HCL - Health Care Leadership

This course is the gateway course in the Health Care Leadership (HCL) program that introduces the students to the program and to health care delivery in the United States. Students examine the evolution of health care delivery including societal expectations, organizations, careers, financing, technology, and regulation. They further compare the systems that deliver health care in the United States with the systems that exist in other countries. Students critically examine the relationship among cost, access, and quality and explore health care information sources. Pre-requisite(s): Gen 103 or permission of Program Chair or designate. Recommended 60-90 quarter hours of prior college-level coursework in any field. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course allows students to review and refine communication skills needed for advancement within healthcare organizations and professions. Students learn techniques and strategies for communicating persuasively as healthcare leaders, both in writing and orally. These persuasive skills, techniques, and strategies foster greater directed leadership presence.

This course studies team behavior and how team functioning affects organizational effectiveness. Topics covered in this course include the basics of team behavior, principles of team dynamics, problem-solving, decision-making, diagnosing and resolving conflicts in teams, and managing and facilitating team meetings.

Students review the general principles of adult learning with application to health education programs. Students design an appropriate learning activity for healthcare organizations that utilizes various components of individual and group learning techniques. Additionally, students explore general principles and guidelines for defining and assessing complex behavioral outcomes in training, supervisory, clinical, and operational quality improvement contexts. Students develop evaluation tools, prepare a comprehensive assessment plan for a workplace training program, and examine the use of assessment for program improvement.

This course emphasizes a systematic process for thinking critically and provides opportunities for students to improve their critical thinking skills as health care managers. Topics and class activities focus on stimulating the kind of thinking necessary to foster new managerial insights and strengthening the ability to articulate and apply sound reasoning to health care problems. Pre-requisite(s): HCL 301; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course introduces students to approaches for evaluating the quality of healthcare operations and service delivery. Students review methods for measuring quality within a healthcare department and healthcare service delivery and the processes and best practices in continuous quality improvement.

Students examine the roles of supervisors in health care organizations. Students prepare for supervisory roles by examining management theory and principles and practical applications in a variety of health care settings. Additionally, students investigate principles involved in job selection, training, development, and evaluation of job performance in health care organizations. Student learn to design and implement job descriptions, selection interviews, in-service and job training sessions, and performance appraisals at departmental levels.

This course explores and analyzes the application of principles involved in managing the financial and physical resources in health care settings. Students focus on concepts dealing with third party reimbursement, budget development, expenditure control, record keeping, inventory control, equipment purchases, and departmental facility planning. Students are introduced to the use of fundamental financial information and data, including the income statement and the balance sheet. Students further use these financial statements and such tools as ratio analysis, time value of money, and capital budgeting to perform a cursory evaluation of the overall financial health of an organization. Pre-requisite(s): HCL 301, HCL 311, HCL 316, HCL 320, and HCL 326; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course explores contemporary ethical and legal issues in health care delivery. Students examine the potential interaction and conflicts among individual value/moral systems, ethical standards, and legal considerations, as well as the ethical and legal issues associated with health care reform. Students further discuss practical considerations for balancing and protecting institutional, practitioner, and patient interests. Pre-requisite(s): HCL 301, HCL 311, HCL 316, HCL 320, and HCL 326; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course provides an overview of information systems in health care operations and management. The course addresses health care information systems from multiple perspectives, including providers, patients, payers, and public sector agencies. Students are exposed to core health care information technologies; clinical and administrative applications of these technologies; processes for implementing and managing these technologies; and the impacts of these technologies on the people, processes, and performance of today’s health care industry. Pre-requisite(s): HCL 301, HCL 311, HCL 316, HCL 320, and HCL 326; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course provides an overview of the role of marketing activities in health care today, with a particular focus on marketing activities performed at the departmental level. It addresses the distinct needs and challenges of health care organizations in the development and execution of marketing plans. Discussions and assignments focus on marketing principles and activities that contribute to positive growth and reputation of health care service through quality, service, and value. Students identify and analyze a marketing opportunity or problem, and develop a marketing plan linked to actual outcomes by employing creative as well as critical thinking skills. Pre-requisite(s): HCL 301, HCL 311, HCL 316, HCL 320, and HCL 326; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

Strategic Analysis and Planning in Health Care is the capstone course for the Health Care Leadership major which draws on the content of all previously completed courses. This course guides students through the fundamentals of strategic analysis of departmental-level changes for a health care organization or the delivery of a new service or product. Students conduct strategic analyses of the external and internal environments, assess strategic alternatives and choices, and present a strategic plan for change. They further analyze factors associated with implementing a strategic plan, with a focus on managing change and assessing the outcomes of strategic plans. Pre-requisite(s): HCL 301, HCL 311, HCL 316, HCL 320, HCL 326, HCL 350, HCL 410, HCL 416, HCL 421, HCL 426, HCL 431 AND PJM 300; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours