Health administration program outcome competencies needed to improve quality of care.

摘要

Current health administration programs may not develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences required to improve quality of care. Growing public concerns and recent Institute of Medicine reports related to the quality of care evidence this problem. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of major stakeholders (e.g., healthcare executives, board members, search firm executives, and health administration program professors and students) about current quality-of-care practice issues and the outcome competencies needed to address these issues. Fifteen participants in health administration leadership positions, representing various large healthcare systems, national search firms, and health administration graduate programs in two states were interviewed at length. A qualitative method of inquiry was used to obtain emerging categories and themes from these interviews. The theoretical model that emerged from these categories and themes led to the finding that health administration leadership knowledge, skills, and experiences in clinical management required to improve quality of care were lacking in health administration program curriculum. The conclusion was that a curriculum change is needed in health administration programs to incorporate clinical management knowledge, skills, and experiences to prepare future health administration leadership with the outcome competencies required to improve quality of care.