem rate and checked by finance. A section places the cost in the clinical nutrition cost center under a contract amendment. Returns are stated carefully, including earlier care and better documentation, without counting uncertain revenue. A section describes the fallback if refused, a tiered response, and rejects funding from nursing vacancies. The memo closes with evidence on malnutrition and a decision date.
Reading the NR 531 Week 7 grading rubric
Resource request rubrics usually reward a clear request, sound justification with data, accurate costs, identification of funding source, consideration of alternatives and professional memo format. Graders favor memos whose arithmetic can be followed from volume to hours to dollars. Distinguishing one-time from recurring costs and in-year from next-year requests shows financial understanding. Honest treatment of returns, including uncertainty, builds credibility. A fallback plan if the request is refused shows leadership judgment. Evidence should support the need briefly. A memo that fits on a page or two, with the request up front and a decision date at the end, meets the communication criterion, and a named follow-up, such as monthly volume reports, strengthens the accountability score.
Common NR 531 Week 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A frequent weakness is a memo that opens with a page of clinical background and buries the request. Lead with it. Another is a cost with no arithmetic, which a finance reader will not accept. Show volume, time and rate. Students also ignore the budget calendar and ask for new money mid-year as if planning were open; say whether it is an exception or a next-year submission. Avoid inflating returns, especially revenue you cannot estimate. Name what you will do if the answer is no, and avoid fallbacks that simply move the shortage elsewhere. Finally, ask for a decision by a date, since an open request tends to wait until it no longer matters.
Get a NR 531 Week 7 example written to your instructions
Send us the prompt, the rubric and any budget scenario your section supplied, and a custom NR 531 Week 7 memo comes back inside 24-48h with the first one free. Please leave your employer's actual salary figures, contract pricing and internal budget documents out of what you send; a worked example runs perfectly well on published or approximate numbers.
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NR 531 Week 7 questions, answered
Where do the figures come from if I have no access to a budget?
Published sources carry a memo perfectly well. Government wage tables give a defensible range for a post, vendor listings and public purchasing records give equipment costs, and published reporting covers agency and overtime rates. Label each figure with where it came from and round it honestly. A memo built on cited public numbers reads stronger than one with precise internal figures the reader cannot check.
How much of the memo should be the clinical argument?
Less than instinct suggests. Two or three sentences carrying one piece of evidence usually does more than a page, because the reader has already accepted that the need is real and is deciding whether the organization can act on it now. What the space is better spent on is the money, the timing and the route. The clinical case opens the door; the rest of the memo walks through it.
Is it acceptable to ask for something the answer will be no to?
Yes, and the assignment often works better that way, provided the memo is built for a refusal. A well-made request that gets declined still puts a costed, routed item on the record where it can be picked up in the next planning round. Saying that plainly in the closing lines, and asking for the item to be held for that round, is a legitimate and well-marked move.
Where can I find a free NR 531 Week 7 sample paper?
Reproduced above in memo form, the two-part dietitian request is the whole NR 531 Week 7 sample, readable without paying. If you are requesting a different resource, send us the figures and a memo built on your own arithmetic can be written.
Should the NR 531 memo separate one-time and recurring costs?
Yes. Finance treats them differently. The sample asks for a one-time exception for five months this year and a recurring position in next year's budget, with a separate figure for each.