For those able to attend the Annual Meeting in San Antonio, you must agree that the keynote speakers, the professional content, the networking opportunities, and the city’s amenities all exceeded expectations. How about that for shameless self-promotion? Seriously, it was a good meeting as evidenced by the satisfaction results that you proved (discussed elsewhere in the Exchange). As usual, you noted things we can do better but as a whole were largely satisfied and particularly liked the networking opportunities that the Annual Meeting provides.
As I talked with new attendees, regular attendees and old friends, and as I attended as many of the sessions as I could, Engagement, Transparency and Strategy emerged as key themes. While many other topics and issues arose, these three kept surfacing in a number of ways. Let me say a few words about each because they have been items that we all struggle with, I suspect. I still don’t have resolution but I think we can address collectively.
Engagement is one of those terms that have multiple meanings. The primary definition is “a promise to wed.” As we use the term, it involves the second definition, “an emotional involvement or commitment.” We talk about efforts to assure that our students are fully engaged in the learning process. For students, this implies they do more than come to class and pass exams. They achieve competencies from the didactic classes and absorb the culture of healthcare in assorted activities in and out of the classroom. Similarly, we want faculty that are fully engaged in your program’s educational process. That implies they do more than teach classes, participate in scholarly activities and serve on committees. We want all faculty to be emotionally committed to the success of the program. As individual faculty or faculty leaders, we are looking for mechanisms to engage in the health management profession. The Annual Meeting is a place for participants to enhance engagement with their colleagues through lectures, panel discussions, fishbowls and both coffee breaks and receptions. I heard rumors that some actually furthered that engagement process at local bars. AUPHA seeks to maximize the engagement potential during our Annual Meeting and our other events and programs throughout the year. We are committed to finding ways for you to improve your students’ engagement in the learning process, thus increasing the value of the education you provide. We welcome suggestions. Please “engage us” in a dialogue regarding improvement in achieving greater member engagement on ways for us to engage more of you in the various activities.
Second, I heard about transparency. The formal definition implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. This theme has been central to debates about healthcare pricing, quality performance, and other outcome measures. It applies to our educational business practices at the program level. Programs should be transparent regarding the costs of education at the institution, the likely job prospects for students, and the difficulty/likelihood of successfully completing our programs. Most of these features are not controversial, although programs often keep revenue and expense information private for competitive purposes as does most any business. AUPHA has a role with regard to transparency, however. As an association, we have a responsibility to assist the potential students and their families, employers, government and society at large in making health management education outcomes as transparent as possible. Because we represent all programs, we can characterize the state of the industry as a whole by reporting in aggregate enrollments, graduation rates, employment rates and even career progression. This service to the outside market also helps to demonstrate the scale and scope of the health management education enterprise. This reporting responsibility depends upon the compliance of our members in reporting, accurately, program information. That collection and reporting of program information was discussed and generally agreed upon during the Gradate Faculty breakfast on Thursday and at other times throughout the week. We will use this confidential information to support the industry as a whole.
Finally, the issue of strategy came up repeatedly during the week in San Antonio. AUPHA like many of its member programs has many activities ongoing. As I outlined in the Annual Report, we have a number of programs and activities that are not yet complete. HAMPCAS, Benchmarking, Body of Knowledge and our Network are all worthy efforts that require additional attention before their benefits can be realized. However, many of you, our constituents, argue validly to add new initiatives. Before we launch new programs we need a clear sense of direction and focus and both the time and resources to finish the things we have started over the years. The Board agreed to begin a strategic planning process during the upcoming year so watch your messages for further information on ways you can assist us in this effort.
Please enjoy the rest of your summer and get rejuvenated for the Fall Semester that comes sooner than we all think.
Jerry