California State University, Chico
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Scope of course: This course will apply management principles, including financing, personnel issues, and quality management, and marketing, to organizations within the emergency medical services system.

We will present techniques for responding to competitive procurements/RFPs and identify issues of concern of health care administrators regarding the emergency medical services system and potential opportunities for health institutions.

Web courses

This is a web-offered course. That is, the course content and activity will take place within a website. This site has been under construction for a while, and will continue to be developed during the semester. You will find a variety of resources, but the main content of the website may be thought of as class lectures and discussions.

CSU, Chico has adopted WebCT as the primary course environment for "web-enhanced" courses. Students enrolled in a WebCT-based course, may participate in online chats, bulletin boards and e-mail discussions, create their own student web-site and track their own progress through the course. WebCT is a rich "course environment" offering course calendar, glossary, index and searching capabilities. Classes may include lectures and other materials delivered via streaming audio or video.

The website for this class will include:

• course content pages
• private email (including attachments) within the class
• bulletin board for class discussion
• automatic grade tracking (you can check you grades at any point during the semester)
• links to the Web

On-line instruction:

On-line instruction differs from traditional classes in several ways. On the positive side, it allows students who aren't close to the campus to take classes. It allows working professionals to take classes on their own schedule, which is particularly important for those working various shifts in emergency services.

However, it places much of the responsibility for learning on the student instead of on the instructor. This class will consist of materials provided by the instructor, links to other resources, student "presentations," and on-line discussion. Although most students will be taking this class individually, some people may be close enough to other students to form study or discussion groups. We are physically separate, but WebCT allows us to communicate in a way that allows for "in-class" discussions.

Although WebCT is fairly easy to use, you may run into problems. Make sure that you use the FAQ lists and other resources and make sure that you communicate any problems to the instructor.

Reading materials

This books will not have a separate textbook. Web-based readings will be presented within class modules.

Projects and activities

Simulation (three parts):

• Ambulance deployment exercise: Application of system status management techniques to determine the ambulance configuration for a community.
• Budgeting exercise: Identification and analysis of the costs of implementing the above plan.
• Competitive procurement exercise: A simulation based on the above, including submission of the service plan and a sealed bid for a competitive bid to provide ambulance service and presentation of your proposal to the purchasing organization.

Class participation: Students are expected to actively participate in class activities and on-line discussions.

Readings: Students are expected to have read the assigned readings by the date indicated on the course schedule.

All assignments should be submitted as attachments, using WebCT's email system.

SIMULATION: (System design, Budget, & Competitive bid)

Assignment: I will provide information regarding the "Northern Rincon County EMS District." You will be responsible for designing the ambulance service for the District.

Content: This is a three part assignment. First, you will develop an ambulance deployment plan for the District. Next, you will determine the budget for your system design. Finally, you will submit a competitive bid to the District responding to a Request for Proposals.

Additional information on all of these will be provided later.

Grading

Class standards

This syllabus includes descriptions of each of the written assignments. General standards are described below. Students should ensure that papers and presentations include all of the required items and meet these standards.

Confidentiality: During this course, the instructor, or students may share information regarding specific organizations or individuals. Such information should be treated as confidential and not discussed outside of the classroom. If you are in doubt regarding the confidentiality of any information, consult the instructor.

Students must ensure that appropriate credit is given for all materials. Ideas taken from other persons must be properly cited. Any direct quote must be enclosed in quotation marks and must be cited. Any failure to follow these rules will result in no credit for the assignment and may result in further disciplinary action.

You should be aware that this class will be harder than most classes that you have taken. Assignments should be of the same quality that is expected of an employee in a professional position in the health care field. That means that grammar and spelling will be considered in grading assignments. It means that due dates and project specifications are taken seriously. It means that attendance is expected.

Written papers: All papers turned in for this course must comply with the following requirements:

• Use 81/2" x 11" paper, with one-inch margins on all sides.

• Papers should be typed, with all text, including quotes, double-spaced.
• Do not use covers or cover pages.
• Use a readable font with 10 characters to the inch. NOTE: This is not 10 pitch. If you aren’t sure, take a ruler, measure one inch and count the number of characters.
• Do not exceed the maximum length for the assignment.
• Papers should be free of typographical and spelling errors and should be grammatically correct.

Course Schedule and Assignments