Saint Leo University HCA303 Term Paper: Professional Development Exercise This term paper applies the Buchbinder & Shanks (2017) textbook to lead HCA303 students through a process of self-reflection, personal assessment, and professional development planning. The term paper is designed to engage students in better understanding and articulating professional interests, strengths, and areas for further learning and development in preparation for managing and leading health care organizations in the future. The term paper is structured into nine sections, with word count guidelines provided in each section. APA formatting is required. Term paper milestone deadlines, by module, are as follows: • Read and familiarize yourself with the term paper assignment in Module 1 • Begin researching and organizing non-textbook references for the term paper in Module 2 • Proposed non-textbook term paper reference list is due to the Dropbox by no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 4 • A draft of the first four sections of the term paper is due to the Dropbox by no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 5 • The final term paper is due to be submitted no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 8. Students who do not submit the assignment will receive a zero. This is a key program assessment; the results are used to ensure students are meeting program goals. Video and PDF instructions can be found on the course home page. PDF instructions are also located in the Start Here folder. Section 1: Organizational Settings Below are 25 categories of organizational settings in the health industry. In about 250 focused and concisely written words, (a) select one according to your interest for the organization setting of a future health care management position and (b) explain why you choose such an organization. • Community hospitals • Pharmaceutical/biotechnology • Health systems/integrated delivery companies networks • Medical devices/equipment • Academic medical centers • Physician practices • Federally qualified health centers • Outpatient diagnostic facilities • Home health care • Surgery centers • Hospice care • Urgent care centers • Dental offices • Health information systems • Government agencies • Insurance/managed care companies • Public health • Continuing care retirement communities • International health care • Nursing homes/skilled nursing facilities • Assisted living facilities • Consulting • Higher education • Professional associations • Entrepreneurship Section 2: Leadership Apply the leadership concepts in Chapter 2 (e.g., competencies, models, styles, protocols, responsibilities) in answering the following three items in a total of about 400 words. Incorporate at least two references above and beyond the textb.

1. Saint Leo University
HCA303
Term Paper: Professional Development Exercise
This term paper applies the Buchbinder & Shanks (2017)
textbook to lead HCA303 students
through a process of self-reflection, personal assessment, and
professional development
planning. The term paper is designed to engage students in
better understanding and
articulating professional interests, strengths, and areas for
further learning and
development in preparation for managing and leading health
care organizations in the
future.
The term paper is structured into nine sections, with word count
guidelines provided in each
section. APA formatting is required. Term paper milestone
deadlines, by module, are as
follows:

2. • Read and familiarize yourself with the term paper assignment
in Module 1
• Begin researching and organizing non-textbook references for
the term paper in
Module 2
• Proposed non-textbook term paper reference list is due to the
Dropbox by no later
than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 4
• A draft of the first four sections of the term paper is due to the
Dropbox by no later
than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 5
• The final term paper is due to be submitted no later than
Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT of Module 8. Students who do not submit the
assignment will receive a
zero. This is a key program assessment; the results are used to
ensure students are
meeting program goals. Video and PDF instructions can be
found on the course
home page. PDF instructions are also located in the Start Here
folder.

3. Section 1: Organizational Settings
Below are 25 categories of organizational settings in the health
industry. In about 250
focused and concisely written words, (a) select one according to
your interest for the
organization setting of a future health care management position
and (b) explain why you
choose such an organization.
• Community hospitals
• Pharmaceutical/biotechnology
• Health systems/integrated delivery companies networks
• Medical devices/equipment

4. • Academic medical centers
• Physician practices
• Federally qualified health centers
• Outpatient diagnostic facilities
• Home health care
• Surgery centers
• Hospice care
• Urgent care centers
• Dental offices
• Health information systems
• Government agencies
• Insurance/managed care companies
• Public health
• Continuing care retirement communities
• International health care
• Nursing homes/skilled nursing facilities
• Assisted living facilities
• Consulting

