Open AccessAdopt-a-Hospital Project: An instructional tool for hospital administration
Author(s) -
Asa B. Wilson
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of hospital administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1927-7008
pISSN - 1927-6990
DOI - 10.5430/jha.v5n6p63
Subject(s) - internship , preceptor , graduation (instrument) , experiential learning , curriculum , medical education , acute care , context (archaeology) , medicine , health care , nursing , administration (probate law) , psychology , pedagogy , political science , engineering , mechanical engineering , paleontology , law , biology
Backgournd: More often than not, university health administration curriculums are generic and are not foundational to a specific career track. This is especially true in relation to the transition from graduation to a hospital administration career progression. The overarching question is, “How does one prepare themselves for senior leadership in an acute care hospital setting?”Objective: A semester-long assignment – Adopt-a-Hospital Project – is discussed in the context of a healthcare finance course as tool for preparing students to think administratively regarding hospital operations. This Project is presented as an academic foundation preparing students for the required semester-long internship placement in an acute care hospital.Results: The Project-Internship sequence has, over a four-year period, demonstrated its value as an academic and experiential learning bridge from the academy to the world of work. Informal, qualitative findings are discussed in terms of a future quantitative study incorporating: (1) preceptor surveys, (2) intern surveys, and (3) focus group feedback.Conclusions: The Project-Internship sequence fosters a link between academic content and experiential learning in an acute care hospital – thereby augmenting one’s post-graduation readiness to pursue a hospital administration career track.