Health and Human Services

Welcome to Composition: Writing with a Strategy! In this course, you will focus on three main topics: understanding purpose, context, and audience, writing strategies and techniques, and editing and revising. In addition, the first section, will offer review on core elements of the writing process, cross-cultural communication, as well as working with words and common standards and practices. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the seven competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Welcome to Introduction to Communication: Connecting with Others! It may seem like common knowledge that communication skills are important, and that communicating with others is inescapable in our everyday lives. While this may appear simplistic, the study of communication is actually complex, dynamic, and multifaceted. Strong communication skills are invaluable to strengthening a multitude of aspects of life. Specifically, this course will focus on communication in the professional setting, and present material from multiple vantage points, including communicating with others in a variety of contexts, across situations, and with diverse populations. Upon completion, you will have a deeper understanding of both your own and others’ communication behaviors, and a toolbox of effective behaviors to enhance your experience in the workplace.

Health, Fitness, and Wellness focuses on the importance and foundations of good health and physical fitness—particularly for children and adolescents—addressing health, nutrition, fitness, and substance use and abuse.

In this course you will learn key critical thinking concepts and how to apply them in the analysis and evaluation of reasons and evidence. The course examines the basic components of an argument, the credibility of evidence sources, the impact of bias, and how to construct an argument that provides good support for a claim. The course consists of an introduction and four major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the four competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

This course is a foundational introduction to the biological sciences. The overarching theories of life from biological research are explored as well as the fundamental concepts and principles of the study of living organisms and their interaction with the environment. Key concepts include how living organisms use and produce energy; how life grows, develops, and reproduces; how life responds to the environment to maintain internal stability; and how life evolves and adapts to the environment.

This is Human Growth and Development, a three-module course that examines the entire human lifetime, from conception to death. Presented chronologically, the course focuses on three key areas: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, along with other important issues such as cultural influences, emotions, and resilience. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the four competencies covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge of this material, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Introduction to Systems Thinking for Health Professionals provides learners with the skills required to engage in a holistic systems-based approach to analyzing complex problems and solutions. This course introduces the foundational concepts and principles of systems thinking and provides opportunities to use a systems thinking approach to analyze and evaluate real-world case studies. The course will culminate with using systems thinking to develop a solution to an authentic complex problem. This course has no prerequisites, but general education math (C955 or C957) is preferred. Because the course is self-paced, learners may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as needed, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the five competencies covered in the final assessment. If learners have no prior knowledge of this material, they can expect to spend 30 to 40 hours on the course content.

In this course, students will develop an understanding of psychology and how it helps them better understand others and themselves. Students will learn general theories about psychological development, the structure of the brain, and how psychologists study behavior. They will gain an understanding of both normal and disordered psychological behaviors, as well as general applications of the science of psychology in society (such as personality typing and counseling).

Applied Healthcare Probability and Statistics is designed to help develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic mathematics, introductory algebra, and statistics and probability. These concepts include basic arithmetic with fractions and signed numbers; introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are now commonplace in the healthcare field. This course will help candidates make informed decisions about which studies and results are valid, which are not, and how those results affect your decisions. This course will give candidates background in what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, this course guides candidates in calculating simple probabilities based on events which occur in the healthcare profession. This course will prepare candidates for studies at WGU, as well as in the healthcare profession.

Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology provides an overview of the structures and functions of organs and systems of the human body. This course will explore how the parts of the body systems work together to produce movement, transport nutrients, eliminate wastes, protect vital tissues and organs, regulate bodily functions, and support reproduction and growth, through videos, readings, exploratory learning, and practice activities.

Introduction to Pharmacology will introduce learners to medication and supplement regulations and safety protocols. It provides an overview of the use, benefits, effects, and contraindications of commonly used drugs to treat conditions of the cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, nervous, and renal body systems. It also explores the types of anti-infective, antineoplastic, psychotropic drugs, and dietary supplements and their effects on the body.

