Curriculum Revision to Address a Changing Health Care Environment

Health care reform, the Affordable Care Act, and changes in the U.S. health care system have necessitated modifying the scope and content of existing courses in the health care management curricula at Lander University. Lander... [ view full abstract ]

Health care reform, the Affordable Care Act, and changes in the U.S. health care system have necessitated modifying the scope and content of existing courses in the health care management curricula at Lander University. Lander is a university in upstate South Carolina with an enrollment of about 2500 students. The HCMT enrollment in the Lander school of management represents approximately 25% of the total enrollment for the School of Management. Recently, deficiencies in the quality of patient care, as well as patient safety issues, have led to calls for change in health professions education by healthcare organizations and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (Berwick, 2002). The foundation for any proposed curricular revision or changes in teaching practices must be firmly grounded in a comprehensive review of the literature and input  from students, alumni, and the professional health care community. The recent literature in the field and input form stakeholders will assist faculty with the curriculum evaluation and revision  process. The process for curriculum change in the Lander University health care emphasis is described in this article.