Curriculum model for associate degree programs in HIM, Part III: Focus on educational outcomes and curricular content

This is the last in a series of three articles that discuss curriculum models for associate and baccalaureate degree programs in health information management (HIM). Part I discussed the development of the models and presented a composite summary of key sections within the models. Part II focused on the baccalaureate degree curriculum model sections, which addressed educational outcomes, curricular content, and clinical experience expectations. Part III addresses these same sections, but in regard to the associate degree curriculum model.

Curriculum model for baccalaureate degrees programs in HIM, Part II: Focus on educational outcomes and curriculum content

This the second in a series of three articles discussing curriculum models for associate and baccalaureate degree programs in health information management (HIM). Part I discussed the development of the models and presented a composite summary of selected key sections within the models. Part II focuses on the educational outcomes, curriculum content, and clinical experience expectations for the baccalaureate degree curriculum model. Part III will do the same for the associate degree curriculum model.

The teaching of health statistics: meeting the needs of a changing practice

The findings of the study did support the faculty's hypotheses. First, only 50% of the hospitals retain responsibility for the statistical function. This finding was, however, affected by the size of the hospital, with 100% of the hospitals of 400 beds or less retaining such responsibility. Second, the findings showed that only 12.5% of the hospitals had entirely manual statistical systems. However, 50% of the hospitals did compile some statistics manually, including the daily hospital census and discharge service statistics. Finally, in looking at the UT Memphis statistics curriculum and those of 14 other medical record administration programs in the Southeast, the hypothesis that curricula did not mirror this changing practice was confirmed. Although 100% of the programs surveyed had students memorize statistical formulas, only 36% had students working with computers in the statistics course. Of the 14 programs, only 6 specifically covered QA of statistical data in the statistics course, and 9 did not deal at all with how to assess the adequacy of policies and procedures for gathering statistical information. As a result of these findings, UT Memphis has modified its statistical course to increase the emphasis on computerization, QA, and assessment of statistical policies and procedures. These changes will better prepare the UT Memphis graduate for the statistical responsibilities that they will face in the workplace.