First Semester

This afternoon, I was looking at my blog to check the most recent articles of the blogs on my list, and I noticed a comment. First, surprised that I had a comment, then even more surprised that there was a request for a blog entry. In response, here are my answers to a few questions.

• Quantitative Methods
• Statistics
• This class was a basic overview of descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, and multi-variable regression. After two years of stats in high school and four semesters during my undergraduate degree, this class was pretty easy for me. It is known to be the most difficult class in the program, but if you are familiar with statistics it really isn't anything too different. My professor was apply to give us very practical examples.
• Operations Management
• This half of the quant class was focused more on productivity and staffing, queuing theory, and continuous quality improvement concepts (with a brief overview in six sigma) . We were able to hear from a number of guest speakers of how they use quantitative analysis in their day to day responsibilities of their jobs.
• Institutional Management
• This class was one of the best overviews of the healthcare industry and the various aspects of a healthcare facility. We discussed management theory, various professions in the industry, and the role of administrators. The professor made sure to keep good discussions going, as well as, practical cases.
• Seminar in Professional Development
• This was an hour long class where we discussed how to behave and act in a professional setting. We covered everything from business correspondence to how to introduce yourself. It sounds like common sense stuff, but learning about all the details has proven to be very effective.
• Health Services Organization and Policy I
• This was an interesting class. In some aspects it was very similar to our institutional management class, but really focused more on the industry as a whole and current trends. We were able to learn about healthcare systems in other nations and understand why the U.S. healthcare system (or lack thereof) is they way it is.
• Financial Management for Decision Making
• This was a very basic finance class. Really we learned different ratios, cost structures, reimbursement structures, and how to analyze balance sheets and income statements. I am looking forward to our second finance class during our last semester.