Director of Healthcare Business
Carla Dirkschneider, M.S., RHIA
PH 402.552.6295 TF 800.647.5500
dirkschneider@clarksoncollege.edu
Introduction
Clarkson College recognizes the structural changes that have evolved in the health care industry in recent years. National statistics and labor predictions show that over the next decade, many health care roles will be redefined and newly created. These will be among the fastest-growing opportunities in the workforce. Health care professionals serving within the industry will be required to adjust to these environmental changes. Those entering the profession will be expected to possess new skills and talents to be productive employees.
The Healthcare Administration & Management program options are designed to develop the knowledge, leadership and critical thinking skills for individuals to become successful in business and health care work environments. Program options range from certificate programs to a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration. Clarkson College also has a bachelor degrees in Healthcare Business Management. We’ll help you choose an educational plan that is right for you. Because many of our programs are offered online, you’ll have as much flexibility and convenience as you need.
Mission
The mission of the Healthcare Administration & Management program is to prepare students for leadership roles in health care delivery systems through high quality, ethical and compassionate health business education.
Undergraduate Healthcare Administration & Management Courses
This course is designed to build proficiency skills in the Microsoft Office software suite, including word processing, spreadsheet, database creation and presentation software applications. Additionally, advanced functions of spreadsheets and databases will be covered. This course focuses on some of the most common applications of Microsoft Office in a health care environment. A Windows operating system and the current Microsoft Office software are required for this course.
This course is an overview of the American health care system. It includes the study of the evolution and current state of health care services and insurance, health professionals and organizations, health policy, and health services financing. Additionally, current events impacting health care delivery and services will be discussed.
This course focuses on the importance of business communication in the health care environment from an individual to an organizational perspective. Students will learn business communication techniques such as writing styles, email etiquette, elevator speeches, report writing and cross-cultural communication. In addition, this course will study the theory and application of the marketing mix with an emphasis on marketing health care services internally and externally.
This course is designed as an introduction to business management, specifically applied to health care settings. As such, it will provide an overview of managerial theories commonly practiced in health care organizations. In addition, this course will study change theories, models and frameworks, change agents, and related concepts that influence the practice of organizational change.
This course will focus on the principles and techniques of personnel administration. Topics include stress and time management, employee burnout, employee health and wellness department culture, staff recruitment and retention, staff performance benchmarking, training and development, diversity, interviewing, workplace violence, as well as regulatory and legal and ethical issues in human resources management to include workplace policy and employment laws. In addition, students will study the theories and practices of human behavior within organizations. Individual and group behaviors in organizations are addressed. Organizational dynamics and development of work environments that foster successful team building are studied.
This course provides students with the tools and techniques of managing health care departments. Topics such as cultural diversity, leadership skills, human resource strategies, departmental budgets, financial management, decision making, change management and communication will be discussed.
This course will provide a basic understanding of accounting and financial concepts. Students will learn general accounting and financial management practices in health care. They will gain skills in reading financial information, preparing budgets and analyzing health care operating costs to make sound business decisions. Ethical challenges in health care financial management will also be examined.
This course will introduce contemporary leadership theory and principles. Students will apply knowledge gained to assess their personal leadership style; identify leadership approach to managing changes; use influencing skills in negotiation; establish a constructive climate and manage conflict; build effective teams; and to manage ethically.
This course allows the student to apply Quality Management tools while constructing performance management measures. Students will apply analytical results to facilitate decision making and use quality management tools to analyze clinical data to identify trends that demonstrate quality, safety and effectiveness of health care. Product, process and service design will help to develop organizational action plans, implement customer service initiatives and develop protocols to help foster efficiency and organizational success.
This course is designed for the student going into the long-term care field and/or management. There are distinct differences in managing long-term care facilities compared to other hospital and health care institutions. Students will learn the fundamentals of management in the long-term care arena. This course also focuses on how to work with the culture, clients, families, and regulatory constraints that play a part in the long-term care environment.
This course is designed to introduce the core project management tools and techniques used by project managers to effectively manage projects through a project life cycle. Students will also have the opportunity to practically apply and evaluate a number of standard project management functions utilizing project management software.
This course will allow students to take part in the development of strategic initiatives that will provide overall direction for the organization. These initiatives will support the organization’s current and future goals, objectives, and strategies. Internal and external environments will be explored as well as resource allocation for strategic initiatives and decision making. Students will not only learn the particulars of implementing a departmental strategic plan but will also facilitate the use of enterprise-wide information assets to support organizational strategies and objectives.
