discussion board due by thursday (250 words) cite citations and references correctly give credit where credit is due in all your work. health•care [helth-kair], noun

1. The field concerned with the maintenance or restoration of the health of the body or mind.
2. Any of the procedures or methods employed in this field.  –adjective Also, health-care
3. Of, pertaining to, or involved in health care: health care workers; a health care center.

man•ag•er [man-i-jer], noun

1. A person who has control or direction of an institution, business, etc., or of a part, division, or phase of it.
2. A person who manages.
3. A person who controls and manipulates resources and expenditures, as of a household.

This is an exciting time for health care in general, but especially for the team of professionals that provide leadership and direction to enable the maintenance or restoration of health in a variety of settings. Health care management requires talented people to facilitate the delivery of care to patients and their families. The rewards of helping are great, the challenges are many. What type of individual makes a good health care manager?To prepare for this Discussion, complete the readings in your Learning Resources. Review the various health care managers who work in a health care setting profiled in Waldenville (click on the org charts to learn more about the managers) and in the profiles provided in your Career Opportunities in Health Care Management course text.
Post a comprehensive response to the following:Health care managers can work in settings that provide direct or nondirect service.

• What makes a good health care manager?
• Why do professionals choose either of these paths?
• Identify and compare the characteristics common in those health care managers who work in either direct or nondirect care settings.

*****Please be sure to cite your resources using APA style within your post. Please try to select specific public health examples that are different from those posted by your classmates for this discussion._________________________________________________________________________________assignment due by 11:59 pm sunday be sure to cite your resources  A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others, but someone who carries water for his people so they can get on with their jobs.  —Robert TownsendTo prepare for this Application, review Chapter 1 of your Career Opportunities in Health Care Management course text. Take the Healthcare Management Talent Quotient Quiz in Table 1-1 of your course text to determine your strengths and aptitude for working in health care management. Review the various types of health care settings (see Waldenville health care settings and your course text) and the various descriptions of health care management positions available. Prepare a 1- to 2-page self-assessment of the role and setting of health care management that you might pursue based on your Management Talent Quotient.To complete this Application, write a 1- to 2-page paper that identifies the following:

• Based on the results of your quiz, on what areas did you score highly?
• What are your strengths?
• What areas do you feel you need to work on to be successful as a health care manager?
• What information from this week’s Learning Resources affected your understanding of the skills necessary to be a successful health care manager? Please explain and provide sufficient examples.

Instruction:Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct._______________________________________________________________________resources 

Course Text: Buchbinder, S., & Thompson, J. (2010). Career opportunities in health care management: “Perspectives from the field (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.   Chapter 1, “The Healthcare Management Workforce”   In this chapter, you will begin to look at the essential skills of health care management professionals. The authors highlight the origins of health care management and the growth and opportunities available in the profession.   Chapter 2, “Understanding Healthcare Management”   Health care management provides leadership and direction to organizations that deliver personal health services in a variety of settings. This chapter defines the role, function, and competencies of health care managers.   Chapter 3, “Healthcare Management Practice Settings”   This chapter summarizes the major settings for the practice of health care management. The authors explain the differences between direct and nondirect care settings and the key managerial skills and competencies involved in each.   Chapter 4, “Perspectives From the Field: Profiles of Healthcare Managers”   The authors provide a unique glimpse into health care management through profiles of actual professionals. In addition to describing a “day in the life” of a typical health care manager, dozens of individuals share their perspectives on the training, career path, satisfaction, and challenges that excite them about being involved in direct or nondirect care settings.  

Article: Mandel, M., & Weber, J. (2006, September 25). What’s really propping up the economy. Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-09-24/whats-really-propping-up-the-economy What’s Really Propping Up The Economy, by Mandel, M., & Weber, J., in Bloomberg BusinessWeek (2006, September 25). Copyright 2006 by Bloomberg L.P. Reprinted by permission of Bloomberg L.P. via the Copyright Clearance Center.   In recent years, the U.S. economy has been ailing, but the health care job market has been healthy. The authors of this BusinessWeek article shed light on the effect of health care organizations on local economies.

Required Media

Course Media: Welcome to Waldenville! Waldenville is a fictitious city in Anystate, USA. The population of Waldenville is 324,995. There are approximately 1,094 people per square mile. Of those who reside here, approximately 5.2% are living below the poverty level. Age and race distribution are: https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201830_03/BS_HLMA/HLTH_4000_WC/graphics/USW1_HLTH_4000_week01_WelcometoWaldenville2.png  The city of Waldenville is proud of the health care available to its residents. Visit to learn more about the Waldenville Urgent Care Clinic, the Waldenville Department of Health, Waldenville General Hospital, the Regional Hospital System, Waldenville Women’s Medical Group, the Primary Care Physicians of Waldenville, the Waldenville Assisted Living Community, the Nursing Home of Greater Waldenville, and the Waldenville Community Health Foundation. An organizational chart showcasing the various heath care management professionals is found in Waldenville General Hospital, the Waldenville Urgent Care Clinic, and the Primary Care Physicians of Waldenville. 

