Course Explanation:

This course will examine the constructs of health care operations and students will apply these for the purposes of strengthening the advanced nurses’ practice effectiveness in organizational collaboration and leadership. Students will demonstrate conceptual ability and skills to evaluate and monitor outcomes through data extrapolation. Students will examine the principles of public and private financing as they apply. Problem-based activities will assist the student in developing a working knowledge of subsidization, vulnerable populations, and the impact of global health system shocks. For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

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Rationale:

This course provides knowledge and skills to address health care finance and business principles for DNP and APRNs in order to meet the financial and business challenges of nursing practice and general health care today. This course will cover the complexity of reimbursement and insurance coverage as it relates to finance, health care economics, and strategic planning. Additionally, the student will obtain budget skills to meet executive-level finance at the micro and macro levels. Sound fiscal and ethical responsibilities will be taught within the context of quality, legal, and ethical considerations. These facets are synthesized by energizing the student to use the learned skills applied to business management through exercises such as project management, grant writing, and application to issues behind global health care financing.

Measurable Learning Conclusions:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. 1. Analyze key operational challenges associated with affecting change in an organization (DNP Essentials II and IV; NONPF 2014 Scientific Foundation 1 and 3, Leadership 5 and 6, Quality 1, Technology 1. Policy 3. Health Delivery System 6, Ethics 1; PLO 1, 3, and 4).
   2. Utilize the knowledge of the relationship between business strategy and operations to effectively plan for practice (DNP Essentials II and IV; NONPF 2014 Scientific Foundation 1 and 3, Leadership 5 and 6, Quality 1, Technology 1, Policy 3, Health Delivery System 6, Ethics 1; PLO 1, 3, 4).
   3. Analyze techniques for improving efficiency across a variety of health care settings (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, etc.) (DNP Essentials II and IV; NONPF 2014 Scientific Foundation 1 and 3, Leadership 5 and 6, Quality 1, Technology 1, Policy 3, Health Delivery System 6, Ethics 1; PLO 1, 3, and 4).
   4. Employ principles of business, finance, economics, and health policy to develop and implement effective plans for practice-level initiatives that will improve the quality of care (DNP Essentials II, IV, V, and VI; NONPF 2014 Essential Scientific Foundation 1 and 3, Leadership 5 and 6; Quality 1 and 5; Technology 1, Policy 3; Health Delivery System 6; Ethics 1; PLO 1, 2, 3, and 4).
   5. Develop budgets for practice initiatives (DNP Essentials II; NONPF 2014 Scientific Foundation 1 and 3, Leadership 5 and 6, Quality 1 and 5, Technology 1, Policy 3, Health Delivery System 6, Ethics 1; PLO 1, 2, 3, and 4).
   6. Analyze the cost-effectiveness of practice initiatives, allowing for risk and improvement of health care outcomes. (DNP Essentials II, IV, V, and VII; NONPF 2014 Scientific Foundation 2 and 3, Leadership 4, Quality 2 and 3, Health Delivery 6; PLO 1 and 2).
   7. Integrate the Christian worldview into financial decisions (DNP Essentials I and VI; NONPF 2014, Ethics 3; PLO 7).

Course Assignment Brief Overview:

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in Module/Week 1.

Total Discussion Board Forums (2)

Discussion boards are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each forum. Each thread will be graded based on the depth and breadth of the discussion. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be robust and make substantial contributions to the overall discussion. Each thread must include at least 2 peer-reviewed references in addition to the textbook; replies must include at least 2 peer-reviewed references (the textbook may be used as 1 of the references).

IHI Exercises (5)

The student will complete the assigned IHI Open School Education Modules and submit a certificate of completion in Blackboard.

Staffing and Budget Exercise

The student will write a 6–8-page paper in the current APA format that focuses on improving efficiency and patient safety. This paper will be in response to 3 questions provided in the Assignment Instructions folder. The paper must include at least 4–8 references in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible.

Practice Initiative Project

This project will be completed in 3 parts:

Part I

• The student will work in a group in order to create a 6–9-page work plan for the practice initiative.
• A covenant of expectations, a practice initiative topic, a practice initiative organization, and a project work plan template must all be completed.
• The work plan must include 3–5 peer-reviewed resources written within the last 5 years (not including the textbook).
• This assignment must be written in the current APA format.

Part II

• The student will work in a group in order to build a business case for the board of trustees or executive leadership in order to seek approval for the practice initiative and the first year’s funding.
• This part of the project must be created in PowerPoint and converted into a PDF for SafeAssign submission.
• A title slide, introduction slide, body slides, conclusion slide, and reference slide must be included and written in the current APA format and include 5–8 resources.
• The PowerPoint must have approximately 15 slides, not including the title and reference slides.

Part III

• The student will continue to work in a group in order to write a 5–8-page analysis of the business case and budget reflective evaluation.
• This paper must be written in the current APA format and must include 5–8 resources including peer-reviewed journals (written within the last 5 years), the Bible, and the textbook.

Position Paper

The student will select a House of Representatives or Senate bill. The student will then discuss his/her support or opposition of the bill based on policy, legal and ethical considerations, and the Christian worldview as it pertains to the role of the DNP. The student will write a 4–6-page paper in current APA format on his/her position, excluding the title page and reference page, and must include at least 3 peer-reviewed references in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible.

Grant Proposal Exercise

The student will work in a group in order to write an 8–12-page grant proposal in the current APA format that focuses on requesting funding for the practice initiative. The proposal must include at least 4 peer-reviewed references in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible.