Poster Descriptions


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( # - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z )


2020 Educational Perspectives Survey: Lessons from Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
 
Presenter(s): 
Ashley Parks, California Baptist University
Matthew Lazari, University of Southern California
 
Description:
This session is appropriate for faculty teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in online (synchronous or asynchronous) formats. The poster will review results of a study evaluating traditional (on-campus) undergraduate and graduate student perspectives on asynchronous vs. synchronous online learning vs. in-person learning.  This study also captured self-reported levels of distraction, anxiety, and psychological distress for students who transitioned to online learning from primarily face to face instruction in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The poster will incorporate an analysis of narrative student feedback and specific recommendations and considerations for teaching live synchronous online courses.



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A Global Case Writing Telecollaboration: Providing Students a Virtual Prism of Opportunities

 
Presenter(s): 
Michele McGowan, King's College
Bhagwati Prasad, Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WeSchool)
 
Description:
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the educational process, and as educators, we look for creative ways to turn challenges into opportunities. In April 2020, the authors (one from the United States and the other from India) attended a webinar that connected them and a case writing consultant from Canada. As case writers, we seized the opportunity to establish relationships with new co-authors. As educators, we saw the potential to provide three healthcare management graduate students from India a virtual internship and mentorship experience and an intercultural and transnational learning opportunity. This poster presents the approach, lessons learned, benefits, and outcomes of this international case writing telecollaboration, how the student internship experience worked, and tips for developing and implementing a similar collaboration.


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Adapting Healthcare Management and Informatics Internships During COVID-19: Remote and Alternative Options
 
Presenter(s): 
Su-I Hou, University of Central Florida
Steven Ton, University of Central Florida
Jackie Gonzalez, University of Central Florida

Description:
Internships during COVID-19 must provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate or be exposed to program specific competencies while maintaining student safety as a top priority.  The strategy employed to achieve this included rapid response to the dynamic changes to education and employment through open and frequent communication, increasing flexibility and accommodation for students, providing individualized student planning and by embracing new technologies made vital and necessary by COVID-19.  Student options were developed based upon students' individualized goals and from direct feedback regarding their COVID-19 concerns.  To the best of our ability, students were provided an experience that enhanced their resumes and employability while continuing to benefit our community's projects and initiatives.

COVID-19 has radically changed how we live and conduct business and may have long-term future implications.  Internship programs should respond appropriately and strive to best prepare students to successfully navigate employment and employment seeking activities during and post-COVID-19.  If traditional internships remain limited, the methodology for student placements along with new virtual internships options will need to be implemented.
 

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Advancing High Reliability in Georgian Healthcare
 
Presenter(s): 
Peter Martelli, Suffolk University

Description:
Working in conjunction with Nino Butskhrikidze, Georgian Healthcare Group, and Eka Rukhadze, JSC "CURATIO" Healthcare, this effort was developed to share, examine, and leverage lessons from the US healthcare system's journey into high reliability organizing (HRO) with the healthcare sector in the Republic of Georgia. Activities include:
 
1) advancing knowledge on HRO through coursework, open-source curriculum development, and continuing professional education,
2) conducting research to investigate baseline knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HRO, and
3) fostering a local, self-sustaining community of practice around HRO in healthcare. 
 
Although still in development, the teaching component will occur in the Fall 2021 term with 1) graduate-level courses that generate the context, skills, and reflection essential to engage HRO concepts, 2) a colloquium series with international academics and practitioners, and 3) development of open-source curricula and professional resources on HRO.



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Building a New Undergraduate Curriculum in Digital Healthcare Management
 
Presenter(s): 
Donald Zimmerman, University of New Orleans
Wendy Schluchter, University of New Orleans
Amanda Rosenzweig, Delgado Community College
 
Description:
The US healthcare system is rapidly transforming into a digital model of clinical care due to new internet-based technologies and capabilities. As these data-driven changes continue, healthcare employers have emphasized the need for a pipeline of new entry-level employees with team-ready skillsets in digital healthcare management.
 
This working partnership is a community-wide effort to realign the current healthcare management programming at a urban research university and community college to prepare students for successful business careers in a data-driven, digitalized healthcare environment. Without these changes, programs will run the risk of producing students with diminished social and economic value to healthcare employers.


 


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Career-Ready Graduates: A Curricular Pathway
 
Presenter(s): 
Sarah Johnson, Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health
Keely Floyd, Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health
 
Description:
Historically, career and professional development competencies in academic programs have been addressed outside classrooms through career coaching sessions and workshops, or at the end of an academic program through internships or other experiential opportunities. Yet, career development literature tells us that career readiness initiatives aren't successful when they stand separate from a student's academic experience.  Instead, career and professional development initiatives are most successful when they are supported by academic faculty and integrated into a student's academic experience.   
 
To that end, the undergraduate Health Services Management program at the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health has embarked on a journey to incorporate career and professional development into our academic curriculum through a unique sequence of courses and experiences spread across each stage of a student's journey. These experiences start with an introductory seminar for our first-year students, and continues through a Capstone course in the senior year. Our goal is to enhance students' preparedness to enter the professional world through career readiness touchpoints built into their academic experience.

Following our most recent self-study exercise, the program identified an opportunity for growth in the area of career and professional development  With a large population of first-generation students from under-resourced schools and backgrounds, we found that students often did not have the professional role models to help them connect classroom learning to professional skills, and they certainly did not all have the social capital to seek and secure competitive experiential opportunities through their own existing networks. Therefore, we needed to clearly incorporate career and professional development into the academic program in a way that would resonate with this population.



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Connecting LinkedIn Learning Video Courses to Program Competencies and Bodies of Knowledge
 
Presenter(s): 
Steve Brown, George Mason University
 
Description:
LinkedIn acquired the thousands of professionally prepared videos from what was formerly known as "Lynda.com" and rebranded them as "LinkedIn Learning" or "LiL".   They offer these to their LinkedIn Advanced members as a life-long learning resource for their career development.        Many Universities have purchased the rights to these courses and have made them available to their students as part of their tuition, however most faculty members are not familiar with this resource and its availability. These video courses are an excellent source to teach Healthcare Administration students the soft skills, hard skills, and systems thinking that have been integrated in a program's competencies.  And they also connect well to our AUPHA developed "Body of Knowledge" topics in our various areas where we teach.  Using a program's established group of competencies, together with the AUPHA structured "Body of Knowledge" LiL courses represent a significant untapped resource available for educators today.



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Creating an Online Orientation/Introduction Course
 
Presenter(s): 
Jessica Ryan, University of West Florida
 
Description:
Starting a fully online program or an in-person program that is temporarily online can be tough, particularly for older students who may have had a long break in school. This poster details how an online orientation/introduction course was created for a MHA program. The course focused on building engagement for students with both the course itself and with other students. Additionally, the course covered academic integrity, university resources, self-assessments, the inbound exam from Peregrine. The course also introduced the learning management system and had the students practice using proctoring software and creating video responses.
 
As we know, classes had to pivot online quickly last spring. However, not everything may have transitioned to include new student orientation. Or, as in the case of my program, a fully online program may never have developed an orientation for students. This poster would address both of those scenarios by discussing an online orientation/introduction course as well as provide ideas for programs who have already developed an online orientation. Educators can gain ideas for new student virtual engagement, apply the online academic integrity concepts to their own programs, and evaluate their program orientations for a virtual transition.




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Creating Successful Interprofessional Learning  Between Nursing Graduate and Healthcare Administration Undergraduate Students
 
Presenter(s): 
Cory Moss, Weber State University
Darcy Carter, Weber State University
 
Description:
As a means to create engaging and effective interprofessional educational experiences (IPE) for students, undergraduate health administration students were paired one-to-one with graduate nursing students during their internship and capstone courses in final semester.  The pairs completed two different assignments centered on shared program learning competencies of communication and leadership.  Student pairs answered questions for each assignment together and completed collaborative IPE activities of learning, including working with and learning from their respective preceptors regarding these competencies.
 
Based on literature reviews of this topic, and interdisciplinary IPE activities between disciplines across colleges and programs, the need for much more intentional IPE activities in our curriculums is evident.  The information shared in this poster presentation will positively reflect these exercises and will motivate other faculty and programs to begin to implement easy, preliminary exercises that can grow and enlarge necessary IPE interactions for their students. This type of educational experience mirrors that of the industry and provides students real-world IPE learning that will better prepare them for a successful career.


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Cross Validation of CESD to Measure Depression Among a Specific Cohort
 
Presenter(s): 
Garvita Thareja, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Erin Seedorf, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Chandra Story, Middle Tennessee State University


Description:

Depression affects 9.5% of the US population annually. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression Scale (CES-D) is a 20-item scale that is widely used in clinicals for assessing depression symptoms among adults. CES-D measures three factors: positive affect (PA), somatic affect (SA) and interpersonal (IP).

Little is known about how CESD applies to specific populations, like those living with osteoarthritis. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to validate the CES-D in Osteoarthritis patients.  Methods: Data for this study were obtained from the osteoarthritis initiative (OAI) database. The OAI includes data on 4,796 participants, (male = 1,992; age range 45-79), who reported depression using the CES-D. CES-D is a questionnaire that have answer options based on participants behavior in the past 7 days. All three factors (positive affect, somatic affect, interpersonal affect) were entered in the model for analysis and AMOS software was used. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted using Maximum Likelihood. Model fit was assessed using chi square and Norm Fit Indices (NFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA).  Results: 4278 (91.3%) adults sustained moderate or severe depression. Model fit data demonstrated that the chi square was 4684.75 (p< .000). Degrees of freedom were 167 and NFI was .82 & CFI was .83. For a good fitting model, these values should be above .90; RMSEA was .07, which should be below .05 for a good model fit.  

Conclusion: The results from this study suggests that CES-D is a poor fit scale for measuring depression among individuals living with osteoarthritis. Future research should be conducted to either modify this scale or develop another one to fit the unique needs of this special cohort. 



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Cultivating Cats: A Young Alumni Mentoring Program and Preceptor Pipeline

 
Presenter(s): 
Sarah Kercsmar, University of Kentucky
Karen Clancy, University of Kentucky
Caroline Arthur, University of Kentucky
 
Description:
Navigating the post-graduation world is more challenging than ever right now.  Connecting current students with young alumni provides them with "real time" information on how to navigate today's environment.  Zoom has allowed alumni who would not have been able to be involved due to distance to participate in the program previously. In addition to engaging alumni now, we will discuss how a young alumni mentoring program can help prepare students to be future preceptors by creating a preceptor pipeline by utilizing ongoing training from the alumni relations officer. 
 
This poster will also address the collaboration between the program and the college level alumni relations officer, and discuss the value of working with the alumni relations team.  In order to make the program more formal and provide an incentive for students to participate, the  mentoring program will be introduced in a junior-level course and then revisited in a course each semester until graduation. For the current students, this will increase relevance and utility. It will also give the mentors a jumping off point in their conversations. Beyond the initial introductions, the current students will be encouraged to make contact with the mentors and set the topics for discussion.  We will utilize continuous improvement to gauge how things are working and reassess the program each semester.
 
Drawing upon the expertise of professional staff, such as the alumni relations officer, allows for a more targeted, well-designed, and interprofessional mentoring program than if it was done in isolation with the faculty.  It also highlights the role of the alumni relations officer that can help current students in the future.  Further, this program keeps recent graduates engaged with our college and provides them a way to give back, as well as creates a mechanism for recruiting them as preceptors in the future (and training them through the young alumni mentoring program).



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Curriculum Innovation in Action: Implementation of a Pilot Premise Review Committee
 
Presenter(s): 
Linda Mast, Northcentral University
Wittney Jones, Northcentral University
 
Description:
This poster presents the implementation of pilot Premise Review Committee as an innovation to support DHA student success in the development of their premise. The Premise Review Committee provides structured, formative, non-graded feedback to keep students engaged in ongoing refinement of their premise to ensure they well prepared to progress to development of a successful prospectus.  Students in the Doctor of Health Administration program (DHA) at Northcentral University complete the premise for their applied project/dissertation mid-program (DHA 7008/7108) as their signature assignment in the course. Students continue through the rest of their program, which consists of six courses (DHA 7009 - DHA 7012 and 2 electives), with no further formal consideration of their draft premise until they enroll in the last course of the program (DHA 7013).
 
It is the DHA 7013 course where the premise is developed into a prospectus with the committee chair.   Some students are challenged to successfully transition to prospectus refinement because they have not had a structured process to review and refine their initial premise completed in DHA 7008/7108. They have expressed frustration when their premise required major revisions in DHA 7013 because they assumed their premise ready to move forward based on earning a satisfactory grade in the DHA 7008/7108 course. This results in delayed progress in transitioning from premise to prospectus.  To address these issues, a pilot project creating a Premise Review Committee was implemented. The Premise Review Committee offers the student the opportunity of periodic feedback outside the classroom so that students are actively revising and refining their premise and project while continuing their course work.



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Decision-Making in Emergency Preparedness: A Case Study of Hurricanes Florence and Michael
 
Presenter(s): 
Sandi Lane, Appalachian State University
 
Description:
Healthcare management programs can enhance decision-making competency growth through incorporating learning strategies that build verbal and written communication skills, knowledge of the post-acute care segment of the healthcare delivery system, critical thinking, problem solving, and risk management skills into their curriculum.
 
The United States has experienced a measurable increase in the frequency and severity of billion-dollar natural disasters during the last three decades (NOAA-NCEI, 2018). These events place an enormous strain on health care organizations and often disrupt services and compromise the ability to provide quality care. Older adults and those residing in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are the most vulnerable to physical and psychological harm during and after natural disasters. The increasing frequency of natural disasters has prompted a need for effective, timely and accurate decision-making by post-acute care leaders in order to maintain quality care and services for this vulnerable and often frail population.
 
Health care management programs can include emergency management education through case studies of disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Sandy, the Ebola outbreak, and more recently COVID-19 pandemic. Simulations and tabletop exercises are other methods of incorporating emergency management content while developing competencies in leadership, communication and interpersonal relationships, critical thinking and problem solving, professionalism and ethics, and the healthcare environment.



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Developing an Organizational Professionalism Competency Model to Enhance Health Management Education
 
Presenter(s): 
Julie Agris, Stony Brook Medicine
Krista Gottlieb, Stony Brook Medicine

 
Description:
'Professionalism and Ethics' is indisputably a core competency required in high-quality health management and leadership. Therefore, we must prioritize this domain in undergraduate and graduate health management education.
 
One barrier to providing systematic, high-quality education in this area is the variability of the definition of 'professionalism.' For example, what is the difference between 'individual professionalism' and 'organizational professionalism?' These are questions that must be addressed as we develop our students' competency in this area. To move the field of health management education forward, the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Family Medicine, and The Foundation for Medical Excellence have funded a critical pilot project to study organizational professionalism in our healthcare systems with an aim toward developing a generalizable professionalism competency model and restoring trust in the health sector.
 
As 'Professionalism and Ethics' are core domains in health management education, this pilot project and its subsequent, larger research project will serve to facilitate consensus on how we define, implement, measure, and facilitate learning of 'Professionalism and Ethics' in the health sector. Our research will contribute recommendations of observed best practices in 'Professionalism and Ethics' education with an aim toward restoring trust in health systems.




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Elevating Older Adults and Caregivers: Initiating a Post-Acute Concentration and Certificate Program
 
Presenter(s): 
Karla Diekemper, University of Southern Indiana
Kevin Valadares, University of Southern Indiana
 
Description:
The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program at the University of Southern Indiana program developed a Post-Acute Care (PAC) concentration to its online option.  The PAC concentration is comprised of four didactic courses (12cr) covering content areas in (1) Principles of Aging, (2) Health Policy, (3) Administration and (4) Finance. Courses in the concentration will emphasize social determinants of health, regulation, the legislative process and licensure requirements. Students can complete the concentration within the MHA program or through an equivalent certificate option.
 
This poster will delve into these items and review why the increase in older adults nationwide in concert with the increase in demand for health services managers in this sector justify the need for the MHA-PAC concentration and certification option.



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Embedding Undergraduate Research in a Healthcare Administration Program Using a Course-Based Approach

 
Presenter(s): 
Kimberly Davey, Samford University
Courtney Haun, Samford University
 
Description:
The course-based approach to undergraduate research has emerged as an alternative to resource intensive experiences like summer research programs.  The goals of course-based undergraduate research experience are broad and some of the most frequently cited goals include: to expose students to research as a potential career path, help students develop research and other discipline specific knowledge and skills, promote equity, diversity, and inclusion of underrepresented students, answer real-world questions or find real-world solutions, and expand research opportunities beyond the traditional apprenticeship model that is time and resource intensive for faculty and universities (Dolan, 2016; National Academies of Science and Medicine, 2015; Shortlidge, Bangera & Brownell, 2017).  Undergraduate research experiences help students achieve higher-order skills such as critical-thinking, collaboration, and communication (Nilson, 2016; Seibert, 2020; Wosinski et al., 2018). 
 
This approach provides a rich opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to work collaboratively in teams, ask timely questions, analyze exiting secondary data to answer their question, and to complete a complex project to preceptors and potential employers.  This also provides healthcare administration programs and faculty at teaching versus research intensive universities an avenue to engage undergraduate students in research.  This experience provides faculty an opportunity to mentor students around research and even involve students in their research program.  CUREs provide undergraduate students with valuable learning experiences and faculty with student collaborators that bring new energy and insights to complex questions (and datasets).




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Emergency Preparedness for Health Profession Students Entering the Health Industry
 
Presenter(s): 
Ruiling Guo, Idaho State University
Lori Austill, Idaho State University
Richard Ginnetti, University of Michigan - Dearborn
Liang Yan, University Pharmacy
 
Description:
The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that affected health profession students to make an emergency transition during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore possible interventions that would help students in healthcare administration and other health professions be better equipped for future emergency preparedness in the health industry.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic is a substantial public health crisis that has affected universities worldwide. Many universities implemented the emergency transition from face-to-face learning mode to online learning environment to protect the health and well-being of students and faculty. This sudden change to distance-based instruction during the middle of the spring 2020 semester presented many higher education institutions' challenges. It was especially difficult for those students who were enrolled in face-to-face courses, with recent published research revealing that students experienced anxiety and stress as universities closed campuses and quickly transitioned all courses to distance-based instructional delivery.
 
The unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have tested the US healthcare system and higher education institutions' responses. There are some lessons to be learned as a result of the far-reaching effects of the pandemic. COVID-19 may not be the last pandemic in our lifetime; therefore, academic faculty, healthcare administration programs, and university administrators must be aware of students' perceptions, concerns, and challenges to help them make smooth transitions during unforeseeable future times of crisis while maintaining the continuity of student learning and well-being. Additionally, students pursuing a degree in the health professions, including healthcare administration, should be better prepared for facing unforeseeable challenges and learn how to respond to any future emergency or health crisis when they enter the healthcare industry workforce.




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Empower Lunches: Providing an Inclusive Opportunity for Healthcare Professional Development and Networking
 
Presenter(s): 
Sue Boren, University of Missouri
 
Description:
This poster will review the activity of Empower Lunches. Empower Lunches provide an opportunity to share educational videos designed to empower professional women in healthcare through team building, leadership, discussion, and reflection. Based on our experience, there is an average of 25 participants for each Empower Lunc, where participants alo benefit from knowing the selected video and being able to watch it on their own.
 
This is a low-cost way to bring healthcare professionals together to learn and network. Zoom has made it easier for many to participate when they could not leave their workspace. The Empower Lunches may not ever transition back to being in person.



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Enhancing Inter-Faculty Communication Using Visualization Tools to Enrich Competency Development and Assessment

 
Presenter(s): 
Julie Agris, Stony Brook Medicine
Krista Gottlieb, Stony Brook Medicine
Jeff Ritter, Stony Brook Medicine
 
Description:
Stony Brook Medicine is part of an R1 academic institution including the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Nursing, Social Welfare, and Health Technology and Management. The Program in Public Health's Master of Health Administration and Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management are uniquely situated to draw upon the established resources throughout the University, such as subject matter experts who serve as faculty members. As our programs developed, we identified opportunities to enhance inter-faculty communication of each other's content areas and competency development and assessment processes. We initiated this process with a valuable curricular concept map, and built upon this resource by developing course-specific visualization resources. We offer these tools to advance the important conversation of inter-faculty communication and competency development and assessment.




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How Educators Can Reshape Student Perspective Regarding Online Education Delivery
 
Presenter(s): 
Thomas Shaw, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Debra Penrod, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Serdar Aydin, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Sandra Collins, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
 
Description:
Given this information, instructors can place an increased focus on improving student engagement in the online classroom. Many universities and education institutions have had to switch to online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Was the transition to online learning easy for students? If not, what are some possible reasons why it was not an easy transition? What can we learn from students' opinions of the transition to online learning?
 
This research aimed to determine students' overall perspectives of the change to online learning and answer the question about the ease in transition to online learning for students. Additionally, this research analyzed the relationship between various student learning traits and individual success in the online environment. Finally, this study sought to determine where improvements could be made to assure student success in online offerings in the future.




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How Many in This Class? Graduate Student Perception of Online Class Size
 
Presenter(s): 
Maureen Walsh Koricke, Queens University of Charlotte
Dixie Abernathy, Queens University of Charlotte
 
Description:
Class size makes a difference in the online education setting with the optimal size class still under consideration. Current research includes a wide range of optimal online class sizes ranging from 12 to more than 30 students. Instructors and students differ between their perception of the most effective class size (Roby et al, 2013). The purpose of this research is to identify graduate student perception of optimal online class size and the impact of class size on teaching and learning.
 
In examining optimal class size for effective student learning, it is imperative to consider the type and learning outcomes of online classes including course design and learning objectives. For courses that employ the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model, the range of class size is predicated on the level of Bloom's taxonomy ranked as lower, middle, and upper with most graduate courses focused on the higher end (Taft et al., 2011). Students perceive the greatest influence on their learning was learner-instructor interaction and teaching presence (Kyei-Blankson, Ntuli, & Donnelly, 2016). The CoI model incorporates teaching presence, cognitive, and social presence including practices such as frequent faculty student interaction, teacher immediacy, direct instruction, and regular formative and summative feedback (Taft el al. 2011).
 
Understanding graduate student perception of online class size is an important consideration in the management and development of online classes. Faculty interaction and presence in courses is important to guide competency-based learning and preparing health care leaders of the future.




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Innovating Care Practice to Facilitate Therapeutic Connections: Patient and Provider Perspectives
 
Presenter(s): 
Cheryl Rathert, Saint Louis University
Klaira Kronov, Saint Louis University
Jessica Mittler, Virginia Commonwealth University
Yuna Lee, Columbia University
Timothy J. Vogus, Vanderbilt University
 
Description:
This poster will address a topic that continues to perplex scholars and health care leaders: Improving both the patient and provider experiences of health care delivery, and improving health and well-being for both. Although the patient experience has been measured for years, most measures do not capture important aspects of patient-provider relationships, which we conceptualize as the therapeutic alliance (THA). This poster will describe research that addresses the AUPHA sub-theme of Health Industry Transformation and the strategic pillar of Environment for Practice. Data presented will offer insights into how to improve the environment for practice to help facilitate strong therapeutic alliances between patients and their care providers



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Mining CTU Messenger Data in Healthcare Courses to Maximize Student Engagement
 
Presenter(s): 
Laura Sliwinski, Colorado Technical University
Pazanta 'Devonn' Goolsby, Colorado Technical University
Tiffany Halfacre, Colorado Technical University
Tasia Hilton-Betton, Colorado Technical University
 
Description:
Colorado Technical University (CTU) launched CTU Mobile Messenger in 2018 to allow students to communicate with faculty, advisors, and classmates via text messages. According to Johnson and Sloan (2020), "student communication with faculty increased, but what is most noteworthy is the content that students are communicating to faculty. The informal nature of a text-style communication tool has changed not just how but what our students communicate (para. 1)."   Johnson, C. and Sloan, A. (February 24, 2020). CTU Mobile Messenger: Communication with Faculty through Texting. Online Learning Consortium. Retrieved from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/ctu-mobile-messenger-communication-with-faculty-through-texting/
 
Data mining is a powerful tool for academic intervention. We acknowledge that text messaging is happening organically at ground, hybrid, and online institutions, and faculty are able to respond quickly to provide support. However, when programs can harness and leverage the power of technology to gather and mine extensive amounts of data and code it appropriately, the ability to provide more personalized support to students and faculty will rise to a whole new level.


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Nurses Experience of Engagement and Voice at Work - A Qualitative Study

Presenter(s): 
Katharina Spaeth, Monash University


Description:
Nurse well-being is critical an increasingly complex and demanding work environment exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, years of budget cuts, new legislation, and continuously growing patient numbers from an aging population. Research has demonstrated that engagement and voice are essential for nurses’ well-being while supporting a strong connection between both concepts (Chamberlin, Newton, & Lepine, 2017; Kahn, 1990; Robinson & Shuck, 2019). However, the existing literature is limited in highlighting the individual employee perspective and work context shaping the experience of engagement and voice (Fletcher, Bailey, Alfes, & Madden, 2020; Pohler & Luchak, 2014).

The study aims to illustrate the complex interplay between engagement and voice as experienced by registered nurses working in Australian hospitals. Based on Kahn’s (1990) personal engagement and underpinned by social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), the study argues that the interplay of engagement and voice continuously evolves and fluctuates depending on the social actors, their experience and evaluation, the content and setting. Data was collected in a three-step process by complementing qualitative diary writing with pre- and post-diary semi-structured interviews. Initial findings present how nurses understand engagement and practise voice at work while connecting the experience with their specific work setting, such as management communication, use of technology and organisational policies and processes.

The study contributes theoretically, methodologically and practically to nursing and general managerial literature by illuminating nurses’ engagement voice experience at their workplace in the Australian context. It further highlights the importance of managing healthcare professionals from a business / HRM perspective. It can inform future educational programs and policies based on the every-day experience of registered nurses.



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Post-Acute Care Administration for NAB HSE Accreditation
 
Presenter(s): 
Gunjan Bansal, University of Scranton
Daniel West, University of Scranton
 
Description:
There has been a thirty-fold increase in USA's population aged over 65, from 1 million in 1870 to 46.2 million in 2014 (Moody & Sasser, 2018). These trends have highlighted the shortage of well-prepared Post-Acute Care Administrators. The MHA specialization in Post-Acute Care Administration will prepare students for working with chronically ill and elderly populations in Skilled Nursing Facilities, Residential Care/Assisted Living (RC/AL) facilities, Home and Community Based Service (HCBS), and other Post-Acute Cate settings  This specialization will be instrumental to obtaining National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) accreditation, which only three other graduate programs currently have in USA.
 
Given the global trends of population ageing, our local, regional, and national communities will need greater numbers of well-prepared Post-Acute Care Administrators. The Healthcare Management programs must prepare Post-Acute Care Administrators well for offering quality care to and maintaining quality of life of chronically ill and elderly populations in Skilled Nursing Facilities, Residential Care/Assisted Living (RC/AL) facilities, Home and Community Based Service (HCBS), and other Post-Acute Cate settings. Not only should Healthcare Management programs develop course-work in Post-Acute Care Administration, Nursing Home Administration, and Assisted Living Administration, they should also strive to obtain NAB accreditation. Since HSE is the most comprehensive of all accreditations offered by NAB, healthcare management programs should strive to obtain HSE accreditation by NAB for preparing next generation of Administrators for practicing across the entire continuum of Post-Acute Care.



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Program Development and Course Redesign for the Modern Student

 
Presenter(s): 
Renee Geschke, Trident University International
John Cantiello, George Mason University
 
Description:
It is necessary for health administration programs to stay current while aligning the needs of the academic community, industry, and students.  Additionally, the modern classroom is multi-generational, diverse, and varied in experience and expertise.  It is necessary for academic leaders and faculty to develop best practices to address diversity, equity, and inclusion while also preparing students to lead in a dynamic healthcare workforce.
 
This poster will discuss the development of an online Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) Program and its related curriculum. Issues related to diversity and inclusion in the development process are included. It will also chronicle one institution's experience in redesigning undergraduate courses so that they can be taught in an online format.  Implications related to the delivery of learning for both undergraduate and graduate students in light of the COVID-19 pandemic will also be shared.

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Ready for Class Simulations? Practical Lessons Learned to Jump Start Your Approach
 
Presenter(s): 
Lynn Downs, The University of the Incarnate Word
Lorena Bailey, Army-Baylor University
 
 
Description:
Use of simulations in higher education settings to facilitate a deeper understanding and practice hands-on implementation of course specific concepts is on the rise. Simulations comprised of well-structured, realistic problems with multiple fact-based scenarios engage students in critical thinking and analytical approaches towards developing solutions. Faculty using simulations for the first time, however, are challenged to find relevant simulation programs that will match course description and related competency targets. Further challenges include integrating simulation with course pacing, sequence, and developing appropriate deliverables. This poster presents lessons learned from two separate first time faculty users of an HR simulation program used for delivering instruction in graduate healthcare administration programs.
 
This poster will include information on new and innovative strategies for student engagement continue to evolve in the higher education setting. Additionally, challenges in necessary course delivery modalities brought about by recent pandemic concerns create additional burdens on faculty seeking to implement creative learning experiences such as simulation activities. Lessons learned provided in this poster aim to lessen such burdens for first time simulation users.




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Sparking Creativity and Innovation Through Associational Thinking: Assignment on Concepts and Procedures
 
Presenter(s): 
Armineh Zohrabian, University  of Missouri
 
Description:
This poster describes a teaching method, implemented as a writing assignment, to spark innovation and excellence in any field, e.g. healthcare policy or economics. It is designed to increase student awareness of two types of knowledge: (1) conceptual, i.e. a connected web of knowledge in which the linking relationships are as prominent as the discrete pieces of information, and (2) procedural, i.e. consisting of discrete elements and rules. This approach is adapted to health management from mathematics (Sentilles and Wheeler (undated) and Hiebert (1986)). This method outlines the competencies below, based on the presenter's experience in environments that were both delivery-driven and discovery-driven.
 
-Courage to innovate (awareness of having deep understanding, including conceptual and procedural knowledge, can lead to courage to innovate)
-Behavioral skills (e.g. questioning, experimenting, observing)
-Cognitive skills (synthesizing novel or seemingly unrelated inputs) For example, a student exceptional in baking, understood the chemical concepts involved in baking, enabling them to create something new without another chef's recipe. This process can be associated to learning a new subject.
 
This poster will provide an opportunity for a diverse AUPHA audience, in terms of undergraduate or graduate program levels and different courses in healthcare management, to (1) Learn and give feedback on a writing assignment used for decades, by various faculty in a major research university, designed to spark student creativity, innovation and learning excellence, (2) Share their insights about the building blocks, i.e. the fundamental competencies for creativity and innovation that can be applied in healthcare management education and practice, (3) Develop their own assignment using this presentation as a blueprint or collaborating with the poster presenter, to increase awareness and facilitate excellence in learning and creativity in their own students. This assignment provides insights into the topic of Innovative Thinking, specifically: (1) How to define and operationalize innovation. and (2) How innovative thinking can be taught in a practical and approachable manner.

 



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Strategic Planning as a Prism to Develop Reflective Innovations for Competency Revisions

 
Presenter(s): 
Nalin Johri, Seton Hall University
Stephen L. Wagner, Seton Hall University
Brian P. Colfer, Seton Hall University
Anne M. Hewitt, Seton Hall University
 
Description:
A large and diverse MHA program in a suburban setting undertakes a comprehensive healthcare environment analysis and inputs from diverse groups of stakeholders to update its strategic plan. As part of these changes, revisions are necessitated in the program competencies.  These revisions are guided by a two rounds of Delphi survey with a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders who reviewed existing program competencies in recommending revisions and/or new competencies. The timing of these revisions in competencies is important as it complements the timeline for upcoming self-study for reaccreditation.
 
The relevance of professional courses can be gauged through assessment of program competencies at individual student, course,
and program level. Given the rapid pace of change in healthcare, there is a constant need to reassess program competencies to ensure their relevance. In undertaking competency reviews, there needs to be sensitivity to both online and on-campus program delivery formats to ensure that the changes are agnostic as we develop innovative and future skills and competencies. The timing of these competency revisions is important as it complements the timeline for upcoming self-study for reaccreditation.




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The Need for Restorative Environmental Design Curriculum: Knowledge, Awareness, and Practice
 
Presenter(s): 
Robert Rados, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Laura Mothland, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Jennifer Horton, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
 
Description:
This poster provides a review of restorative environmental research, principles, and theory as it relates to health administration, and explores possible "gaps" of pedagogical experience for health administration curriculum regarding evidence-based benefits of healing environments, within the healthcare sector. 
 
Research on the coalescence of wellness dynamics and restorative environments have evolved into a category know as biophilic design. This practice incorporates elements of environmental sustainability along with connectivity to natural environments incorporating spatial qualities, views, natural materials, colors, textures, lighting, sequencing of units, and other aspects of nature to create a holistic experience to nurture positive physical, emotional, and interactions for all users. 
 
The Center for Health Design defines itself as “…passionate healthcare designers and professionals…dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare through design of the build environment” (Center for Health Design, 2017). While evidence-based knowledge continues to build, there appears to be a curriculum “gap” for the preparation of health administration professionals' knowledge, awareness, and practice for therapeutic restorative biophilic environments in the healthcare sector. Evidence from this demographic suggests that college courses were significant for obtaining initial knowledge and awareness for the field of interior design and that professional associations have played a role in gaining both interior design knowledge as well as knowledge of the field of healthcare.  Collaboration between interior design and the field of health administration was not a focus of knowledge during college level study and seems to be less of a focus within professional organizations. Therefore, health administration students may be at a disadvantage when entering practice regarding restorative design and philosophy because of limited or no curriculum content about restorative environments or the process of working with design professionals in the healthcare sector. 



