News - Rutgers - School of Health Professions

Rutgers SHP Requirements for Graduation and Course Descriptions

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

BSHS/Health Care Management

IDST5900 - Scholarly & Technical Writing

Course Description

Effective writing is a core competency and an essential skill for health care professionals, managers and leaders. Within the framework of writing well and communicating effectively, this course is designed to develop and enhance students’ essential academic and scholarly writing skills. Students are introduced to principles of academic inquiry, evidenced-based argumentation, and pre-writing strategies to generate and clarify ideas. Through active participation, learners are expected to improve their academic and scholarly writing by enhancing the form, style, content and organization of sentences, paragraphs, and sections to ultimately craft clear, concise, and thorough final papers. Students will also participate in planning projects, critical analysis of data, literature reviews, and writing compelling papers reflective of a variety of best practices.

Credits/Modes of Instruction

Credits: 3

This three –credit course is web-based and will be delivered via our Canvas Web platform. This course runs for fifteen (15) weeks, with each week beginning on Tuesday and ending on the following Monday.

The mode of instruction is directed study. Directed study is an active learning method that emphasizes what the learner does, not the teacher. In this method, you engage the content via structured assignments and activities, i.e., you learn by doing. The instructor’s role is to (1) design the assignments and activities to ensure active learning, (2) prepare you for and direct you in assignment completion, (3) provide you with feedback on your achievement and progress, and (4) promote collaboration among all students via structured discussion and presentations.

Prerequisites

None

Course Goals and Outcomes:

Goals

The overall goal for this course is to introduce graduate students to the fundamental principles of effective written communication and scholarly writing skills, including the application of tools and techniques for synthesizing and critiquing materials from professional publications and incorporating evidenced-based sources within the context of managing health care organizations.

Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain basic concepts of writing and how they apply to the healthcare environment.

2. Identify field-specific writing conventions and evaluate the role of effective communication skills in healthcare management.

3. Collaborate with other health care professionals in evaluating peer writing and communication skills.

4. Conceptualize, identify, define, and propose an extended independent project proposal.

5. Customize the design and development process for a document project in accordance with professional standards, specifications, and style guides.

6. Access and evaluate a variety of databases and navigate systems with fluency and efficiency.

7. Present, compare and interpret research findings with clarity, authority and academic integrity.

8. Analyze and demonstrate fluency in the writing process: prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing, and preparing final papers.

9. Demonstrate competence in the varied elements of writing: thesis, stance, content, organization, sentences, diction, persuasive argumentation, and technical matters.

10. Synthesize and critique material from a variety of sources with an emphasis on scholarly, professional publications; incorporate evidenced-based sources; document sources properly.

11. Evaluate and demonstrate how writing contributes to their development as health professionals.