Medical Terminology focuses on the basic components of medical terminology and how terminology is used when discussing various body structures and systems. Proper use of medical terminology is critical for accurate and clear communication among medical staff, health professionals, and patients. In addition to the systems of the body, this course will discuss immunity, infections, mental health, and cancer.

Healthcare Ecosystems examines how the aims and elements of the healthcare ecosystem can affect client and patient outcomes. The course explores the main aims of healthcare access, affordability, and quality and how regulators, providers, producers, and funders (such as payors or purchasers) support those aims. The course also examines insurance regulations and reimbursement procedures that affect healthcare access and affordability and decision-making processes that support affordable, quality care for clients and communities. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Care for Individuals and Families focuses on the holistic care of individuals, families, and populations with multifaceted healthcare needs. This course improves critical thinking and interdisciplinary communication skills to provide information to individuals or groups in a variety of settings. The focus of the course is on managing the transition of an individual, family, or group through a variety of healthcare settings, which can include acute care hospitals, extended stay facilities, ambulatory care clinics, home care, outreach, or wellness. This course helps students develop effective professional communication skills and appropriate behaviors to ensure an individual, family, or group is successful in meeting its healthcare goals. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Healthcare Values and Ethics requires students to synthesize an interdisciplinary approach to decision-making as it applies to health and human services. This course explores the contemporary issues facing health professionals, which include ethics, regulations and compliance, and handling protected healthcare information. In this course, learners will develop their ability to make ethical decisions in collaborative care environments and working within a team. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Financial Resource Management and Healthcare Reimbursement examines financial practices and reimbursement types within the healthcare industry. This course covers the analysis of regulations required for health reimbursements. This course also covers the evaluation of effective revenue cycle management, focusing on the organization’s financial stability. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Health Literacy for the Client and Family helps students recognize the importance of health literacy in overcoming healthcare barriers and creating patient-focused changes through family and patient empowerment. This course demonstrates how education, research, and technology all integrate and serve as a foundation for students as they create effective resources to improve health literacy for patients and families. This course helps students become advocates for their patients and their patients’ families. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Models of Care and Healthcare Trends is a course for health professionals in a variety of roles in the health and human services industry, which examines the unique characteristics of healthcare models in the United States and emerging trends created by social and political drivers. The course explores the evolution of healthcare models from fragmented systems to cohesive, quality-centric, and client-focused systems. The course also focuses on innovative trends, such as access to care, telemedicine, and subsequent shifts in the continuum of care as it relates to patient or client outcomes. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Community Relations and Leadership focuses on analyzing community health and human services’ needs to create change. As emerging leaders, students will learn to engage in collaborative approaches with various stakeholders to achieve positive outcomes. This course helps students develop their abilities to interpret community health needs assessments, make decisions, and bring stakeholders together to advance access to health and human services. This course has no prerequisites.

Introduction to Health and Human Services explores representative roles and responsibilities of health and human service professionals and key governmental entities involved in Health and Human Services delivery. The course also examines the importance of understanding clients’ illnesses and disabilities, building trust with clients, and engagement models that promote client outcomes. There are no prerequisites for this course.

History of Healthcare in America will examine individuals such as Henrietta Lacks, Ryan White, Clara Barton, and Katie Beckett, who influenced healthcare in the United States, from its inception to the present day. This course examines how specific individuals and their contributions influenced healthcare delivery and the continued evolution of healthcare, teaching from a system or a value-based care perspective. The course also focuses on the way healthcare interacted with culture, politics, and society throughout U.S. history and evaluates current challenges we face in the U.S. healthcare system today. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Evidence-Based Practice for Health and Human Services prepares the learner to apply evidence-based practice (EBP) to inform healthcare recommendations in out-patient, organizational, and other public health settings. Learners will be introduced to an EBP framework to guide them through the steps of EBP using real world scenarios. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Introduction to Gerontology will introduce learners to health issues that are typically associated with the older adult population so they can become familiar with health challenges this population may face. The learners will gain an understanding of the effects that policy and legislation have on the older adult population. Emphasis is placed on the importance of maintaining the dignity of older adults by focusing on cultural and communication needs, and by collaborating on care with older adults, families, and caregivers. There are no prerequisites for this course.