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Think about your unique nursing practice specialty area and the population you serve. Is there a clear connection to practice and theory in your specific nursing specialty area? In this discussion post, you will describe the relationship between theory and nursing practice and how you could implement theory into nursing practice.

1. Describe why nursing theory is important to today’s nursing practice.
2. How would you select and introduce a nursing theory or model into your nursing practice?

Your initial posting should be at least 400 words in length and utilize at least one scholarly source other than the textbook

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1-Provide a critique Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring, making sure to identify benefits, consequences and feasibility of application in clinical practice as a family nurse practitioner. 

2-Provide evidence using 2 (two) scholarly articles in order to support your critique. 

APA style. 250 words. 2-3 references. 

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Write a Post of 350–400-word reply to each Discussion, include a biblical integration and at least 2 peer-reviewed source citations in current APA format in addition to the text.

Discussion #1

The discussion board for the week asks to evaluate and determine if in charge of a healthcare facility’s human resources, how would one act in the likelihood of a union formation?  The first thing that should be considered is the organization’s current policy on union formation, as well as meeting with leaders within the organization to see if the policy would be amended provided the group seeking representation is able to fully communicate the reasoning for union formation.  After these discussions with the leaders of the organization, this would dictate the appropriate action to take.  As a leader in human resources it would be expected that one would be able to present on any pertinent information regarding union formation to the executive leaders.

The first matter to consider is the group that would like to unionize.  Most often a group wants to unionize in order to bargain on wages and working conditions as they are viewed as unsatisfactory.  It is the belief of this author that if an organization is treating their employees appropriately and operating justly, that there would be no desire to unionize.  The Bible advises all, “for rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.  Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?  Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:3-4, English Standard Version).  Essentially, if an organization, for profit or not-for-profit is behaving ethically to their stakeholders, employees should not feel the need to seek extra labor protection, however, a good leader should not prevent or stifle the ability for employees to unionize, and should listen to the needs of the group at hand.

Next the leadership would need to know how unions are handled in similar organizations or environments.  Currently as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) stands, individuals working in healthcare or in a non-profit setting are allowed to unionize (Kearney, 2010).  Typically, in the healthcare industry, professions are grouped together by similarities for union formation in order to address the specific needs of each group appropriately (Sanders & McCutcheon, 2010).  It would not be appropriate for nurses and housekeeping staff to be represented together. 

The next matter to consider is if the state is a right to work state or not (Lombardi & Pynes, 2011).  It will be imperative that both sides understand what it means to be a right to work state and how that could affect the formation of a union.  This author resides in Virginia which is a right to work state which means a union can be formed but neither the union nor the organization can require of penalize an employee for not being a part of the union.  This may make it difficult for the group wishing to unionize to form as this limits the incentive for union membership. 

As a matter of opinion, this author does not think that healthcare employees should be able to unionize.  It would be the recommendation that the executive leadership listen to the wishes of the group that would like to unionize and address those needs.  It could be handled as simply as re-writing policies, adjusting a benefit, or adapting a work flow process.  The lines in healthcare become blurred with supervisory roles which would lead to complications into recognizing who is included in union membership and who is not.  Most importantly healthcare workers should not be able to strike without notice to the organization as these professions require a duty to serve the community.  A work environment cannot be duplicated every day in the healthcare field, as the patients change, and this is a service industry not a manufacturing industry.

References

Kearney, R. C. (2010). Public sector labor – management relations: Change or status quo? Review of Public Personnel Administration, 30(1), 89-111. doi:10.1177/0734371X09351827. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/abs/10.1177/0734371X09351827

Pynes, J. E., & Lombardi, D. N. (2011). Human resources management for health care organizations: A strategic approach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 9780470873557.

Sanders, L. G., & McCutcheon, A. W. (2010). Unions in the healthcare industry. Labor Law Journal, 61(3), 142-151. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/848641461?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=12085

Discussion #2

It is interesting that in this assignment we have been tasked to take the position that HR should proactively seek to “reduce the probability or likelihood of union formation.”  The assignment presupposes that having a union in the hospital is bad.  My purpose in this forum is to determine why a union is not good for the hospital and what management should do to prevent one from forming. 