5. • Higher education
• Professional associations
• Entrepreneurship
Section 2: Leadership
Apply the leadership concepts in Chapter 2 (e.g., competencies,
models, styles, protocols,
responsibilities) in answering the following three items in a
total of about 400 words.
Incorporate at least two references above and beyond the
textbook, and cite both the
textbook and your external references using APA style.
(a) Think about a situation where you (or an organizational
leader you are familiar with)
were highly effective as a leader. Apply leadership concepts
from Chapter 2 in explaining

6. your (or the selected leader’s) effectiveness. You may write
about yourself, a leader in
the health industry, or a leader from outside the health industry.
(b) Think about a situation where you (or an organizational
leader you are familiar with)
were ineffective as a leader. Apply leadership concepts from
Chapter 2 in explaining
your (or the selected leader’s) ineffectiveness. You may write
about yourself, a leader in
the health industry, or a leader from outside the health industry.
(c) State and describe three personal leadership development
goals.
Section 3: Motivation
Apply the motivation concepts in Chapter 3 in answering the
following three items in a total
of about 400 words. Incorporate at least two references above
and beyond the textbook,
and cite both the textbook and your external references using
APA style. The external
references cited in this section will very likely be different from
those in the previous

7. section.
(a) What motivates you?
(b) What demotivates you?
(c) As a health care manager, what will be your approach to
increasing employee
engagement and motivation in your organization?
Section 4: Cognition and Organizational Behavior
Apply the concepts in Chapter 4 in answering the following
item in a total of about 150
words. Incorporate at least one reference above and beyond the
textbook, and cite both the
textbook and your external reference(s) using APA style.
Discuss the role of cognition (thinking, reasoning) in promoting
organizational change and
learning. In what ways could you, as a manager, use cognition
to improve communication
and teamwork?

8. Section 5: Strategic Planning, Marketing, Health Information
Technology, Financial
Management, and Human Resources Management
Strategic planning (Chapter 5), marketing (Chapter 6), health
information technology
(Chapter 8), financial management (Chapters 9 and 10), and
human resources
management (Chapter 12) are fundamentally important areas of
management focus in
health care organizations. Answer the following two items in a
total of about 500 words.
Incorporate at least two references above and beyond the
textbook, and cite both the
textbook and your external references using APA style.
(a) Assess your level of knowledge, experience, and interest in
strategic planning,
marketing, health information technology, financial
management, and human resources
management.
(b) Using the top-ranked health industry setting from Section 1

9. as the organizational
context, present and discuss a set of seven personal professional
development goals you
would like to achieve in the next 3-10 years. These goals
identify desired experiences,
activities, and responsibilities for your professional growth and
career development in the
areas of strategic planning, marketing, health information
technology, financial
management, and/or human resources management. For
example, a practicing nurse may
have the career goal of becoming involved in leading
organizational efforts to apply health
information technology to further improve the work done by
nurses and other caregivers.
Section 6: Health Care Professionals
The number of different job categories and titles in the health
industry is very large
(Chapter 11). In about 200 words, (a) identify five health
industry job titles with whom
you’ve never worked in a significant way and (b) propose a
personal professional

10. development plan to better acquaint yourself with the roles and
responsibilities held by
individuals in these positions. For example, someone currently
working in the billing and
coding area might arrange to spend several days with a home
health nurse in order to
experience and learn more about home health care services
delivery. Incorporate at least
one reference above and beyond the textbook, and cite both the
textbook and your external
reference(s) using APA style. To assist in thinking about the
range of job categories and
titles in the health industry, the following U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics link provides
information on a sampling of health care occupations:
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm

11. Section 7: Quality Improvement and Teamwork Address the
following scenario in about 500 words:
Shortly after graduation, your new boss asks you to organize
and lead a cross-
departmental, multi-disciplinary team to improve coordination,
efficiency, and effectiveness
in the care of patients with multiple chronic conditions. Apply
the concepts and tools of
Quality Improvement (Chapter 7) in combination with those of
Teamwork (Chapter 13) and
Motivation (Chapter 3) to outline your approach to organizing
and managing a quality
improvement team. Incorporate at least three references above
and beyond the textbook,
and cite both the textbook and your external references using
APA style.
Section 8: Health Disparities
In about 250 words, apply the Saint Leo University core value
of Community in a
brief proposal for a community health improvement initiative to
address a health disparity

