Career Cornerstones: Establishing a Foundation for a Career in Healthcare

Reviewed by Amy Dore, Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 3/14/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text provides an overview of a wide range of topics that are essential for those who are starting their career in health care administration. The table of contents itself indicates that the book covers topics that are often challenging to teach, such as professionalism and life management, but are necessary for anyone working in the field of health care.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The authors use reliable scholarly sources and provide accurate references and attributions. There are no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors of notice in the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This content, published in 2023, offers easy adaptability and editing options to suit individual preferences. The book's presentation format is well-suited to the subject matter but can also be enhanced to incorporate emerging trends and up-to-date information in the healthcare industry. The authors extend an invitation to educators to personalize the textbook according to their requirements.

Clarity rating: 5

This book has a consistent and user-friendly format that makes it easy to navigate.

Consistency rating: 5

The book maintains a consistent approach throughout, ensuring reliability. The authors have structured each chapter uniformly, facilitating easy review. At the outset of each chapter, you can access learning objectives and resources. The graphs, tables, and charts are sound and easily identifiable. The conclusion of each chapter includes essential insights, a glossary, and an opportunity to assess understanding.

Modularity rating: 5

Whether utilizing the book in its original form or tailoring specific sections to suit the needs of a particular course, its intuitive design permits effortless adaptability. It is worth noting that the interactive content incorporated into each chapter necessitates online access to the book, as is comprehensively outlined at the outset. Students pursuing Healthcare Administration, Health Sciences, and Pre-Professional studies will undoubtedly discover the framework of this book to be a valuable asset in their academic pursuits.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is organized in a user-friendly and easy-to-follow manner, with appealing visual aids and important concepts and theories emphasized in bold font.

Interface rating: 4

This OER format was easy to navigate, keeping in mind the need for an internet connection to access hyperlinks when using the PDF or EPUB versions.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were noticed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The content and topics covered in this textbook are suitable for a wide range of students with varying needs and levels of understanding. The authors have made a conscious effort to incorporate cultural aspects in the text, including the significance of behavior, communication, and self-awareness in different healthcare settings.

Comments

I am thrilled to have found this OER text. With 22 years of experience in teaching at the college level, I have learned that it can be difficult to find textbooks that focus specifically on healthcare administration or healthcare professionals. I believe that this textbook can be easily adopted as an introductory textbook for healthcare students who are just starting their academic journey, or as a supplement for students in their senior experience to emphasize the importance of ethics, communication, professionalism, and life management.

Reviewed by Melinda Oxenford, Assistant Professor, Clarke University on 1/3/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text gives an introduction that is broad enough to cover multiple careers in healthcare while also touching on the importance of crucial characteristics such as professionalism, ethics, and communication.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

No concerns were noted here.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book’s outlook on various health professions should be easy to update and links to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the most up-to-date information. As this book talks about foundational components, it should be relevant for years to come.

Clarity rating: 5

This book easy to understand as an introductory resource. The only section that seemed a bit confusing was the beginning of the ethics chapter.

Consistency rating: 5

This text was consistent in the terminology used and also pointed out the caution needed when utilizing profession specific terminology.

Modularity rating: 5

Most of the chapters stand easily on their own. They could also be looked at in many combinations depending on course or project needs.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Overall, organization was good. The ethics chapter, while important, did not seem to flow or fit in as smoothly as the other chapters.

Interface rating: 4

While the links to self-tests and online reviews did seem to be working, there were several references to articles and resources that did not appear to link directly to what was referenced.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical concerns were observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text did make several mentions of the need for cultural awareness. The information itself, as presented, was universal.

Comments

Due to the nature of the information presented and the ease of reading the material, this text could easily be used in an introductory course or to reinforce concepts in profession-specific programs.

Reviewed by Bob Goldenberg, Adjunct Faculty, Rogue Community College on 12/12/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

For perspective or active healthcare workers and providers, this is a meticulously written study of finding and maintaining a career in all aspects of allied healthcare.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The text is thoroughly researched and cited, attesting to the accuracy of the material. The reviewer found only one minor error where a link provided to an article brought up a page of articles, so some time was spent finding the article itself.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is current, having been licensed in 2023. The text appears to be set up well to edit for the constant changes in medical research and healthcare delivery. The authors invite educators to adapt the textbook to their needs.

Clarity rating: 5

Extremely well written, the content is set up linearly and follows logically. The writing is clear and professional.

Consistency rating: 5

The authors approach is consistent and cogent. The tone is steady throughout, making the presentation quite accessible.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter covers an area unto itself, which provides adaptability to educators. The textbook targets pre-professionals, healthcare administrators, and health scientists. However, the academic approach would have broad appeal to anyone involved in providing healthcare. As mentioned, the text can be customized to fit a particular audience.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is very well written and organized. The writing flows and clearly communicates the material.

Interface rating: 5

In the same manner as other OER textbooks I have experience with, the content is extensively linked internally and externally providing straightforward navigation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The writing is extremely professional with no grammatical errors at all in the entire textbook. The reviewer has a strong background in proofreading and editing; consequently, I very much appreciate the accuracy, thoroughness, and ability of the authors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This textbook will have broad appeal to any human interested in learning about careers in healthcare and is written inclusively.

Comments

As a reviewer, I feel this textbook addresses a need in educating future healthcare workers. Exhaustively researched and cited, the textbook is packed with information for both undergraduate and graduate students in an academic manner. The content specifically targets those who are seeking work in healthcare as providers, scientists, and related medical and support services occupations. However, all persons seeking occupations in allied healthcare will benefit from this well-written and organized textbook. The text also works as a reference to guide students in obtaining and advancing future careers in any medical arena.