Computer learning strategies and outcomes: a field test in health services administration

Decisions in the changing, competitive and highly complex health care market must be arrived at faster. The argument for the extensive use of computers by modern health care executives and the inclusion of computer training in the health administration curriculum rests on the fact that the survival and growth of health care institutions is vitally tied to the capacity of their managers to absorb increasingly complex data and turn it rapidly into usable information. Although educators cannot solve all health care industry implementation problems either as consultants or as analysis in implementation studies, they must provide clear direction in the analytical training of future managers concerning computer utilization and management information systems generally. Without the basic foundation in knowledge, attitude, and behavior reinforcement, the risk of improper and insufficient computer utilization in the industry is large. This article examines the curricular structure, learning theory, and preliminary student learning and behavior outcomes of a course developed in 1985 for health administration students at Sangamon State University.