The book for this class is Shortell and Kaluzny’s Healthcare Management: Organization Design and Behavior six edition. By Lawton Burns, Elizabeth Bradley, Bryan Weiner
This is not an assay, please keep it simple,just answer the questions one by one. Thank you, if you have any questions please ask before starting this assignment, and please don’t re-write the questions.
The problem with healthcare texts is that by the time they are published; things can change dramatically. Hence, one of the sections of your text is on the US Department of Veterans Affairs and it paints a pretty amazing picture of the VA in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Unlike the ACA, the VA system is truly “socialized” medicine – a governmental (in this case, Federal) single-payor system with a defined population of enrollees that employs all healthcare professionals.
1. Given the 2014 allegations of mismanagement and data falsification; given the “VA transformation” – what happened?
You will need to seek out additional sources for information, you might want to try DC-based think tanks such as:
Liberal/Progressive – Center for American Progress, Kaiser Family Foundation, Brookings Institute
Conservative – Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Heartland Institute
Libertarian/Fiscal – CATO, Concord Coalition
I will be looking for “objective” responses – apolitical in nature. As a healthcare leader, you will have individuals of various political perspectives on your team – you can’t afford to alienate any of them.
2. Should the VA go back and validate the data presented in your text?
3. If you were the newly appointed Secretary of the VA, how might you reestablish the trust of your patient population and the public at large?
Case: Staff Motivation at Sharp HealthCare
Remember, for the case look in the back of the chapter.
1. What are the key factors in Sharp’s successful approach to motivation?
2. Do you see any weaknesses in the Sharp approach?
3. Can the Sharp approach be replicated in other health care organizations? What are some important barriers and facilitators to using the Sharp approach?
Book: Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Bioethical Issues, Expanded (14th Edition)
According to your book, “…the concept of informed consent, from Western political and ethical theories that place a high value on individual self determination [autonomy] remains a central principle in the United States. Cultural groups who have different traditions may not entirely share this value. In fact, Bioethicist Ezekiel Emmanuel has stated that we, in the United States, are “drunk on autonomy”.
Based upon the readings, do you support the position of Arnold/Lidz or O’Neill? In a modern society, has patient autonomy and self-determination “run its course”? Does “Trust” trump “Autonomy”; if so – how, if not – why?
