See the graphic "Policy Analysis Process and Health Professions" model on page xi of the McLaughlin and McLaughin book. What skills for policy analysis and decision making will you leave class with this week that can be useful to your career?

The expectation of taking this course, both in its duration and afterwards; is the eventual demonstration of an acquired ability to analyze data and make informed recommendations, which in turn trains one to be a problem solver while working in both a team to achieve a common a goal as exercised in week five or working alone to learn and practice helping to align future employer/firm’s policy and action(s) alongside federal and state statutory lines.

As stated in my week one in response to the question of how my interest is related to workplace goals “I plan to share accumulated knowledge of other systems’ viable results attained from interning and class room information, to make recommendations to fix the increasingly worsening state of health care in Nigeria and partake in the correcting of identified issues in the system. My focus with be in health and tech, this is a veritable smorgasbord for collaborative effort in bringing healthcare to millions. The senate has been poised to pass several bills regulating and promoting healthcare services and such, but the implementation and enforcement are lacking” in retrospect, I now see in finer detail what is needed and who the players are in this core portions of healthcare.

According to McLaughlin et al, participation in policy discussions and analysis is key to preparation for a role in leadership (2015), that is essentially what was done in class, the review of various policies, managerial decisions, the central and core responsibility to the patient, quality, the ever changing regulatory policies and governmental expectations, nonstop advances in health technology and a corollary of these changes is that, according to Deming’s approach, being healthcare is a field that will have high variability even without special cause variation (as cited by McLaughlin et al, 2015, p416).

In healthcare policy analysis, there is room to find opportunities brought on by changes in policies. Through the evaluation of the economic viability of proposed policies and proposed policy alternatives it is also possible to spot risks associated with these alternatives. There also is an inexplainably important need in the making of social connections; as information and influence are the ones that help drive policymaking, these include knowing people, sometimes interacting with these players and even occasionally preempting actions of various commissions, advisory bodies, trade associations, professional associations, public interest, consumer etcetera (Gostin, 1995).

In dealing with unavoidable uncertainties to ensure a desired outcome for the organization both in the present and the future, policy analysts must be able to share their extrapolations and communicate effectively what their search turned up for example discussing with peers, stakeholders even doing presentations for investors and other parties.

 Now I can better analyze policies and even the aspects that require continuous industry updating and improvement are clear, hence I have my work cut out for me.

Reference

Gostin, L. (1995). Society’s Choices: The Formulation of Health Policy by the Three Branches of Government. Pp335-336. Retrieved fromhttps://www.nap.edu/read/4771/chapter/17

 

McLaughlin, C.P. & McLaughlin, C.D. (2015). Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Jones and Bartlett. 2nd ed. Pp 297-417