Course Description

This course focuses on current research issues in healthcare management. This course will be conducted as a combination of a seminar and/or independent study course. Readings and activities (discussions, assignments) are intended to provide an overview of the most pressing issues and gaps in several content areas of the field, while at the same time developing skills for critically evaluating research designs, methodologies, interpretations and overall the contribution of published studies to advancing scholarship and practice. Through taking this course students will be well positioned to identify and develop a promising research program – with exposure and discussions to ongoing debates and issues within the field. Discussions will provide students with the opportunity to strengthen skills in:

1. Developing and communicating arguments, listening, and understanding and critiquing the views of others, while expanding knowledge of the field;

2. Critical thinking and writing;

3. Developing rigorous research designs; and

4. Building a strong theoretical foundation for research studies.