HSA599- Health Administration Capstone

Week 1 Discussion – Developing a Strategic Plan

79 79 unread replies. 122 122 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• Introduce yourself to your peers by sharing something unique about your background. Explain how you expect this course will help you move forward in your current or future career.
• Examine the strategic planning process. Imagine that your organization is planning to build a pediatric clinic in your local community. Review the pediatric clinics in your neighborhood.
  • Determine one external and one internal factor that you should consider in the strategic planning of your clinic.
  • Determine three reasons why strategic plans fail. Recommend a strategy to overcome each of the reasons you identified and include concepts from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

Week 2 Discussion – Cost-Benefit Analysis

87 Unread replies100 Replies

Please respond to the following:

• The emergence of technology has changed health care delivery over the last 20 years. Imagine that your clinic proposed adding telemedicine as a health care delivery method.
• Outline the specific steps you would take when conducting an analysis to determine the costs and implementations of this addition.
• Design a strategic vision that illustrates how your clinic can implement a telemedicine initiative within three years, and decide whether this would be cost-effective for your clinic. Include concepts from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

 

Week 2 Assignment – Internal and External Research Activity

Due: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 9:00

55/5555/55 Point

Use the Internet and Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library to research a health care organization in your community. Respond to the following:

• What are some internal and external barriers to the health care organization’s mission, vision, and values?
• Why is it important to understand and be able to articulate the characteristics of an organization you want to work for?

Assignment Instructions

Write a one-page paper (not to exceed 250 words). You will be graded on the following:

• Quality of your response.
• Coherence and organization.
• Mechanics.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Design a comprehensive strategic plan that accounts for the internal and external factors that impact an organization.

Week 3 Discussion – Conducting a Competitor Analysis

98 98 unread replies. 114 114 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• From readings in the textbook or peer-reviewed journal articles, analyze Michael Porter’s technique for a competitive analysis.
• Determine one factor for each of Porter’s five forces of an environmental analysis that would apply to a health care organization.
• Compare and contrast the answers to a competitor of the pediatric health care organization that you chose in the Week 2 research assignment.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

Week 3 Assignment – Strategic Planning and Development

Due: Mon, 22 Jan 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 22 Jan 2024 9:00

135/135135/135 Points

 

Introduction

Within the last 10 years, the health care industry has seen big changes, not only in philosophy but also with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. There have been changes in political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that influence strategic planning. Americans desire increased quality patient care, wellness, and prevention programs. Health care organizations are seeing changes in volume and demographics related to their patients, along with labor and technologies related to the health care organization.

For this assignment, select a health care organization from the following list:

• St. David’s Healthcare

• Links to an external site.
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Links to an external site.
• Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Neurology

• Links to an external site.

Imagine you have been selected by the facility’s executive committee to develop a strategic plan that aligns with the organization’s mission and vision. Use critical thinking skills and research current events of your chosen organization to prepare your assignment.

Assignment Instructions

Write an 8-10 page strategic plan. Your plan must include the elements listed below. Note that the instructions correspond to the grading criteria for this assignment. You may also want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion in the scoring guide to see how your work will be assessed:

1. Differentiate between strategic management, strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing strategic momentum.
2. Propose one specific analytical tool suitable for use as an adaptive strategy that will be the most effective in helping an organization achieve its strategic plan.
3. Propose the manner and provide an example of how the selected analytical tool will be used to support the strategic proposal.
4. Research three internal and three external factors that could become barriers to the success of the proposed strategic plan.
5. Recommend at least one solution to each of the possible barriers to implementing your proposed strategic plan.
6. Determine the specific segment of the market that your organization’s strategic plan will target.
7. Recommend the most effective approach to marketing your strategic plan and provide examples.
8. Use at least three quality academic resources.
   • Use the Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library for resources.
   • Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as academic resources.
9. Meet requirements for clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Design a comprehensive strategic plan that accounts for the internal and external factors that impact an organization.

Resources

• St. David’s Healthcare

• Links to an external site.
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Links to an external site.
• Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Neurology

• Links to an external site.

• Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library

 

Week 4 Discussion – Staffing

93 93 unread replies. 100 100 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• Health care faces critical staffing shortages. Imagine you are part of the executive management team researching health care shortages.
• Outline some of the staffing shortages in the market where you live. Are they consistent with national trends?
• Design a strategy that describes how your organization would alleviate some staffing shortages, including whether you would hire licensed practical nurses instead of registered nurses. Include concepts from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

Week 4 Assignment – Professional Presentation Research Activity

Due: Mon, 29 Jan 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 29 Jan 2024 9:00

55/5555/55 Points

Use Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library and the Internet to research how to make an authoritative, but concise, PowerPoint presentation. Respond to the following:

• Why is important that you know how to create an effective presentation?
• What common mistakes do people make when presenting information to a group?
• What tips did you learn about effective PowerPoint presentations?

Assignment Instructions

Write a one-page paper (not to exceed 250 words). You will be graded on the following:

• Quality of your response.
• Coherence and organization.
• Mechanics.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Develop a professional development strategy that fosters career readiness skills for masters-prepared health care administrators.

Week 5 Discussion – Strategic Development

70 70 unread replies. 93 93 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• Analyze the steps involved in building a strategic plan for a health care organization. Discuss which step would be most difficult to implement.
• Propose three ways in which a health care organization’s board of directors can influence a strategic plan for a health care organization.
• Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

Week 6 Discussion – Leadership Strategies

72 Unread replies89 Replies

Please respond to the following:

• Analyze the concepts of leadership strategies in a health care organization. Argue whether leaders are born or made.
• Give three examples of a great leader whom you admire in the health care field, elaborating on the primary reasons why you admire this selected leader.
• Discuss two challenges this selected leader faces and how you would successfully tackle these challenges. Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

Week 6 Assignment – Strategic Planning Implementation and Evaluation

Due: Mon, 12 Feb 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 12 Feb 2024 9:00

135/135135/135 Points

 

Introduction

Building on the Strategic Planning and Development assignment from Week 3, prepare a 10-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, with narration, of your plan to present to the executive committee.

In this assignment, use the health care organization you selected in your Week 3 assignment. Determine why you are embarking on this strategic planning process (securing funding, establishing and focusing on organizational priorities, et cetera). In this presentation:

• Establish a clear vision for the strategic planning process.
• Paint a picture of where your organization will be going and of your desired outcomes.
• Ensure the picture is reality;  not just what you or your executive committee may want to have.
• Make certain the strategic plan allows employees to know why the organization is changing.

Assignment Format

Your 10-slide PowerPoint presentation should follow this format:

Slide 1: Cover Slide

• Include the title of your presentation, your name, the course number and course title, your professor’s name, the university’s name, and the date.

Slide 2: Background/Executive Summary

• The title of this slide should be Executive Summary.
• Describe the details of the situation.
• Use bullets with short phrases.

Slide 3: Thesis Statement

• The title of this slide should be Thesis Statement.
• Identify the focus of your research.

Slides 4-9: Support

• Support your thesis statement following the SESC formula: state, explain, support, and conclude. (Use Sublevel 1 and 2 Headings to provide coherence and organization.)
• Provide in-text citations using the format in the Strayer Writing Standards.
• Slides should be concise – basically no more than seven bullets per slide and no more than seven words per bullet.
• Most information in a PowerPoint presentation should be contained within the notes section.

Slide 10: References

• Locate at least three peer-reviewed journal articles to support your work. For example, to identify the clinical quality that does not compare to other hospitals, see the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare

• Links to an external site. site.
• Use the Strayer Writing Standards format for your references.

