According to The Institute for Health Care Improvement (2006), “Continuing Education (CE) is a vehicle for spreading best practices and how to improve patient outcomes.” In short, continuing education assists with keeping health care teams well-informed of current research, laws, regulations, and practices in the fields in which they practice.

Massoud M. R., Nielsen, G. A., Nolan K., Schall, M. W., Sevin. C. (2006). A Framework for Spread: From Local Improvements to System-Wide Change. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/IHIWhitePapers/AFrameworkforSpreadWhitePaper.aspx

Review the following literature:

Belliolio, M. F. & Stead, L. G. (2009). Continuing Education Meetings and Workshops: Effects on Professional Practice and Health Care Outcomes. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 53(5). 685-687. 

Filipe, H. P., Sliva, E. D., Stulting, A. A., Golnik, K. C. (2014). Continuing Professional Development: Best Practices. Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology. 21(2), 134-141. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4005177/

Based on your research of professional literature and the literature above, in a 3 page scholarly evaluation essay:

1. Identify and describe the positive implications of Medical Research and Education.
2. Explain the importance of continued education for health care professionals.
3. Explain benefits of organizational/departmental training and staff development.
4. Identify two current issues/problems in health care organizations and explain from a health care administer perspective how they could have been avoided with proper education.

For assistance on writing an evaluation essay, please review the following source: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~pbawa/421/Evaluation%20Essay%20sample.htm

1. Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to justify/support your position and answers to the questions.
2. Limit your response to a maximum of 3 pages.
3. Include an introduction and conclusion in your paper.
4. Support your case with peer-reviewed articles, with at least 4 references. Use the following link for additional information on how to recognize peer-reviewed journals: http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/handouts/peerrev.php.

Week 5: Strategic Planning

“For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” –African proverb

As this course has emphasized, healthcare leaders and managers typically have oversight of a vast array of responsibilities and outcomes. Like a general of an army or a physician helping a patient through a long-term disease, they must demonstrate that they can make critical day-to-day decisions, but they must also have a vision for a better future for those they serve. In healthcare management, that vision can best be achieved through planning involving a strategic process and group of stakeholders.

Healthcare leaders need to know how to ensure that their organizations succeed for the long term, and to anticipate market forces and policy and funding changes, among other challenges. In strategic planning, the process is as important as the plan itself.

This week, you will explore various aspects of strategic planning. You will examine challenges related to strategic planning in healthcare settings, the roles of stakeholders and healthcare leaders in the process, and components and goals of successful strategic plans.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze stakeholder roles in meeting strategic planning challenges
• Analyze the role of healthcare leaders and managers in meeting the needs of stakeholders and the goals of the organization through strategic planning
• Identify the components and goals of a successful strategic plan
• Compare goals and strategies of strategic plans
• Analyze barriers to successful strategic planning implementation

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Course Text: Buchbinder, S. B., & Shanks, N. H. (2017). Introduction to health care management (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
Chapter 5, “Strategic Planning” (pp. 107–123)
In this chapter, you will be introduced to the strategic planning process within healthcare settings. The author provides insight into the process of identifying a desired future state for a healthcare organization and planning as a means to achieve it.
Last Chance Hospital—Case or Chapters 5 and 6 (pp. 536–537)

Article: Javanparast, S., Freeman, T., Baum, F., Ziersch, A., Mackean, T., Labonte, R., & Sanders, D. (n.d). How institutional forces, ideas and actors shaped population health planning in Australian regional primary health care organisations. BMC Public Health, 18. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5273-4

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article features a look at collaborative healthcare planning for population health programs in Australia.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer) (2014c). Strategic planning [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.
This media features public health leaders discussing various roles, informal and formal, in strategic planning.
Note: You may view this Course Video in the streaming Media Player below or attached and/or linked above with each resource listed. As a reminder, additional Learning Resources for the week are listed below the Media Player. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to view the complete list of Required and/or Optional Resources.
If you experience technical difficulties viewing the Course Media through the Media Player, please contact your Student Support Team at 1-800-WALDENU or support@waldenu.edu

Discussion: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

The six Ps in the title of this Discussion, “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance,” indicate the value of planning. When healthcare leaders and managers carefully plan their goals and strategies for the long-term as well as the short-term and involve the right stakeholders and fully understand their perspectives, this helps the organization be more strategic in attaining its current and future goals.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Consider the role of the healthcare manager or leader in strategic planning in healthcare settings.
• Review the case study provided in your course text: Last Chance Hospital.

