Course Description
Health care is a complex and evolving industry that requires distinction in its management from senior leaders to frontline or new managers. The capstone course is a culmination of the Health Care (HCA) Administration program that sets the groundwork for this course. This course requires students to broaden their knowledge by synthesizing program content to healthcare decision-making, multidisciplinary collaboration, and evidence based management practices to achieve high quality, patient satisfaction, and fiscally sound operations. The primary objective of will be to advance the comprehension and collaboration of healthcare administration through practical applications to prepare students to assume managerial responsibilities in one of the many types of healthcare settings. It is expected students think comprehensively, strategically, and demonstrate command of the healthcare program content through critical thinking and problem solving, use the language of the healthcare industry, and apply industry principles and/or theories to contemporary healthcare issues through high quality academic and professional writing and critical thinking.
Prerequisites
This is the required capstone course in the Charter Oak Health Care Administration concentration and should be taken in the final semester.
- ENG 101: English Composition 1
- ENG 102: English Composition 2
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Assess and demonstrate healthcare leadership styles, proficiencies, and competencies required to manage diverse healthcare settings to achieve excellence.
- Demonstrate collective leadership capabilities to discuss healthcare issues, collaborate on administrative solutions, and provide feedback to peers.
- Analyze specific healthcare case studies, situations, issues, and/or research to demonstrate critical thinking for effective problem solving, analysis and decision-making.
- Conduct professional research and literature reviews to analyze findings and synthesize research to support a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare delivery.
- Lead and/or collaborate in teams to address problems faced by healthcare administrators or leaders utilizing program knowledge to weigh problem and solutions.
- Demonstrate high quality academic written and oral communication skills including professional and appropriate language of the industry/field, including medical terminology.
- Create and present a comprehensive and evidence based oral presentation that integrates and synthesizes healthcare administration program content while incorporating an elevated degree of critical thinking and analysis to problem and solutions.
- Exhibit originality and academic integrity in all written work by complying with institutional and course policies.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
Discussions - Case Study (Weeks 1-8) @ 20 points | 16% |
IHI Leadership 101 Certificate (Week 1) @ 100 points | 10% |
| Capstone Oral Presentation, Parts 1-6 (Weeks 1-6) @ 100 points | 60% |
| Capstone Oral Presentation (Week 7) | 14% |
Total | 100% |
Required Textbook
Available through Charter Oak State College's Book Bundle
- Buchbinder, S., Shanks, N., and Buchbinder, D. (2023). Cases in Healthcare Management. 2nd. ed. Jones and Bartlett Publishing.
- Capstone Writer. (2009). Producing the Capstone Project. Lulu Publishing.
Additional Required Materials
- Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Access, & Excel)
- Sound card, microphone, and speakers to record presentation
Additional Resources
- Students may find it helpful to refer to textbooks used in previous HCA courses.
Course Schedule
| Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1,3,4,5,6,8 | Topic: Health Care Leadership
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2 | 1,3,4,5,6,8 | Topic: Governance and Strategic Management
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3 | 1,3,5,6,8 | Topic: Health Care Operations
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4 | 1,3,4,5,6,8 | Topic: Health Care Professionals and Human Resources
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5 | 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 | Topic: Quality of Care and Information Technology
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6 | 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 | Topics: Health Care Ethics, Compliance and Regulations
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7 | 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 | Topics: Financial and Business Strategies
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8 | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 | Topic: Achieving Excellence in Health Care
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COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.