From a management standpoint, unionizing would likely make the hospital less productive financially. In the study by Sanders and McCutcheon (2010), they determined that although proportionally there are fewer unionized workers in healthcare today, unionized workers still command up to an 8% higher wage than non-union workers.  They also determined that non-union wages increased at the same rate as union wages.  Labor unions still have successful bargaining capability and powerful lobbying efforts that have created better standard of living for everyone  (Coombs, Newman, Cebula, & White, 2015).   If wages are still one of the primary motivators for joining a union, the tactic to prevent a union from forming would be to pay employees a wage that is close to or equal to what unionized hospitals pay.  Coombs et al. (2015) explain that this is exactly what hospitals do.  The tactic is called “threat” effect where management pays workers “efficiency” wages to remove, or at least neutralize, the primary incentive for unionizing (Coombs et al., 2015, p. 443). 

Traditionally, unions were formed to increase wages, create safe working conditions, and provide benefits such as insurance, vacation, and retirement pensions (Pynes & Lombardi, 2011).  Safe working conditions and most of these benefits are common place in most industries today.  This is perhaps why there is less interest in hospital unions.  As Sanders and McCutcheon (2010) point out, unions in the service industry have shifted away from traditional roles in manufacturing.  In February 2009, three of the largest nursing unions in the country combined to form the National Nurses United (NNU).  They announced their primary role as protecting rights of nurses including passing the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act (Sanders & McCutcheon, 2010).  One could make a case that much of what nursing unions want today is good for patients and good for healthcare in general.  Nurses want better working conditions including smaller patient to nurse ratios.  Nurses want better wages and a more substantial pension that will make the nursing field more attractive to young people.  These are reforms that will help the nation avoid a nursing shortage and improve safety and quality of care.

Unions do pose several threats to the peace, tranquility, and productive of a hospital.  The most destructive threat is a strike.  Although very costly, strikes are rare.  Because of the critical nature of healthcare in a community and the vulnerability of the healthcare industry, many states prohibit public sector healthcare workers from striking.  Where public sector healthcare workers can strike, there are may restrictions such as a 90-day cooling off period and an additional 10-day notification prior to beginning a strike (Sanders & McCutcheon, 2010).  On 10 June 2010, a large nursing union in Minneapolis-St. Paul held a 24-hour strike in 14 regional hospitals.  Although it lasted only one day, surgeries had to be postponed and 2,800 temporary nurses had to be hired (Sanders & McCutcheon, 2010).  Another downside of unions is that there is potentially greater tension between employers and employees.

Pynes and Lombardi (2011) point out that the most significant factor in influencing a nurse to join a union is “negative perception of their work climate” (p. 374).  Pynes and Lombardi (2011) make several recommendations to create a positive work climate.  Among other things, they suggest performance appraisals, merit pay systems that are equitably managed, and enriching careers by minimizing routine and boring tasks.

This scripture might well be adapted to this discussion if I were to change the word “fathers” to “managers” and “children” to “workers.”  “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, King James version).          

References

Coombs, C. K., Newman, R. J., Cebula, R. J., & White, M. L. (2015). The bargaining power of health care unions and union wage premiums for registered nurses. Journal of Labor Research, 36(4), 442-461. doi:10.1007/s12122-015-9214-z

Pynes, J., & Lombardi, D. N. (2011). Human resources management for health care organizations: a strategic approach (First ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sanders, L. G., & McCutcheon, A. W. (2010). Unions in the healthcare industry. Labor Law Journal, 61(3), 142.

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There are many reimbursement methods that are utilized to reimburse physicians and facilities for the services and procedures that they provide to patients. A physician and the facility must keep track of the services and procedures that they are providing to the patients to bill out and receive the appropriate reimbursement. The chargemaster or charge description master (CDM) is the billing process that is used in all health care facilities, and it is updated yearly.

Focus your discussion on the following questions:

• What are the consequences of not utilizing current codes and charges? Discuss how using last year’s CDM will affect the current year’s bottom line.
• Will this create a positive or negative result for the health care facility? Explain your answer.
• How can facilities ensure that the current CDM is used?

Part 2

Summative Discussion Board

Review and reflect on the knowledge you have gained from this course. Based on your review and reflection, write at least 3 paragraphs on the following:

• What were the most compelling topics learned in this course?
• How did participating in discussions help your understanding of the subject matter? Is anything still unclear that could be clarified?
• What approaches could have yielded additional valuable information?
• The main post should include at least 1 reference to research sources, and all sources should be cited using APA format.

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