This course focuses on current health policy and public health issues. Students will learn about the origins and development of the public health system. The course also focuses on how the U.S. health system is organized at the federal, state and local levels. Additionally, public health activities such as epidemiological investigations, biomedical research, environmental assessment and policy development will be explored.
This course allows students to gain practical, hands-on experience related to the health care business management curriculum. This field experience will be under the supervision of designated health care administrators at the internship site and Clarkson College faculty. This is an opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real-world health care business.
This capstone course is a culmination of prior courses. It is designed to give students the opportunity to practice proficiencies with various theories and concepts related to their field of study. The final product will be a presentation given to the communities of interest. In addition to their capstone project, students will practice interviewing skills.
Graduate Healthcare Administration & Management Courses
This course focuses on scholarly writing with specific emphasis on APA style. Additionally, the course will prepare students to critique published research studies, both qualitative and quantitative. Students will refine their research and writing skills by applying them to a scholarly research paper.
This course addresses the principles of ethics pertaining to decision making by health care leaders. Students will gain insight into carrying out their duty to make ethical decisions when faced with conflicting interests in the administration of health care organizations. Additionally, students will explore the roles of health care leaders in practicing moral leadership, fostering ethical behavior and creating a culture of ethics within an organization.
This course is an overview of the American health care system. It includes the study of the evolution and current state of health care delivery models and services, the continuum of care, health professionals, and accreditation. Health care expenditures, resource utilization and allocation, and global health care trends will also be explored. Primary focus throughout the continuum will be leadership challenges associated with access, quality and cost of care by investigating the delivery of quality care to consumers.
This course will introduce students to classical and current views of leadership. Students will gain a foundation in theories and models of leadership to assess their own leadership style. They will also examine past or current leaders to identify traits, attributes and other characteristics that define the leaders' leadership qualities. Special focus on leadership in health care administration is presented and discussed.
This course will focus on various ways in which laws and other policies can affect business decisions in health care. Examining health care laws, regulations, procedures and policies at the state and national level will help future health care leaders understand the impact on patients, health care professionals and organizations. Topics considered in this course include the Accountable Care Act, Healthy People 2030, accreditation and licensure for health care organizations, compliance issues, and HIPAA privacy and security.
This course focuses on behaviors within health care organizations, from both an individual and group perspective, that will help identify, address and solve workplace problems. Individual and team dynamics that impact organizational effectiveness and efficiency will be explored. Additional topics explored in this course include culture, working relationships, trust, motivational factors, team management and an understanding of the importance of ethical culture.
Human resources management focuses on the principles and techniques of personnel administration. This course will help prepare health care leaders to manage people. This includes determining labor needs, staffing, recruitment, selection and performance management. Additionally, this course will cover topics such as workforce issues, training and development, giving and receiving constructive criticism, and stress management to avoid employee burnout and to increase retention.
This course introduces important concepts related to data analytics in a health care setting. As more and more data are collected by health care organizations and professionals, health care leaders need to be competent in data analytics in order to better manage and use collected health care data to both optimize the quality of care and to improve business efficiencies. Students will not only explore the various sources of data, but will also perform data analysis, interpret the results, and create visual presentations of the results of analyzed data. Data quality and data management will serve as a framework for the use of health care data, for the creation of knowledge, for knowledge management, and for decision making.
This course focuses on techniques for identification, collection, analysis, evaluation and reporting of strategic data. When the process of strategic management is done well, it can lead to long-term success of the organization. Key concepts, tools and principles of strategy formulation and execution, as well as competitive analysis will be introduced. In addition, leadership decisions and actions that affect performance and organization survival will be evaluated.
This course provides the opportunity for students to learn about the importance of financial management for health care operations, including the development and analysis of operational and capital budgets. Students will learn budget development, evaluation of the financial status of a department or operating unit, and the ability to determine what, if any, corrective actions need to be taken. The course will also focus on methods for measuring financial performance within health care organizations by looking at aspects such as volume adjusted variance analysis, benefit-cost ratio analysis, breakeven analysis and methods for building cost standards.
This course provides the student with an understanding of health care quality improvement including methods and tools to increase patient safety, improve health outcomes and reduce risk in the health care setting. Students will investigate the tools and techniques of leading continuous quality improvement (CQI) programs and assessing risk of clinical and organizational efforts within a facility. An emphasis on how to develop the processes of in-depth investigation of various areas of internal operations will be presented. Specific focus will be on skill development associated with selecting and implementing various CQI tools, while conducting appropriate risk analysis.
