Health Care Conflict Resolution

The Health Care Conflict Resolution concentration focuses on the complex interactions between patients, families, health care provider systems, communities, and society at large. In their course work, students and professionals are taught the essentials of biopsychosocial theory, practice, and collaboration. Courses cover a variety of important topics such as the relationship between politics, economics, and patient care; alternative and traditional health care delivery systems; medical conditions throughout the life cycle and their impact on patients and their families, including possible areas of conflict; human systems in health care settings, and bereavement and loss across cultures which also focuses on end-of-life decisions. This specialization prepares professionals to offer health care conflict resolution in a variety of settings, including hospitals, community clinics, and managed care companies.

Students in the concentration program have ample opportunities to gain practical expertise through classroom learning and hands-on clinical and service experiences. Specific areas of study include adjustment patterns of patients and their families to chronic and acute illnesses and what type of conflict might arise; models of collaboration between mediators, clients, families, and health care professionals; the role of health care mediation in the continuum of medical services; and brief interventions and systemic assessments useful in the resolution of conflicts between clients, their families and the larger health care system. Additionally, the program emphasizes professional development by assisting students in strengthening their personal qualities necessary for successful participation in the medical milieu.

The student's growth as a reflective practitioner is encouraged through clinical applications of theory in the areas of doctor/patient/family/larger system communication; adjustments to acute, chronic, or terminal illness; social effects and ethical dilemmas of new medical technologies; and other issues that transcend historical distinctions between physical treatment and psychosocial interventions. Program faculty and students cooperate to present or publish research findings and clinical experiences.

The concentration in Health Care Conflict Resolution is offered in both on-campus and online formats. These flexible formats allow mid?career working adults, and those unable to attend the on-campus program, to study in a creative, rigorous, and structured fashion. Students enrolled in the online program participate in Residential Institutes on the Fort Lauderdale campus twice per year, as well as online Web-based courses and individualized, independent studies. Students must apply to either the on-campus or online program. Students can switch formats at the beginning of a trimester, but not mid-trimester.

Admissions
Any student enrolled in the M.S. or Ph.D. program in Conflict Analysis & Resolution can elect to concentrate in Health Care Conflict Resolution.

Degree Plans
In addition to degree requirements, students must complete the following coursework to receive a Concentration in Health Care Conflict Resolution:

  • HCCR 5000 - Health Care Conflict Resolution I
  • HCCR 5010 - Health Care Conflict Resolution II
  • CARM/CARD 6130 - Practicum I (must be done in a health care setting)
  • CARM/CARD 6160 - Practicum II (must be done in a health care setting)
  • HCCR 5500 - Politics and Economics of Health Care Systems
  • HCCR 5300 - Health Care Concepts
  • HCCR 6400- Understanding Human Systems in Health Care Settings

HCCR classes will be credited towards required electives in the student’s degree program provided the entire concentration program is completed. If students do not complete the concentration requirements, they will have to enroll in electives with prefix CARM/CARD.