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HCA 409A, 409B, and 443
with Professor Strenio at Southern Oregon University
Welcome to Southern Oregon University's HCA Practicum & Capstone Sequence.
Welcome to Southern Oregon University's HCA Practicum & Capstone Sequence.
If you're a student, please continue reading through this page. Find details on specific courses by clicking the menu bar. If you work in a healthcare setting and you're interested in supervising a student intern--thank you! Please click here for more information.
Hi there! I'm Professor Strenio and I will be your instructor for the senior year HCA practicum and capstone courses. I bet you have a lot of questions. Take a look through this site to see what the academic year has in store for you.
Want more information on the Healthcare Administration program at Southern Oregon University? Check out the HCA Degree Program page here and review our program outcomes below:
HCA Program Outcomes
HCA Program Outcomes
1. Communication. Students will be able to:
Communicate about health effectively in diverse settings, including interpersonal, organizational, and mediated
Adapt the style of messages for different objectives and translate health-related information to diverse stakeholders.
2. Cultural competence. Students will be able to:
Demonstrate appreciation and respect for diverse cultures, values and norms
Recognize the need to work with the whole person, not just the physical ailment
Demonstrate awareness of issues of equity in healthcare and medicine
3. Information management. Students will be able to:
Interpret and use data for effective decision making
Utilize information technology applications common across health professions
Use analytics to develop a written case or presentation to inform organizational decisions
Synthesize data for patterns, trends and focal areas for further interpretation and subsequent action
Apply data to support continual improvement processes
Apply business principles, including systems thinking, to the healthcare environment
4. Organizational dynamics and change management. Students will be able to:
Articulate and apply motivation theories to manage teams and individuals within an organization
5. Ethics and professional standards. Students will be able to:
Identify, analyze, and evaluate ethical issues in healthcare and medicine at both the interpersonal and structural levels
Demonstrate competency regarding essential elements of professional ethics in healthcare and medicine, for administrators and clinicians
Demonstrate competency in distinguishing legal issues in healthcare from ethical concerns arising in a healthcare or medical setting.
Demonstrate knowledge of basic legal requirements in healthcare related to privacy and confidentiality, including HIPAA
6. Basic understanding of the health care sector. Students will be able to:
Demonstrate proficiency in the use of common medical terminology
Understand the history and evolution of the healthcare industry
Demonstrate familiarity of concepts in trauma-informed care
Identify different components of the healthcare sector and explain how they interrelate
Demonstrate basic knowledge of the Oregon healthcare system
7. Basic understanding of human health. Students will be able to
Identify social determinants of health on a local and global scale
Demonstrate a basic knowledge of healthcare and medical professions.
Demonstrate a basic knowledge of all aspects of human health
📍Start here! Schedule & overview
📍Start here! Schedule & overview
The senior year HCA experience is crafted to help you make the connections between your years of coursework, real world internship experiences, and cutting-edge academic research.
🍂 It starts in the fall with HCA 409A: Practicum A (4 credits).
🍂 It starts in the fall with HCA 409A: Practicum A (4 credits).
In this class, we'll explore how the HCA learning objectives you've been completing during your time at SOU are relevant in the real world. You'll gain exposure to peer-reviewed journal articles, popular press writing on health and healthcare, and enjoy cameos from the other HCA faculty who will discuss their disciplinary perspectives on healthcare research. You'll also start honing your job search skills by writing resumes and cover letters and completing interviews. By the end of the term, you should have successfully found an internship site for the winter.
❄️ You'll complete an internship during winter term through HCA 409B: Practicum B (4 credits).
❄️ You'll complete an internship during winter term through HCA 409B: Practicum B (4 credits).
The second part of the senior year sequence involves 90 hours of internship experience. In addition to the internship itself, I'll be assigning you tasks throughout the term to help you start brainstorming your capstone project or research paper.
🌱 Then, you'll put it all together with HCA 443: Capstone (4 credits) in the spring.
🌱 Then, you'll put it all together with HCA 443: Capstone (4 credits) in the spring.
The final challenge is a capstone research paper or project in which you integrate the knowledge you've gained throughout your time at SOU with your internship experiences. You'll use academic research to bolster your project. You will submit a research-based paper or project and present your findings to HCA faculty and students.
Course structures
Course structures
HCA 409A, 409B, and 443 will all be hybrid courses. That means we will be combining elements of synchronous and asynchronous learning.
Synchronous learning is learning that is happening in real time.
Asynchronous learning means that you can do your work at different times throughout the week as long as it is completed by the deadlines.
For the fall term, all scheduled class meetings will occur over Zoom. Don't worry! There's no set time and date yet. We'll figure those out in the first week of class. I will also always offer alternative assignments if you have to miss these scheduled class times.
Although this course site is hosted on Google Sites, our main course page will be our class Moodle page. You'll find more detailed information on our assignments, as well as links to submit those assignments, complete discussions, and check out your grades and feedback there. Please make sure to check our Moodle page often and sign up for notifications (link to directions in the Learning Pact below!)
Learning Pact:
Learning Pact:
The following are the expectations I have for myself, as your instructor, and for you, as a student.
You can expect me to:
You can expect me to:
Be willing to work with you to accommodate unusual circumstances that may come up due to the pandemic.
Use Moodle and Zoom to enhance student learning, communication, and convenience. I am committed to respecting your privacy and safety and promoting equity in our online classrooms. You will always have the choice of whether or not to turn on your video. You can also use virtual or blurred backgrounds if you prefer.
Be readily available to meet with you via Zoom or email at a time that works for both of us.
Reply to emails/Moodle messages within 24 hours during the week.
Grade and provide feedback on assignments within one week of the date they are submitted.
Complete all grades and provide students with feedback on final grades within one week of the date the last course assignment is submitted.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?
I expect you to:
I expect you to:
Become familiar with Moodle. I highly recommend you check your email and Moodle frequently and turn on notifications. Directions for turning on notifications are available here.
Strive to be an active participant in this course, which includes participating in small group discussions.
Plan on submitting work on time. Every assignment has a due date, but you can always submit work early as well. This helps me provide you with important feedback. It also helps keep you on track so you don't fall behind. Time management is an important skill that you need to be successful in most jobs today--start practicing now! However, I understand that things come up and I'm on your side. I want you to succeed. Late submissions will be accepted with a 10% penalty per day late. Don't want the penalty? Email me as soon as possible and propose a fair solution. We'll work it out.
Contact me if you have a concern or emergency that prevents you from attending class, submitting an assignment or completing the course.
Communicate with me. Ask questions if any expectations or assignments are unclear.
Treat me and your peers with dignity and respect.
Follow appropriate netiquette and virtual communication guidelines.
Engage in professional email conduct. This entails including a proper greeting and address(i.e. ”Hi Professor Strenio”), a proper closing, and complete, comprehensible sentences.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?
About me
About me
Contact information
Email me at strenioj@sou.edu
Message me on Moodle. You'll also find a link to book virtual office hours with me on Moodle.
Check out the cool stuff SOU's HCA faculty are working on! ⬇️
Check out the cool stuff SOU's HCA faculty are working on! ⬇️
Coming soon...stay tuned.
SOU Resources & Student Toolkit.
SOU Resources & Student Toolkit.
In addition to reaching out to me, check out these links for support at SOU.
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