By Day 4

Post a comprehensive response to the following:

• Using specific examples and support from the case study provided in your Learning Resources, describe the main challenges related to strategic planning in Last Chance Hospital and explain why they are challenges.
• Identify the key stakeholders in the case study. Then, explain the role, if any, each might take in strategic planning and why.
• Explain the role of a healthcare leader or manager in meeting the needs of the various stakeholders, as well as meeting the goals of the strategic plan and organization.

PART II: Data Assessment and Reflection: Once you have completed the interview, review and analyze your subject’s information using course resources (documentaries, ATI Nutrition for Nursing book, class discussions, articles, websites, online resources you have located) and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans on the health.gov website: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/. (The “executive summary” and “recommendations at a glance” documents are good places to start: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/executive-summary/)

Compare your subject’s food intake and eating habits to what you are learning regarding guidelines for healthy eating. How is his/her intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables? Do they consume adequate protein sources? What about fat, sugar, and salt? Review their intake of major vitamins, minerals, electrolytes (consult chapter 1 of ATI Nutrition for Nursing). Summarize your findings from the interview. Include the strengths and areas for improvement for your subject’s food/drink consumption. What potential barriers to healthy eating do you think your subject might face?

Lastly, reflect on the process of the interview. Use the following questions/prompts as your guide:

o What interpersonal communication/interviewing techniques did you use for the interview? Explain how and why you used each technique, and at what point in the interview process.

o What were your strengths as an interviewer? In what ways could you improve your techniques?

o How did you feel about collecting this data in the form of an interview?Discuss any challenges you faced in gathering accurate and complete data (or just in general) while interviewing this particular person. If you didn’t face any challenges, what challenges do you think a nurse might encounter when interviewing a person regarding their food intake and eating habits? 

This entire section (data assessment and reflection) should be approximately 2-3 pages, double-spaced. Follow APA guidelines (7th edition) for the title page, writing style, and reference page. Your reference page will include all the resources you have used to complete your work for this section. A minimum of two sources is required for part II.

PART III: Intervention

Using the knowledge you acquired from Part II, create an originalteaching intervention specifically for your interview subject. This could take the form of a poster, information sheet, video, PowerPoint, brochure, etc. The content should focus on the areas needed for nutrition improvement, based on your assessment. This teaching intervention could be used to educate and support the individual to correct deficiencies or, if they have an excellent diet,improve on positive practices. The education should clearly communicate the intended outcome. Your work can be formatted however you wish, but it must be specific to the person you interviewed and their particular needs. Make it informative, easy to follow, and interesting to look at (graphics, pictures, etc. are suggested). 

Include at least two web or print resources that your subject could consult for more information. This can be added right on your actual work. 

Be sure and cite the sources of your information for the project. A minimum of two sources is required APA 7th edition citation

Write an 800-1,000 word essay on your personal worldview. Briefly discuss the various possible meanings of the term “spirituality,” and your understanding of the concepts of pluralism, scientism, and postmodernism. Primarily, address the following seven basic worldview questions:

1. What is prime reality?
2. What is the nature of the world around you?
3. What is a human being?
4. What happens to a person at death?
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
6. How do people know what is right or wrong?
7. What is the meaning of human history?

An abstract is not required.

Science and Diversity

For this module’s discussion, research a recent science news event that’s occurred in the last six months. The event should come from a well-known news source, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, PBS, BBC, National Geographic, The New York Times, and so on. Post a link to the news story, and in your initial post, identify the following:

• Summarize your news story and its contributions to the science or STEM fields.
• If your news event is overtly related to diversity, how does this event contribute to diversity studies? If your news event does not directly relate to diversity, how could the science behind your event be applied to diversity studies?

Please use attached files as included reference resources