12. or health inequity in a location of your choosing. Incorporate at
least two references above
and beyond the textbook, and cite both the textbook and your
external references using
APA style.
Section 9: Health Ethics
Answer the following two items in a total of about 300 words.
Incorporate at least two
references above and beyond the textbook, and cite both the
textbook and your external
references using APA style.
(a) Assess your level of knowledge and experience with key
health ethics principles such as
respect, autonomy, confidentiality, beneficence,
nonmaleficence, and justice.
(b) Why are ethical behavior and decision making so important
for health care managers?
(c) Describe three personal professional development goals that
will further prepare you in
becoming a health care manager characterized by ethical

13. behavior and decision making.
Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1
2
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Section 1: Organizational Setting of Community Hospitals
Community hospitals are small local hospitals situated in
remote areas to provide services that may not be accessible to
the individuals in the areas. They usually tailored to services
that are a necessity to the local populations, hence they have
adapted to the needs of their local people. Community hospitals
form an established component of health-care provision,
according to Davidson et al., (2019) the community hospitals

14. have evolved over time, with a wider range of service delivery
arrangements and models developing across rural set ups. This
hospital exists in various models in order to diversify their
services to meet the needs of the locals.
There has been a study to examine the impact of rehabilitation
care of old people previously which has suggested that was
successful and advantages to the general hospitals since they
associated themselves with the communities where they are set
up. Other researches have pointed to a strong tradition of
community hospitals providing more integrated care. This core
feature of the ‘traditional’ community hospital assumes a
renewed importance given in the society, given that those needs
requires the development of delivery systems that bring together
a range of professionals and skills from both the health-care and
care social care sectors. Failure to better integrate or co-
ordinate this service may result to potential hospitalization,
medication errors or adverse drug events (Davidson et al.,
2019).
There is the need for community hospitals and related service
delivery models to assume a more strategic role in the local
health economy to integrate service provision and thereby
address some of the challenges arising from service
fragmentation (Davidson et al., 2019). Providing care close to
people’s homes within an integrated health and social care
system is important and also attractive to most of the health
care professionals. This professional believes that working in an
outpatient ward is less demanding that outpatient hence being
able to save on their social lives.
Section 2: Leadership
Effective leadership of healthcare professionals is vital in
strengthening quality and integration of care services. One of
the health professionals I have met had a leadership style and
strategy that was geared towards lowering mortality rate. This
was followed by him advising the hospitals to ensuring all the
employees are responsive and efficient at their work. The task-
oriented leadership style was found to relate to higher levels of

15. quality of care based on the assessment made by relatives of the
patients. The practitioner also ensured that anyone in leadership
learned from the minor and moderate patient safety events. He
ensured everyone was accountable at work. This led to
increased patient’s satisfaction.
In a hospital setup, it is presumed that everyone is a leader.
Though at some incidents bureaucracy in hospitals is rampant
and can lead to time wastage. Bureaucracy also reduces the time
spent for adequate and appropriate communication among
employees and leaders. An incident is ineffective leadership
was when a clinical nurse failed to attend to an ailing patient
since she had not been authorized by the senior doctor in
charge. This can lead to increased casualties or damage. Also,
bureaucracy has increased paper work which may lead to delay
of practitioners in doing their work
Sonnino, (2016) suggests that projecting confidence and
authenticity improves the way you get attention in a room.
Working with teams will provide insight to their day-to-day.
That can go a long way to help a person better understand how
they work and suggest improvements that can be made, it also
helps a person keep their finger on the pulse of the business.
Finding a time-organization style that works for you and focus
on applying it during the new year. Build a schedule that is
adaptive and guides you towards better time management.
Demonstrate to others active listening is also a leadership goal.
Paying attention shows others you value what they are saying.
Additionally, eliminating any distractions that could draw your
focus away from the speaker shows them respect. Engage in
conversation with meaningful input.
Section 3: Motivation
What motivates me at work is influenced by working conditions
or hygiene factors, including facility infrastructure and
availability of resources in an organizational. The level of a
subordinate or employee does not only depend upon his
qualifications and abilities. For getting best of his work
performance, the gap between ability and willingness has to be