End-of-Life Care focuses on the Connected Care model as it applies to the final stage of life. This course will explore ethnic and cultural factors that affect an individual’s response to death and dying. This course will cover planning and implementing ideal interventions to help individuals, families, and groups cope and agree on a common care goal. This course will also discuss empathy and compassion in healthcare. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Introduction to Epidemiology provides an overview of the determinants of communicable, viral, and chronic diseases. Students also will study various other conditions and the impact to public health. Using problem-based inquiry, students will analyze real-world public health problems by examining the distribution and patterns of data, selecting the methods to gather evidence, interpreting the information, and analyzing the trends to support decision making. There are no prerequisites to this course, but students are highly encouraged to adhere to the standard path, whose content is scaffolded to enhance the learning experience of this course.

Community and Public Health provides learners with an understanding of the benefits community health offers individuals and families. The course also will identify barriers that will impact health and healthcare access, leading to improved community health. There are no prerequisites for this course.

The Health and Human Services Professional Field Experience course provides students with real-world experiences as a health services professional via the virtual world of simulation. The course allows students to conduct their field experience in a variety of different contexts they will find themselves, depending on their professional career choices in the health services’ industry. All program coursework leads to this course. This course is eligible for an In Progress grade. Please see the Grading Scale Policy for more information.

Team Dynamics explores interpersonal communication strategies, collaborative team interactions methods, and problem-solving techniques to promote effective communication and improve quality outcomes in a professional environment. In this course, students will apply psychologically-sound approaches for resolving conflicts, allowing them to navigate challenging workplace disagreements and personalities. Students in this course will apply their skills to various situations. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Cultural Awareness and Ethics provides students with the understanding of what it means to have personal, explicit and implicit cultural biases and how these can affect interpersonal interactions. The course will explore strategies for responding to personal biases and for promoting cultural awareness and ethical actions. Through critical readings, videos, and interactive activities, the student will gain knowledge in these essential subjects. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health examines the social determinants of health (SDOH) as underlying factors that contribute to health inequity in populations and communities and their effect on health outcomes. This course will help students understand the evidence-based strategies and approaches that promote health equity. D581 Introduction to Research Methods is a prerequisite to this course.

Mental Health Awareness and Education is designed to help students recognize mental disorders, improve access to mental health services, support recovery, and lower the rate of death, disease, and disability among those with mental illnesses. Topics include mental health education programs, mental health stigmas, cultural diversity in mental health, and barriers to mental health care and strategies to overcome those barriers. Students will analyze these topics from the vantage point of a community mental health perspective. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Understanding Substance Abuse and Addiction provides an overview of substance abuse causes, impact, prevention, and treatment. Students will understand the signs and symptoms of substance abuse and addiction and its impact on individuals, groups, and the community. Students will analyze relevant factors that initiate and reinforce substance abuse and addiction and describe evidence-based strategies for prevention, intervention, and treatment. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Career and Lifelong Learning supports students in taking their first steps in a lifelong journey of development as a professional. Students will explore career pathways, plan how best to achieve their desired professional future, and take tangible steps toward that future by creating career growth materials that adhere to today’s best practices. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Learning Strategies in Higher Education provides students with a toolbox of skills that will support student academic growth as they advance in their academic journey. Students will be introduced to the WGU Library; how to use it and best practices for research strategies. Students will learn how to be professional in written communication and how to correctly use current APA format. In this course, students also will learn about setting goals, time-management, study strategies, making and keeping appointments, professional decorum, and test-taking skills. Learning these skills, strategies, and methods will establish an academic foundation for students to be successful in higher education. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Health Services Professional Capstone will provide learners the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to communicate in a professional manner that supports high quality, safe client services. Learners will also engage in career and professional development within the health and human services industry. All program coursework leads to this course.