What is the appropriate health policy content in a program curriculum?

Faculties of graduate health administration programs have considerable flexibility in applying curriculum guidelines established by the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration (ACEHSA) to help achieve their self-determined missions. When a program's mission includes preparing graduates for eventual careers at the strategic levels of healthcare organizations, specific health policy content is appropriate. In determining this curriculum content, faculties can be guided by the need to prepare graduates to accomplish three policy-related activities that are vital to successful strategic management: 1. comprehend and understand relevant governmental health policy aspects of a healthcare organization's external environment, including assessing the impact of these aspects of the environment on the organization; 2. lead strategic responses to the challenges and opportunities emanating from the governmentalhealth policy aspects of an organization's external environment; and 3. participate in shaping, to the organization's benefit, the governmental health policy aspects of its external environment. Curriculum design options for providing this content are discussed.