HEALTH CARE FINANCE
NURS 5303
3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course will enable you to learn the basics of current finance theory and tools to practice in managing health care on a day-to-day basis.

Course Objectives:

1.   Apply the basic principles of financial and managerial accounting as practice within health care organizations.
2.   Analyze the composition of financial statements.
3.   Use basic managerial decision making processes based on cost, service, and outcome.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

Admission to the RODP-MSN program or permission of Coordinator. 

Course Topics:

1. Health care environment
2. Income statements
3. Analyzing financial performance
4. Cost allocation
5. Planning and budgeting

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:  http://rodp.bkstr.com

Supplementary Materials:

Assigned periodicals, documents, and Internet online articles. 

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Secific hardware requirements for this course include...

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Secific hardware requirements for this course include...(A list of software the student is required to purchase or download for the course, Real Player, Media Player, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, etc).

Instructor Information

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

All course requirements are submitted online and will include short answers related to the required reading material. Two online exams will be given in this course. The dates for the exam will be posted on the course calendar.  Students are required to complete the exam by the posted date. Exam format may consist of short answer and essay type questions. The instructor will post the exam blue prints via email at least two (2) weeks prior to the exam date.

Grading Procedure:

Chapter questions                        25%
Discussion questions                    20%
Mid-term exam                            20%
Final exam                                   35%

Each question submitted via assignment drop box is worth 1 point. The turn around time for grading will be 5 days.  Exams will be graded within 10 days.  All assignments and discussions will follow the due dates as posted in the calendar.

Grading Scale:

A  = 93-100
B  = 85-92
C  = 77-84
D  = 70-76
F  = <70

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Each module contains at least one question to be answered and submitted via the assignment drop box for grading.  Each module also contains at least one discussion question to be answered and discussed via the discussion board.  Each student will be expected to answer/respond to the module questions posed. Since the point of the discussion is to encourage interaction between students, each student will be expected to reply/counter at least two (2) fellow student entries. Your response must shed insight or a new perspective and not just an "I agree" entry.    

Class Participation:

All students are expected to actively participate in online class discussions. Each discussion question posted will be assigned a date by which the student must respond.  If a student is unable to fulfill this requirement for any reason, he/she should notify the instructor prior to the class and make alternative arrangements.  The aim is to encourage interaction among students and faculty, not simply to present information. Students are required to respond to all discussion questions. Student responses to discussion questions must be substantive, that is, thoughtful and analytical. Students will be expected to respond to all questions asked within a module. The use of proper grammar, punctuation and spelling will be expected of each student.

Punctuality:

Students are expected to:
•         Check the course calendar for the due dates of assignments.
•         Check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements.

Course Ground Rules

The student is expected to:
•         Learn how to navigate in the WebCT system.
•         Participate by responding to all discussion questions.
•         Keep abreast of course announcements.
•         Use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address.
•         Contact the instructor if unclear about assignment expectations.
•         Address technical problems immediately.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Chat:

  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestion

Web Resources: 

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:
If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the Eduprise Help Desk by calling 1-866-550-7637 (toll free) or go to the website at:  http://askrodp.custhelp.com