May 26, 2009
Health Administration Section
Note from the Chair: Sharing what we learn
Bud Nicola, Chair, Health Administration Section

As health administrators and managers we shape our current activities to achieve longer term goals. It’s important to take time away from day-to-day demands to think strategically about the direction of the organization and a longer view of our aspirations and plans to get there. This is usually done in a strategic plan. For those of you who have not looked at the Health Administration Section’s most recent strategic plan, here are the vision and mission statements from that plan:

Vision
The APHA Health Administration Section will be a cutting edge forum for public health administrators providing timely and reliable information on the best practices of health administration and by providing interactive networking and mentoring opportunities and skill building for members and future members.

Mission
The mission of the APHA Health Administration Section is to promote the public's health by advancing the quality and practice of health administration.

There are many ways to provide timely and reliable information on the best practices of health administration. Sharing knowledge through our scientific sessions at the APHA Annual Meeting has certainly been a principle focus of the Section. And this year’s scientific sessions promise to once again be a rich source of stimulation to improve your management practice.

Another way of improving a knowledge base is through measurement and thoughtful reflection about our best practices – and the sharing of this learning through publication. A number of Section members are now working on articles for a special issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice to be published in April of 2010. Here’s a preview. Articles will include: overviews of management theory in the areas of competencies for evidence-based decision making and organizational change; integrating evaluation into local public health; cultivating leadership skills in your organization; using executive WalkRounds format as a leadership strategy; using the Web-based learning management system,  TRAIN, to improve system effectiveness; looking at the case for an undergraduate certificate in public health; integration of prevention into specialty practices in tertiary health care centers; using financial indicators to improve the overall management of health departments; improving the competencies of governing boards; and the use of strategic planning to improve organizational effectiveness. The issue will also include expert commentaries from the sages of our field.

Yet another way of sharing this knowledge is something we will be scheduling over the remaining months of this year: Webinars focused on some of the most current and pressing topics of the day.

These are only a few of the ways that Section leaders and members are working to help improve the practice of health administration. Let me know what you want to work on.