Note: Refer to the instructions and PowerPoint resources in the Week 5 Assignment Preparation for support in completing this assignment.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Assignment Instructions

Your presentation must include all of the elements listed below, so be sure to address each point. You may also want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion in the scoring guide to see how your work will be assessed:

1. Determine why you are embarking on this strategic planning process.
2. Analyze the differences between strategic management, strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing strategic momentum.
3. Justify the analytical tool that will be the most effective in helping the organization achieve its strategic plan; support the proposal with an example of how it will be used.
4. Examine the three internal and three external factors that you discovered during your research that could be barriers to the success of your proposed strategic plan; discuss solutions to each of the barriers.
5. Examine the most effective manner of reaching the specific segments of the market that your organization’s strategic plan will target.
6. Evaluate how well the strategic plan you have developed aligns with the organization’s mission and vision. Recommend at least one solution to track the effectiveness of your strategic plan.
7. Use at least three quality academic resources.
   • Use Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library for resources.
8. Meet requirements for clarity, writing mechanics, and SWS formatting.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Outline the process for implementing and evaluating a health care organization’s strategic plan.

 

Week 7 Discussion – SWOT Analysis

83 83 unread replies. 99 99 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• Examine the nature of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. Suggest the manner in which a SWOT could help a health care organization implement a market entry strategy.
• Identify a minimum of one factor that affects a health care organization market entry strategy. You must include the internal and external environments (such as resources, market, competitors, geographical, global, and so on) in each factor.
• Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

 

Week 7 Assignment – Leadership Styles Career Activity

Due: Mon, 19 Feb 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 19 Feb 2024 9:00

60/6060/60

 

Use Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library and the Internet, to research leadership traits and merits. Respond to the following:

• Describe some leadership styles and traits that would make you the ideal candidate for an executive position in a health care organization.

Assignment Instructions

Write a one-page paper (not to exceed 250 words). You will be graded on the following:

• Quality of your response.
• Coherence and organization.
• Mechanics.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Synthesize the functions of the master’s-prepared health care administrator, including role, responsibilities, and priorities.

 

Week 8 Discussion – Economic Issues Affecting Health Care

79 79 unread replies. 91 91 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• Examine at least three current and future economic issues confronting today’s health care system.
• Analyze the significant implications of the issues in question for market efficiency of the health care system.
• Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

Week 8 Assignment – Role of the Health Care Administrator

Due: Mon, 26 Feb 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 26 Feb 2024 9:00

120/120120/120 Points

 

Introduction

As you complete your studies as a master’s-prepared health care administrator, what role do you envision for yourself? As you know by now, there are many roles and areas of specialty from which to choose. Since you have almost completed your master’s degree, imagine you have been asked by your dean to make a presentation to a group of undergraduate students who are considering becoming health care administrators.

Your ultimate goal is to sell a health care administrator career to this group of undergraduate students by using all the duties of a healthcare administrator from the What Medical and Health Services Managers Do

Links to an external site. page of the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Links to an external site. website, and then personalizing it to how you envision health care will succeed in the next decade.

Assignment Instructions

Write a 1-2 page executive summary of your presentation, plus a 3-5 page paper where you will synthesize the functions of the master’s-prepared health care administrator, including role, responsibilities, and priorities. You will also need to touch on all major components of a health care administrator, such as, but not limited to, human resources, finance, information technology, regulatory topics, and leadership.

For this assignment, you will focus on the following six duties from the What Medical and Health Services Managers Do

Links to an external site. page of the Occupational Outlook Handbook website:

• Improve efficiency and quality in delivering healthcare services
• Develop departmental goals and objectives
• Ensure that the facility in which they work is up to date on laws and regulations and in compliance.
• Recruit, train, and supervise staff members
• Manage the finances of the facility, such as patient fees and billing
• Create work schedules

Your executive summary and paper must include all the elements listed below, so be sure to address each point. You may also want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion in the scoring guide to see how your work will be assessed:

1. Provide an executive summary of a health care administrator’s job responsibilities.
2. Outline at least six specific functions of a health care administrator.
3. Describe successful leadership traits for the six identified health care administrator functions.
4. Analyze current health care challenges confronting health care administration professionals.
5. Summarize the knowledge and skills necessary for health care leaders to succeed for the next 10 years.
6. Use at least three quality academic references.
   • Use Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library.
   • Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as academic resources.
7. Meet requirements for clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting.

