Student Government Association

The world of health care is a complex and ever-changing environment. To ensure that high quality care is provided to consumers, and to effectively lead organizations to be successful in the coming years, a knowledgeable and loyal governing board is an absolute requirement. This body is designed to educate trustees on their basic roles and responsibilities as board members of health care organizations.

Major Board Functions Board members must clearly understand the difference between “governance” and “management.” The governing body is responsible for ensuring the mission and vision of the organization, in addition to being legally responsible for the operation of the organization. The governing board must see the “big picture,” and work with all of the information available to it in order to lead the organization forward in carrying out its mission and vision.

Management is responsible for the day-to-day tasks of running the hospital. The board delegates the day-to-day management to the chief executive officer (CEO). The CEO and the senior management team is guided, but not directed, by the governing board. They lead the hospital’s staff in carrying out the mission and vision that has been developed and approved by the governing board.

The roles and responsibilities of the governing board involves everything from ensuring the cost-effective utilization of resources to determining the organization’s mission, and establishing a long-range strategic plan to help attain that mission. Although the responsibilities are many and varied, there are six major areas of responsibility that all governing boards have:  

• Mission development and long-range planning
• Ensuring high quality care
• Oversight of medical staff credentialing
• Financial oversight
• Board education and development, including self-evaluation.
• Communication within the University
• Relationships with external stakeholders

Mission development and long-range planning — The responsibility and authority for determining the organization’s mission, the statement that defines what the organization is and why it exists, lies with the governing body. The board is also responsible for working with senior management to develop the goals, objectives and policies that grow out of, and are measured against, the mission statement. The long-range strategic plan should be created using the mission statement as its guide, and should identify major goals and strategies to achieve these goals. The plan should be reviewed regularly to assess its ability to meet and further the mission of the organization.

Ensuring high quality care — The board is ultimately responsible for ensuring that high quality care is consistently and effectively delivered to patients. The governing board is responsible for ensuring that the staff has the support and resources necessary to enable them to fulfill their roles. The board is also responsible for reviewing the quality of medical care delivered in the hospital through the quality assurance program.

Oversight of staff credentialing — A major function of WUB governing body is the establishment and use of effective policies and procedures for appointment (and reappointment) of Lectures to the medical students. The governing body must be familiar with the criteria for Lectures for offshore medical schools in order to ensure that the University is following the appropriate procedures that will equate to students’ assessment success in licensing examinations.

The Governing Body must ensure that the University has a credentialing process that considers the following essential pieces of information:

Registration to recognising bodies;
Curriculum that is standardised and guided by the United States Medical Licensing Examinations
Good standing with teaching hospitals for students
Daily operations of the University is communicated effectively 
Infrastructure of the University is equipped to accommodate the needs of the medical students to ensure a stable learning environment
Vision and Mission of the University is fulfilled

Financial oversight — The governing body  responsibility in financial oversight are critical, as payment sources and systems are constantly changing and becoming more and more complex.

The Governing Body has the responsibility of protecting the limited resources of both the organization and the community. In addition, the body must ensure the cost-effective utilization of resources and the establishment of both long-range and short-range financial plans. The body should periodically review financial reports, ensure that adequate capital is available for the organization’s investment strategies, and actively participate in and encourage regular philanthropic efforts.

Board education and development, including self-evaluation — Governing body should continually strive to understand the hospital’s programs, services and needs, and the impacts of environmental trends on the hospital’s long-term direction. Performance measures should be established, and the board should conduct an annual self-evaluation. Learning the body’s plan and manage by continuously learning about themselves and their changing environment. Continuing education is a necessity to keep leadership current on key issues, and to perpetuate high quality care. Governing body members must engage in continuous governance improvement, enhance the quality of board thinking, and make a firm commitment to improvement. In addition, board members must develop a high level of understanding, not only of the hospital and the health care field, but of the areas most critical to organizational effectiveness and performance, in order to make fast and informed decisions when the need arises.

Communication with the University – There will be a level of transparency between the Governing Body, Teaching an Non-Teaching Staff and students within the University. As the school is growing there will be changes to improve the quality served to students and implement standards in which the University is to be operated.

Relationship with external stakeholders- To grow the Governing Body  must maintain relationships with external stakeholders further develop objectives and goals of the University.