title: Educating future healthcare managers: meeting contemporary challenges.
abstract: University programs must work to keep curricula sufficiently dynamic to assure knowledge content remains relevant, appropriate skills are developed, and standards of academic rigor are maintained. This paper describes a curriculum analysis for a healthcare management program conducted in 1997 and the subsequent steps taken to enhance the program through more formalized links with healthcare organizations. In describing the curriculum analysis, a special emphasis is placed on data compiled in 1996 from a small exploratory study conducted to identify which content areas, skills, and experiences healthcare employers in the state of Maryland noted to be most important for a new hire from an undergraduate program. The program was recently granted Full Certified Undergraduate membership in the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). The paper concludes with a discussion of the changes to the curriculum implemented since 1997 and the process initiated to continually assess the quality of the revised program.
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Management Program, Department of Health Science, Towson University, Towson, MD 21252-0001, USA. dcox@towson.edu
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Sharon B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Buchbinder
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D003162:Competency-Based Education / Q000592:standards*; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection; D004651:Employment; D005544:Forecasting; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007397:Internship, Nonmedical; D008396:Maryland; D017145:Models, Educational; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards*; D016730:Program Development; D014495:Universities