Assignment Format

• On the executive summary, provide a cover page with your name, the course number and course title, your professor’s name, the university’s name, and the date.
• Include a 1-2 page executive summary of your presentation, after the cover page and before the assignment.
• Work should be typed, double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font, with one-inch margins on all sides.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Synthesize the functions of the master’s-prepared health care administrator, including role, responsibilities, and priorities.

Week 9 Discussion – Quality of Care in Health Care

78 Unread replies86 Replies

Please respond to the following:

• Assess the degree and quality of care established in 18th-century U.S. hospitals, as compared to the level of care seen in 21st-century hospitals.
• Compare and contrast the U.S. health care delivery system relative to spending per capita and ranking of health care outcomes with the health care systems of two other countries.
• Determine whether the U.S. health care delivery spending per capita is detrimental to the quality of care provided in the 21st-century hospitals. Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

Week 9 Assignment – Development Plan Career Activity

Due: Mon, 4 Mar 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 4 Mar 2024 9:00

Ungraded, 60 Possible Points60 Points Possible

Use the Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library and the Internet to research how to create a professional career development plan. Respond to the following:

• What are some of the key concepts that should be included in a career plan?
• What common mistakes do people make when developing a career plan?

Assignment Instructions

Write a one-page paper (not to exceed 250 words). You will be graded on the following:

• Quality of your response.
• Coherence and organization.
• Mechanics.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Develop a professional development strategy that fosters career readiness skills for master’s-prepared health care administrators.

 

Week 10 Discussion – Public Health Emergencies

37 37 unread replies. 51 51 replies.

Please respond to the following:

• Discuss a life-threatening event or a natural disaster in your community, such as a severe weather event, terrorist attack, or other type of public health emergency.
• Examine an overall strategy that medical providers, health care organizations, and public health agencies should include in the response plan that combines the efforts of all groups.
• Determine how these groups could work collaboratively to effectively manage this emergency. Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

 

 

Week 10 Assignment – Health Care Administrator Presentation

Due: Mon, 11 Mar 2024 9:00Due: Mon, 11 Mar 2024 9:00

Ungraded, 160 Possible Points160 Points Possible

 

Introduction

Locate a health administration position on a career website that you are interested in applying for. Be aspirational! It does not have to be a job you qualify for at the moment, but one that may be of interest to you in the future. Take a screenshot or make a PDF of the job posting to submit with your assignment.

Imagine you applied for this position and have been selected as a finalist. To better get to know you, the interview panel has asked each candidate to provide an updated cover letter, resume, and video introduction. As a finalist, you have been instructed to record a 60-90 second video, utilizing professional attire, and explaining why you are the best candidate for the promotion.

Assignment Instructions

For this assignment, you will provide the following:

• Copy of the job posting.
• 1-page cover letter.
• 1-2 page resume.
• 60-90 second video.
  • Review Recording and Submitting an Assignment.pdf

• • Download Recording and Submitting an Assignment.pdf

Your assignment must include the elements listed below. Note that these instructions correspond to the grading criteria for this assignment. You may also want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion in the scoring guide to see how your work will be assessed:

1. Summarize your interest in the selected job in a cover letter to the prospective employer.
2. Present your qualifications, education, and background in a professional resume.
3. Use proper grammar, clear language, and correct spelling in all written communication.
4. Construct your resume using legible resume sections: contact information, resume, summary, work experience, education, and skills.
5. Create a professional video resume, utilizing professional attire and communications skills.
6. Introduce yourself in the video. Summarize your accomplishments and explain why you are the best candidate for the position.

For video submissions: Please submit a valid link to your video. Your instructor must be able to see and hear you clearly in the video. If you are unable to submit a video file, you may submit an audio recording along with a PowerPoint presentation that provides a written summary of the points you cover in the audio resume.

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Develop a professional development strategy that fosters career readiness skills for masters-prepared health care administrators.

Week 11 Discussion – Sum It Up

15 Unread replies15 Replies

Please respond to the following:

• Create a list of three best practices to follow in the field of health services administration. Rank the best practices in order of importance (one being the most important).
• Rate the three most important concepts that you learned in this course in order of importance (one being the most important).
• Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.