Whether you participate in training, a business meeting, or community event, being a skilled public speaker differentiates an uninteresting experience from an engaging one. Students in this course work to develop and enhance their ability and confidence in presentation skills, empathic listening, and critical thinking. Topics include developing content and organizing ideas using proven techniques for the oral delivery of informative and persuasive speeches. Additional topics include audience analysis, critical listening and thinking, and the use of technology in presentations. In this course, students have an opportunity to improve their public communication skills, as well as plan, create, and deliver presentations.

Globalization has created a smaller world. Media, culture, commerce, new neighbors, and new family members have drastically increased interactions among culturally diverse people. In this global environment, people need to interact effectively with all types of people, cultures, and worldviews. In this course, students are provided tools for observing, evaluating, and understanding various cultures to communicate effectively with others. Students explore the impact of culture and personal identity on communication strategies. They distinguish the modes and styles of communication unique to their personal culture from the cultures of others. Students explain how theories of cultural differences can help to anticipate and overcome challenges in intercultural situations. In addition, students apply effective intercultural communication skills to academic, personal, and professional settings.

Students in this course are introduced to a patient-centered interprofessional model for healthcare delivery in which individual practitioners collaborate as members of a team. Students examine the benefits of this interprofessional approach for patients and providers, focusing on how it can lead to improved outcomes. They also explore and discuss professional challenges and institutional barriers, such as delineation of responsibilities, reimbursement, and licensing. Students have the opportunity to gain practical experience with the patient-centered model through the analysis of a patient case study, a hypothetical interprofessional healthcare team, and an appropriate treatment plan. They also consider the benefits of such a model on the future of healthcare.

Many factors, such as access, affordability, insurance, quality, safety, and technology, affect the delivery of healthcare and the development of policies. In this course, students examine the nature of healthcare facilities, major factors influencing the quality of care, and the impact of policy initiatives on all stakeholders, including providers and consumers. They explore the major issues in acute and long-term healthcare policy and practice from the perspective of the patient and the provider. Students devote special attention to the social, institutional, economic, and regulatory contexts in which providers deliver services. Using concepts and issues addressed in the course, students complete a variety of application-based activities, such as a comparison of healthcare facilities in their region and an analysis of the practical role of policy.

The principles and theories of health communication and their application to health promotion and behavior change are the foci of this course. Students examine how to design and deliver health messages to various audiences while remaining sensitive to cultural, socioeconomic, and educational factors influencing the audience. Students evaluate important dimensions of intercultural and intracultural communication and study how to make scholarly writing accessible to the general population. They also explore the use of emerging technologies and social media in marketing and communications.

In a society influenced by technological innovation and virtual spread of information, we can use technology to rekindle friendships with grade-school acquaintances and we can instantaneously follow every action of our favorite entertainers. But it is also our responsibility to know how to use these same social networking techniques and other more traditional means of communication as catalysts for positive social change. In this course, students learn how to use modern communication tools to promote positive social change and mobilize communities. They analyze the use of electronic tools for public and nonprofit sector organizations. Students also examine the key elements of a communication strategy—message development, target audience identification, selection of communication tools, and obtaining feedback—and apply these to current social issues.

Health and wellness involve more than physical symptoms and diseases. Health Psychology is a dynamic course that gives students the opportunity to explore the field of health psychology, with a focus on how physical, psychological, sociocultural, economic, and spiritual factors impact health and wellness. Throughout the course, students examine the importance of health disparities and health literacy, explore strategies for promoting health enhancing behaviors, and apply health psychology research to various health issues. Students also apply their learning to the development of their own health goals. The course culminates in a case study that synthesizes students' learning from the previous weeks.