This course introduces students to the concepts, methodologies, tools and strategies used to manage projects in health care organizations. Effective project management is critical to ensure that healthcare projects are successfully completed and that they meet the proposed project deadline, goals and budget constraints. Students will learn how to create a project plan; to establish and manage the project scope, schedule and cost; and to manage other aspects during the execution of a project.
Change is inevitable; therefore, this course focuses on the critical role leaders have in effectively leading change in the workplace. Students will gain insights into leading, initiating, handling and overcoming barriers to change. Topics within this course include change management theories and concepts, promoting change, resistance to change, overcoming resistance, and resiliency.
This course will discuss information about U.S. health care payment systems and examine the complex financial systems within today’s health care environment. The student will be introduced to concepts regarding electronic bill submission, pay for performance, MS-DRGs, present on admission (POA) and hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) guidelines, and prospective payment systems. The student will also explore health insurance and public funding programs, contract management and vendor relations, and how payment systems function.
This course provides an overview of the management of electronic health information. In this course, students will gain insights about the roles that health information management professionals play in the acquisition, utilization, maintenance and protection of health information. Students will also learn about industry standards such as those used in promoting exchange of health information and clinical documentation. Additionally, topics related to health information privacy, security and audits will also be covered.
This course examines the main domains of health care informatics. The content of this course is designed to prepare students to apply the theories and concepts that form the foundation of health care informatics. Through the application of concepts and theories, students will have an opportunity to expand their understanding of health care informatics with respect to the management of computer technologies, processes, and health information users. Ultimately, students will be able to support effective health care information systems, use of health information, health information exchange and overall delivery of high-quality health care services.
In order to achieve the most optimal user-centric systems design, the concepts of human factors and system usability must be considered prior to the conception of an information system. In this course, students will learn important concepts related to systems and database design. Emphasis will be placed on proper data modeling for best database design and implementation; all with the goal of supporting data collection, optimizing data quality and promoting adoption. Students will gain practical experience in the creation and use of a database.
In this course, students will examine the major information systems and databases used in health care organizations, the technologies used for the delivery of health care, and the management of those systems and technologies to ensure that privacy and security of information is achieved and maintained. Information systems must be developed and managed to achieve alignment with an organization’s business objectives and strategic mission. Aspects such as the clinical, administrative and legal requirements for information systems will be studied, along with current health care trends that will influence the planning, selection and implementation of those systems necessary to support those trends. Additionally, students will learn about system interoperability, its associated challenges and strategies to address those challenges.
This course explores the economics of the health care system in the United States by examining the demand for health care services, the behavior of health care providers, the influence of government policies, and the relationship between health care services and population health levels. Established health care systems and their potential for change in both the United States and other countries are considered in the context of current policy concerns.
This course will allow a student to choose a topic of interest that they wish to explore further. The curriculum will include a guided study of that topic under the supervision of a faculty member.
In this course, students will work with an assigned faculty member to complete a culminating capstone project that will integrate and apply knowledge learned throughout the Master of Healthcare Administration program option. Major requirements for the course include topic proposal, business plan development and final project presentation. Students are expected to demonstrate critical thinking ability and mastery of relevant concepts and theories.
Students will be expected to identify an organization in which they will spend time under the supervision of a selected mentor to apply the leadership strategies and techniques learned throughout the program. The internship will consist of the supervised leadership duties by a designated mentor who will facilitate students’ health care career knowledge.
This is the first of three courses culminating in a scholarly capstone project. Students will synthesize and apply the theoretical knowledge gained during their Master of Healthcare Administration program option through the development of a sound business plan. In this course, students will complete a project proposal and develop the following sections of their business plan: Company/Organization Description; Product/Service Description; Industry Analysis and Trends; Target Market Description and Analysis; and Competition.
This is the second of three courses culminating in a scholarly capstone project. Students will synthesize and apply the theoretical knowledge gained during their Master of Healthcare Administration program option through the development of a sound business plan. In this course, students will complete a comprehensive exam in which they will demonstrate their depth and breadth of knowledge in topics covered in courses in the Master of Healthcare Administration program option. Additionally, students will build on the material completed in MB 904 and will complete the following sections of their business plan: Management and Organization; Strategic Position and Risk Assessment; Operations; and Marketing Plan and Sales Strategies.
This is the third of three courses culminating in a scholarly capstone project. Students will synthesize and apply the theoretical knowledge gained during their Master of Healthcare Administration program option through the development of a sound business plan. Students will build on the material completed in MB 904 and MB 905 and will complete the following sections of their business plan: Financial Analysis; Source and Use of Funds; Other Factors for Consideration; and Executive Summary. Students will also present their capstone project in person.