The capstone assignment, as its name indicates, is a critical course component because it demonstrates your ability to analyze, synthesize and utilize critical thinking skills. In addition, successful completion of the capstone must demonstrate your mastery and application of the course learning outcomes. This mandatory assignment must receive a passing grade (60% or better) for you to pass the course. Your capstone investigates some aspect of the health care business. Since this is a 4000-level course, you are provided with a considerable amount of flexibility in determining your topic; your topic and research statement must be approved by me by the end of M2. Capstones are designed to synthesize the concepts and principles learned during the course of study for HCM 4200 Health Care Business. They apply course concepts in a real life situation as a culmination of learning. With prior approval, your capstone paper will address a topic relevant to this course. The paper will consist of seven sections and will be 15-20 pages in length (including reference page and any tables or graphs). The Capstone for this course will use the following guidelines: Neatly typed in Microsoft Word, double spaced, 12-point font, and should not exceed 20 pages. The executive summary is the only section to be single-spaced. Place all tables and graphs in an appendix and refer to the tables or graphs in the body of the text. Make sure that all tables and graphs have an appropriate title. Sections of the Capstone paper Executive summary: Create an executive summary for your paper, including the purpose or the main issue that you are addressing, the main points, and your conclusions. The length of this section should be no more than one-half page of single-spaced text (12-point font), or about 300 words. Topic Description: Give a brief description of the business, economic, or public health aspect that you wish to write about. Include background information about your topic including some pertinent points and history about the topic. Assessment: Describe your assessment of the business, economic, or public health topic. Recommendations: Explain your recommendations to improve a business situation or to enhance the health of others. Include an economic analysis (cost/benefit) of your recommendations. Conclusion: Summarize the issue with your recommendations and why your plan will be successful (usually no more than three paragraphs. Appendices and reference citation. Your capstone is due at the end of M7. Module-by-Module Deliverables M1: Topic M2: Research statement and preliminary research M3: None M4: Introduction and Outline M6: Upload your capstone for Turnitin Review M7: Capstone due Your capstone earns 100 points and is responsible for 30% of your course grade.
