AHS 626- Supervision and Management in Health Professions Homework: Healthcare Manager Interview- Indiana State University
Background
This activity is designed to provide you with the opportunity to speak to a healthcare manager to learn more about his or her job duties while integrating the topics related to healthcare management throughout the semester. Successful completion of this assignment requires students to locate an individual who has been working as a healthcare manager for a minimum of six months. Students will compose interview questions and conduct the interview. The information provided by the healthcare manager will be used to compare and contrast his or her experience to the information provided in the class. The output will be a unique paper of no fewer than five pages.
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this assignment, students will be able to:
a) Develop and utilize interview questions to effectively communicate with a healthcare manager.
b) Apply course materials covering healthcare management concepts to a real-life situation.
c) Analyze personal feelings about the roles and responsibilities of healthcare managers.
The learning objectives align with the following course objective:
• Analyze and report the lived experience of management in the healthcare sector
Additionally, depending on the questions that the student chooses to ask, the following course objectives may align with this assignment:
• Describe the contemporary healthcare environment from the perspective of a manager
• Identify specific strategies for dealing with organizational change and the manager's role as change agent
• Analyze the phases of the organizational life cycle that reflect major changes and relate these to the functions of the manager
• Identify the styles of leadership, their characteristics, and the circumstances under which they are applied
• Define the management functions of planning and decision making
• Define the basic management function of organizing and identifying the steps in the organizing process
• Describe the role and activities of the professional practitioner as consultant.
• Differentiate among committee types, their general purpose, and recommended guidelines
• Explain the basic revenue cycle, steps in the budget cycle, and requirements of successful budgeting
• Identify the components of employee training programs
• Differentiate between adaptation and motivation, explain proper disciplinary action, and demonstrate how to address conflict constructively
• Explain the manager's critical role in fostering, enhancing, and improving interpersonal communication
• Describe the fundamentals of formal and informal organizational communication.
• Identify the essential elements of comprehensive management documents, including the strategic plan, annual report, executive summaries, and project proposals
• Define the management functions of quality improvement and controlling
• Outline the functions of human resources and indicate how these relate to the role of the manager
• Discuss the dual role of the health professional working as a manager Resources needed to complete this assignment
To complete this assignment, you will need to use the following resources:
o Access to an individual to interview
o Access to all course materials (textbook, lecture PowerPoint files, videos, etc.)
o Microsoft Word
o An Internet connection (if access to the Purdue Owl site is needed)
Directions
Part A:
Interview an individual who has held the role of manager in a healthcare setting for a minimum of six months. Students may wish to interview an individual at their current workplace or choose an individual who works in a setting where he or she may wish to obtain employment in the future.
Before conducting the interview, students should compose a list of questions to ask. Use the contents of the textbook as well as weekly resources for ideas for question development. A discussion board has been created for student and instructor feedback of interview questions - students are strongly encouraged to use this resource prior to conducting the interview. The following questions may be incorporated into the interview, but the student must also write at least two unique questions:
1) What are your duties in a typical week (or month)?
2) How many people do you supervise?
3) What aspects of your job do you like the best?
4) What aspects of your job do you like the least?
5) Do you have advice for a student who hopes to enter your profession?
6) Where do you see yourself in five years?
7) What trends to you foresee (e.g., maybe more geriatrics, collaborative agreements with other services, etc.)?
Urge your participant to be as descriptive and specific as possible about his or her experiences and opinions. Do not be satisfied with generalizations such as "I am in charge of the budget." Be like a reporter and probe for concrete details, (e.g. "What parts of the budget are you in charge of?" or "What do you have to do to prepare your budget?") The more details you get during the interview, the better your paper will be. Ask follow-up questions and probe more deeply when appropriate. Do not settle for just quick, patented answers.
Part B:
Use the materials from Part A to write a paper that contains the following elements:
1) Title page: Include the title of project, class name class number, your full name, and date.
2) Introduction: Begin with the first name of the person that you interviewed and a description of the person (e.g., title, place of employment, length in the job, etc.). Provide a brief explanation as to why you chose this person to interview. Perhaps you work with this person, or he/she holds a job that is similar to what you hope to have in the future. The introduction should set the stage for the discussion, providing as much information as necessary to help the reader understand the context of the interview.
3) Discussion: This is the body of the paper, and should include as much detail as necessary to provide the following information:
4) A description of the person's day-to-day job duties: Provide information taken from the interview to describe the person's job in detail. Include a discussion of opportunities and challenges posed by the person's job duties, social and work culture, and other work-related factors. Do not simply copy and paste the interview. This portion of the paper should include numerous quotes and personal reflections.
5) Integration of course materials: Utilize materials that have been covered in the course in the discussion. You may use the textbook as well as credible material you may find on your own. Your paper should include at least five citations.
6) Conclusion: What did you take away from this assignment? What was most remarkable or noteworthy? What did you learn about the individual that you interviewed? What did you learn about yourself? How might these lessons be useful to you in your professional or personal life moving forward?
7) References: Supply a complete list of all references used in the paper.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.