Health Science (HSC)

HSC 631:  Aging in Place    (3 credits)  
This course focuses on supports and barriers to aging in place. The importance of assisting older adults to age productively within his or her own environment and the role of interdisciplinary coordination of care is investigated. Topics include social interaction, community mobility, accessibility, and intergenerational relationships.
HSC 633:  Chronic Disease Management for the Older Adult Population    (3 credits)  
The unique challenges of older adults living with chronic diseases will be explored. Economic costs and impact on communities, healthcare system, and society will be studied. Focus is on evidence-based interventions to prevent, support, and assist older adults with chronic illness living in community and institutional settings.
HSC 635:  Specialized Assessment for the Older Adult Population    (3 credits)  
Focus is on the role of measurement and the importance of evidence-based outcome measures for assessment in the older adult population. Specialized assessments and outcome measures will be discussed, including documenting change in one or more constructs over time, assessing and describing complex and comorbid conditions, formulating prognoses, and evaluating the effects of interventions at the individual and population level.
HSC 637:  Neuroscience of Aging and Impact on Mental Health    (3 credits)  
Focus is on the unique challenges of mental health diagnoses, including cognitive impairments, superimposed upon the aging process. Neuroscience concepts related to aging, the psychopathology of later life, and intervention strategies for older adults with a mental health diagnosis are discussed.
HSC 640:  Bioethics and Case Law    (3 credits)  
This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to bioethical issues in healthcare from a jurisprudential, philosophical, religious, and sociological perspective. Landmark legal cases in bioethics are explored to provide insight into controversial moral problems that arise at the intersection of law and healthcare delivery. Topics include, but are not limited to, reproductive rights; vaccine research, distribution, and requirements; regulation of research with human tissues; innovative or experimental therapies; public health ethics, including access, justice, allocation, and the limits of state authority; and end-of-life care, including withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments, brain death, and organ donation.
HSC 641:  Clinical Ethics    (3 credits)  
This three-part course provides students with practical training in the clinical components of ethics consultation. In Part 1, students undertake a general exploration of the theory, method, and aims of clinical ethics, as well as the place of clinical ethics consultations therein. In Part 2, students review approaches to ethical analysis in case consultation to gain insight into the merits of these approaches and learn to apply them to clinical cases. In Part 3, students study the Core Competencies of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities' Healthcare Ethics Consultant - Certified (HEC-C) Program.
HSC 642:  Global Bioethics    (3 credits)  
This course examines the globalization of bioethics and addresses the relationship between universal moral principles (moral universalism) and particular cultural issues (moral particularism). Topics include, but are not limited to, informed consent, prenatal life, clinical trials, pharmaceutical access, disaster preparedness, resource allocation, organ trafficking, genetic enhancement, and end-of-life issues. Frameworks for making justified ethical decisions in culturally-diverse contexts are explored and case studies are presented for practice in the application of interdisciplinary global bioethics theory.
HSC 643:  Organizational Ethics in Healthcare    (3 credits)  
This course examines ethical issues in the organization and delivery of healthcare. It includes an overview of business ethics in healthcare, as well as ethical issues in risk management, corporate compliance, patient safety, and healthcare quality. The course focuses on the integration of clinical, professional, and organizational ethics in healthcare to foster culturally competent, patient-centered care. Students consider relevant standards in the field, including, but not limited to, the Joint Commission’s accreditation standards for hospitals. Students will consider the shifting parameters of the provider-patient relationship in healthcare and understand the role of government in designing and implementing healthcare programs.
HSC 701:  Leadership Theory in Healthcare    (3 credits)  
The purpose of this course is to explore leadership theories in the context of the changing healthcare environment. The student will develop a theoretical position regarding how to be an effective leader in a variety of healthcare and organizational settings.
HSC 702:  The U.S. Healthcare System: Past, Present, and Future    (3 credits)  
Investigate the dynamic nature of the U.S. healthcare system through the examination of healthcare laws and policies over time. Analyze key changes and watershed moments from an ethical perspective with a focus on application to the current environment and impact on the future of healthcare in the U.S.
HSC 703:  Applied Statistics for Health Sciences    (3 credits)  
This course covers the selection, application, and interpretation of basic statistical tests and procedures applicable to healthcare research topics. Topics include data, variables, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, correlations, t test, Fischer’s F test, and the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
HSC 705:  Transformational Leadership in a Complex Healthcare Organization    (3 credits)  
This course is designed to aid individuals in becoming transformational leaders. It serves as a comprehensive resource in developing the foundational, conceptual, interpersonal, and practical disposition essential to inculcate transformation leadership skills and abilities.
HSC 707:  Policy Leadership for Healthcare Transformation    (3 credits)  
This course explores the potential for healthcare transformation within the diverse context of the U.S. health system, the public policy environment, and the communities served. Leadership and policy strategies are highlighted that align resources to meet goals while following ethical principles.
HSC 710:  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Healthcare    (3 credits)  
Develop leadership competencies and apply current research to diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in healthcare organizations. Investigate the link between diversity and excellence in healthcare.
HSC 713:  Quantitative Research Methods    (3 credits)  
This course is designed to introduce students to quantitative research methods. Students will develop the skills necessary to formulate appropriate quantitative research questions, collect quantitative data, select appropriate statistical analyses, and analyze quantitative data.
HSC 715:  Qualitative Research Methods    (3 credits)  
This course is designed to introduce students to qualitative research methods. Students will develop the skills necessary to formulate appropriate qualitative research questions, collect qualitative data, and analyze qualitative data.
HSC 717:  Health Behavior Theory, Research, and Practice    (3 credits)  
Examine health behavior, including the intersection of health and community, culture, and communication from a theoretical perspective. The importance of theory, research, and practice and the interrelationships among them to improve the health of populations are examined.
HSC 791:  Research Project I    (3 credits)  
This course will review proposal components, with particular emphasis on research design and developing the literature review, and will also focus on key issues such as research project format standards, time management demands, committee formation, IRB training, and project management. Students must submit their IRB proposal for institutional approval.
Prerequisite: HSC713 and HSC715  
HSC 793:  Research Project II    (3 credits)  
Doctoral students will be guided and assisted in the completion of research data collection, data analysis, conclusions, recommendations, and preparations for final methodology review.
Prerequisite: HSC 791  
HSC 795:  Research Project III    (3 credits)  
A continuation of HSC 793, doctoral students will be guided in the completion of edits required by the research project committee and methodology review, and preparation for the project defense.
Prerequisite: HSC 793  
HSC 797:  Research Continuation    (0 credits)  
This course is required for any student who has not successfully completed all of the required coursework for HSC 791, HSC 793, or HSC 795. Note: Students are required to maintain continuous enrollment until they receive a passing grade in the course they did not finish. Students making continued progress will receive a satisfactory grade (S) in HSC 797. Students who fail to make continued progress will receive an unsatisfactory grade (U). These grades have no effect on grade point average (GPA) but do appear on the student transcript. Students who have not successfully completed the required coursework for HSC 791, HSC 793, or HSC 795 will be notified that they are enrolled in dissertation continuation. Students required to take HSC 797 Research Continuation will be enrolled automatically and receive a bill for the HSC 797 Research Continuation fee, unless they Withdraw or Stop Out. Continuous enrollment in HSC 797 Research Continuation is required until a student completes and passes the required coursework in the course they did not finish.