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Using Technology to Remotely Teach Post-Acute Setting Design for Patients with Disabilities
 
Presenter(s): 
Hengameh Hosseini, University of Scranton
 
 
Description:
Patients in post-acute care facilities struggle with physical disabilities ranging from blindness to deafness to mobility issues. According to the American Disabilities Association, at least 50 million Americans struggle with a range of disabilities, with rates increasing in older-age cohorts and those living in post-acute care facilities.  However, a widely-recognized issue in general healthcare facility design is often suboptimal for accommodating people with impairments like low vision beyond the bare minimum required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. For instance, hallways, outdoor spaces, and stairwells commonly lack specialized lighting specialized by the National Institute of Building Science guidelines for those with various low-vision conditions, transferring the burden of falls prevention to overworked and understaffed healthcare workers.
 
In this poster, we begin with the hypothesis (supported by various studies) that this sub-optimality reflects a lack of awareness, knowledge, and empathetic design training among post-acute care facility stakeholders like healthcare managers/administrators. We further propose that these deficiencies could be remedied by incorporating specialized training modules into healthcare administration and related public health programs for graduate and undergraduate students. Finally, we propose that we can both remedy this curricular shortcoming and meet the needs of pandemic-era remote teaching requirements by leveraging specific emerging technologies.



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Utilization of CARES ACT and FAFSA Funding During COVID-19 Pandemic for Students.
 
Presenter(s): 
Garvita Thareja, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Garvita Thareja, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Erin Seedorf, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Amy Dore, Metropolitan State University of Denver
 
 
Description:
From the viewpoint of an urban university, designated as a Hispanic Servicing Institute (HIS), the Department of Health Professions embarked on a new journey to utilize CARES ACT funding and FAFSA work-study eligibility to integrate actively enrolled students at  an opportunity to work with  faculty and department administrators. This helps  students to gain industry experience in an academic environment as well as support  financial needs as most students have suffered financially due to the collateral damages of COVID-19 pandemic. The eligibility criteria requires students to successfully pass the course(s) they are assisting with  to be able to assist faculty teaching that course. Students can also earn college credits by helping the Department with projects geared towards expanding students' technological abilities, professionalism, and networking skills.
 
The poster highlights the analysis of this initiative, which showed  students  gained experiences in completely unexpected ways. Specifically, students were  exposed as being secondary instructors/ facilitators where they participated in classroom and academic issues and learned to handle them. This will provided students  an experience to  further explore areas of interest in their career field. In addition, the students received the  opportunity to work with the diverse pool of students, which helped them in understanding about melting pot environment not only at our university, but also in their soon-to-be career.



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Validating a New Instructional Method: Supply-Chain Consultants Versus MHA Students

 
Presenter(s): 
Rick Kates, University of Florida
Cristian Lieneck, Texas State
Keith Benson, University of Florida
 
Description:
In October of 2020, a new HIT instructional technique was tested using the same RFP preliminary information submitted to a consulting group and MHA students in a health information management course.  The students use the information in parallel to the consultant's final submission. The students conducted research, ran analyses, developed rollout plans, made recommendations, developed an RFP, and present this information to the hospital executives in the IT and supply chain departments.
 
Our review highlights more about the perceptions of a pedagogical approach that allows students to actively engage with stakeholders (i.e., hospital executives) on a live IT project. Creating a competitive environment that brings together an entire class can strengthen students' soft skills because it can provide a new motivation to work together to address their strengths and weaknesses.



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Virtual Reality Learning Meets Health Care Management

 
Presenter(s): 
Sandra Collins, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Thomas Shaw, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Debra Penrod, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Stacey McKinney, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
 
Description:
While COVID-19 created cancellations to multiple events such as study abroad programs and hands-on training projects, Health Care Management faculty explored and implemented others ways to assure students had exposure to varying learning opportunities through the use of virtual reality/learning tools and techniques. This poster will review several areas to include:
(1) The use of virtual reality technology provides educators a way to engage students in unique health care specific case scenarios and or learning opportunities; (2) External forces cannot prevent effective and efficient learning in health care education; and (3) Faculty development towards technology was increased as much as student engagement when using virtual reality/learning.



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Why Wait to Innovate? Finding A Different View of the Prism
 
Presenter(s): 
Chris Nesser, University of the Incarnate Word
Lynn Downs, University of the Incarnate Word
Patrick Shay, Trinity University
Edward Schumacher, Trinity University
 
Description:
A novel approach to developing students' innovative and entrepreneurial thinking skills that engages students across multiples courses and now several universities will be highlighted in this poster. The Healthcare PRISm Pitch Competition takes students on a design thinking journey that emphasizes problem solving and produces solutions that are fueled by empathy, problem-focused, fostered by creativity, and informed through feedback. The poster will depict the origins and design of the pitch competition within one university's graduate program and the implementation of it in a second university's program, along with the outcomes on learning.


 

 
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