16. filled which helps me in improving the level of performance of
subordinates. This will result into- Increase in productivity,
reducing cost of operations, and improving overall efficiency
(Kuvaas et al (2018).
What demotivates me is usually lack of training opportunities
and professional promotion; and organizational structures and
processes. The easiest way to increase employee motivation is
by having positive communication at the workplace. Managers
should try setting aside some time each day to talk with
employees or you can join them during coffee breaks instead of
sitting at your desk, this is usually motivating. By doing so, you
actually make employees feel as though you are part of the
team; a leader instead of just the boss. Experts agree that team
communication is super valuable.
As a manager, I will encourage my employees to have goals. I
will provide them with clear achievable goals and make sure
there are measurable standards in place to evaluate their
performance. Victor Vroom’s work on expectancy theory
supports the concept that employees must know what action
they are expected to take and that it will yield the desired
performance. I will also take them through what they are
expected to do, how they are expected to do it, and how they
will be judged on it. Believe in employees, whether you tell him
so during an employee performance review, or in the break
room, an employee whose boss constantly calls him worthless,
or a screw-up will feel a lot of emotions (Kuvaas et al., 2018).
He will not, however, feel particularly motivated to improve his
performance and work and this leads to low productivity.
Section 4: Cognition and Organizational Behaviour
The most effective changes a person can make in their
workplace are the ones that allow employees to be more
efficient. Sometimes, the business owner is unaware of what
fixes will benefit employees most. When you let your
employees in on the decision-making process, you can learn a
lot of valuable information. Due to provision of ideas, they tend
to be more productive. Being involved in decisions takes away

17. the resentment and bad feelings that are often present when
employees are always told what to do. Many businesses can
become stagnant if they don’t listen to employee needs
(Bourgeois-Bougrine et al., 2018).
When you listen, your entire team can embrace change and stay
relevant. Regularly asking for ideas on new technology, such as
employee self-service software, and systems that could improve
your business is a great way to keep your business on the
cutting edge. Enabling employees to manage their own time will
also give them a renewed sense of responsibility.
To engage employees, you have to get to know them on a
personal level. This by itself will improve your relations with
them. When you stay on top of employee details like schedule
preferences and how they prefer to communicate, they will feel
appreciated and have more job satisfaction. When you empower
employees, everyone wins. You can gather important
information on improvements they would like to see, and enable
change. Initiative ideas like using employee self-service
software and providing work from home options can often come
directly from your team (Bourgeois-Bougrine et al., 2018).
As a manager, I will Gain feedback from the team to assess
sources of strife. Examples of problems include one group
member being unresponsive, an inability to meet deadlines,
conflict over how best to proceed on the project and personality
clashes. Boost teamwork abilities by outlining clear roles for
each of the members. Before the project commences, work with
the members to outline skill sets and deadline charts. Delineate
responsibilities according to ability (Bourgeois-Bougrine et al.,
2018).
References
Bourgeois-Bougrine, S., Latorre, S., & Mourey, F. (2018).
Promoting creative imagination of non-expressed needs:
exploring a combined approach to enhance design thinking.
Creativity Studies, 11(2), 377-394.

18. Davidson, D., Paine, A. E., Glasby, J., Williams, I., Tucker, H.,
Crilly, T. & Seamark, D. (2019). Understanding community
hospitals: dynamic local contexts. In Analysis of the profile,
characteristics, patient experience and community value of
community hospitals: a multimethod study. NIHR Journals
Library.
Kuvaas, B., Buch, R., & Dysvik, A. (2018, August). Individual
variable pay for performance, incentive effects, and employee
motivation. In annual meeting of the Academy of Management,
Chicago, USA.
Sonnino, R. E. (2016). Health care leadership development and
training: progress and pitfalls. Journal of healthcare
leadership, 8, 19.