Health Care Administration

Summer, Second Session 2002

Monday/Wednesday 6:00–10:00 p.m. TESC

Lab I, Room 2033

Accepting: Graduate/Undergraduate levels, and CDMS students

Course Description: This course surveys the historical, social, economic, and political context of the U.S. health care system. It will provide students an understanding of health politics as a key component of the environment in which the health care administrator must function. Political processes, the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government relations, the public and private sector, and the political roles that selected health professionals assume in the community will be examined.

Major health care policy participation and development are identified within the political and institutional contextual framework. Current and future health administrators, health policy advisors, those wishing to advance health care reform, or those seeking personal advocacy, will acquire broader perspicacity by exploring agencies, policies, organization, administration and development of public and community health programs. The course seeks to provide practical mechanisms to intervene on behalf of programs or institutions.

Course Objectives: Overall, we will seek to integrate theory and practice. Specifically, this course will enhance students' abilities to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of health policies and programs, using rigorous analytical reasoning.

• Understand the structure of the political process in the health policy making process in the

United States at the State and Federal level.
• Clarify the political roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government relative to health policy.
• Be familiar with the political role that selected health professionals assume in the community.
• Be able to identify and classify the major and minor forces and institutions that shape health care policy.
• Understand the steps in the health policy process and how they as administrators may intervene on behalf of their program or institution
• Examine the current demands for change and the positive actions currently underway in many public agencies to meet those demands; and
• Enhance writing and presentation, analysis, critical thinking and collaborative skills.

Performance/Expectation Measurement:
A. Writing Portfolio                                                           30 percent
B. Legislative Briefing paper                                               10 percent
C. Final Group Presentation, Abstract and Bibliography        30 percent
D. Class Participation                                                         30 percent

Description of Performance Measures and Expectations:
The course will be conducted as a seminar with workshops and lectures. When possible,
guest participants from the health professional community will be invited to provide
personal insight into the topic under discussion. Student comprehension of the course
material will be demonstrated by class and Seminar participation, written assignments
and shared intellectual journals. A team project presentation with detailed abstract
and bibliography will be required from selected current health policy areas.

A successful learning community requires that students attend classes regularly, arrive
prepared to critically discuss readings and complete timely all assignments. Please contact
faculty in advance if you must be absent from class by e-mail or phone More than one (1)
absence may result in loss of credit. Work submitted late will be read only under extraordinary circumstances

A. Reflective Written Assignments         Various dates
The assignments will consist of several different types of writing:

• 2 performance self assessments. A self assessment tool will be distributed the first evening.

The completed personal review  of where you are presently and where you seek to advance
is due at the beginning of the second class.  A final assessment for you to ascertain where you
traveled is to be due on 8/26. This ‘intellectual journey’ or mapping tool will assist us in crafting
your personal goals/objective paper.
 
• 1 personal learning goals and objective paper: a 2 page outcome focused paper, using your assessment tool, will describe your road map for the course.  Due the beginning of the

second class.

Written peer comments/critique will be incorporated into your journal before the following class. Submission of journals to faculty is required twice during the session, (8/12 and 8/26.)

Learning Objective: Critical thinking and expression, reflective thinking and shared responsibility for co-learning community success.

• The Health Care Policy Briefing Paper: In the second week we will begin to practice analyzing aspects of current health care policy issues.  Students will explore, critically examine fundamental steps to analyze policy, draft a briefing paper and brief the class.   Students will function as administrative or legislative leaders. The briefing paper will follow the discussed guidelines and should be no longer than two pages.

• The Policy Briefing Presentation: Presentations must include an executive summary, briefing points/bullets; all of which formatted in a strong visual format in a manner easily reviewed by busy administrators or legislators. Each person will have a maximum of 20 minutes.

• Group Project Assignment: Current Health Care Administrative Challenge

Students will research self-selected areas from the briefing papers on current health care
administrative challenges, grappling with key political, cultural, political, funding and trade-off issues while exploring creative solutions. Teams will present their research and options to the learning community during the last part of the class. Multimedia or visual production is expected.
Handouts should include sources, examples or copies of slides, overheads, etc.

Templates for evaluations are available ON-LINE at http://www.evergreen.edu/academiccomputing/download.htm

Class Schedule

E. Optional Two Credit Individual Research Module Due: 8/28
The two Credit individual research module requires the writing of a major research paper based on application of course materials and additional study. The topic for the major paper should be approved the first week, an outline for critique and guidance is due 8/5 and a brief meeting with faculty on 8/12 is expected.  Selected subjects can duplicate the policy briefing papers or group project but must contain additional in-depth research.  Further criteria will be provided to enrolled students.