WRITING AND COMMUNICATION IN THE HEALTH SCIENCE PROFESSIONS

Module 3.1.1 – Individual Assignment
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Each of us has different experiences related to meeting management. Some are experienced at chairing meetings. Others are more experienced at participating in meetings. Based on the readings and information gained through the exercises in this module complete the following assignment:
• If you have little experience in running meetings, what can you do to gain this experience? ? (Write at least one well-developed paragraph.)
IN ADDITION:
• Rate your performance as a meeting participant. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is your plan for improvement? (Write at least one well-developed paragraph.)
Module 3.1.2Disscusion

Outcome: This activity will assist you in identifying types of meetings and the essential elements that make a meeting productive. It will also help in learning how to handle problems at meeting and things to consider when identifying leader and participant roles and skills.
________________________________________
The focus of the discussion for Module 3 is strategies for effective meeting management.
• What is key to running an effective meeting? What leadership strategies have you observed or tried that work well in running a meeting?
• What is the worse meeting you’ve ever attended? What went wrong? Was the problem due to leadership or the membership? What could have been done to correct the problem?
• What responsibilities do meeting participants have? How do group dynamics affect the quality of a meeting?
Note: Once again, I do not expect each of you to write an answer to each of the questions. Rather, I would like the group as a whole to discuss these questions. Read what has been written and respond to one another, adding to the discussion as you go. Remember to respect the privacy of the people you work with and organizations you are affiliated with. If using real examples, do not list names or other characteristics that could be used to identify individuals or organizations.
Module 3.1.3 Team

In today’s evolving workplace, team/group projects are becoming increasingly common, so it is important to develop the skills needed to function effectively in a group setting and get the job done in timely manner. Groups may work together in a face-to-face setting or from multiple locations via electronic forms of communication. This assignment will give both the experienced and the inexperienced an opportunity to share and develop skills in time management, task allocation, productivity, conflict resolution, business writing, and interpersonal skills.

Assignment Description: You have been asked to chair a community based committee charged with organizing a “Health Fair” that will provide health information and screening to local residents. You are in the process of selecting your committee and planning the first meeting. Each team is required to complete the following:
• a brief description of the community (e.g., large or small community, urban or rural, and so on)
• a list of committee members (Indicate the title and organizational affiliation of each member asked to participate)
• an agenda for the first meeting
• a memo to the committee members in advance of the first meeting. In this memo, outline the purpose of the meeting and describe any preparatory work to be done by each member. Also include whatever basic information (time, place, and so on) you feel is necessary.
• a description of your plan for recording minutes during the meeting.
*The description of the community, list of committee members, and the description of the plan for recording minutes should be combined into a single informal report of 1- 2 pages. The agenda and the memo should be separate from the report.*

Click on the “Groups” link located under “Course Tools”, to see which team you are in. Someone from each team must volunteer to serve as facilitator. The role of the facilitator is to keep the group on task and post the group’s final product on its Team Discussion Board by the end of this module. Please attach the report, agenda, and memo as one document, rather than posting three separate documents.
HSC365: RESEARCH FOR EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE k]

Module 3.2.1

The reading in your text discussed two different philosophical approaches to research: naturalistic and experimental type research. The purpose of this assignment is to help you understand the differences between the two approaches. To complete this discussion assignment, read the following two studies and respond to the questions listed below. The two studies approach breast cancer from two different perspectives…one is a naturalistic inquiry and the other is experimental type research.

The two studies are:
• Perceptions of Family Relationships Associated with Husbands’ Ambivalence and Dependency in Anticipating Losing Their Wives to Metastatic/Recurrent Breast Cancer.
• Memories of Treatment: The Immediacy of Breast Cancer.
The discussion questions are:
1. What is the research question being asked in each of the two studies? Do you think that the naturalistic inquiry asked a different type of question than the experimental type study? If yes, how was the question different?
2. Both researchers gathered information from individuals about their experiences with breast cancer. How was the method of gathering this information in the naturalistic inquiry different from the method used in the experimental type design?
3. Both researchers drew conclusions from the data they gathered. How did the method of analyzing the data differ in the two studie
s?
NUR414 BUDGET AND FINANCE IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
Module 3.3.1 Preparing a Budget
Remember that an active discussion is the key to an interesting and engaging online course, so start early.
Please note that the first question is opinion based and you review the module notes for clarification if necessary. As you progress, you will need to meaningfully apply the readings and other resources you can locate in the library, using APA 6 formatting for any citations.

Please discuss the following questions over the course of this week.

You are working in a mid-sized non-profit urban hospital as the supervisor responsible for a general medical/surgical unit consisting of 120 beds. You have supervised this unit for four years. For the first time the hospital’s chief financial officer has asked you to prepare your own formal budget for your area of responsibility. Up to this year, the Office of Fiscal Services has always prepared the budgets for each unit, with little opportunity for input from individual units.

• Based on what you knew coming into the course and what you have learned so far, how would you get started on this task? What information would you need in order to prepare the budget, and how might you acquire it?
• Now based on your readings, when would you consider a flexible budget as most effective for your unit? When, or under what circumstances, do you think that a static or fixed budget will be more effective for your unit? The hospital? Is there a time for both? Please provide examples.
• Based on what you have learned over the past two weeks, what payer mix and revenue classifications would you expect to see for your unit? How so?
• What sorts of capital expenditures would you need to consider in your unit’s budget?
NUR418; HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS
Module 3.4.1 Workplace Violence

While the phrase, “September 11th,” raises the specter of terrorism, there are safety issues closer to home that managers can have a more immediate impact on addressing. Workplace Violence is one such issue. Please read the chapter in your textbook, the articles and visit the websites provided. This is a very important module and these topics seldom receive the time and attention that is required. Now is your chance to take some devoted time and educate yourself on a critical topic area for yourself and the employees you manage.

In this discussion, take time to review the website and then answer the following questions:
• Why do you think healthcare workers are at such great risk for workplace violence?
• What do you think prevents organizations from recognizing the problem and attempting to address it?
• How can organizations successfully address the issue of workplace violence?