About the Program

Career Entry Competencies

Graduates will demonstrate the skills necessary to advocate for diverse patient populations to include individuals and groups facing health care disparities and cultural needs within the United States. Graduates will advocate for patients and their family members who may have concerns or questions regarding health services within an institution to facilitate and promote continuous quality improvements in health care services.

At career entry, the DDA graduate will demonstrate the following entry level skills.

1. Assess patient social determinates of health.
2. Provide referrals to community-based resources.
3. Ensure service linkage care.
4. Advocate to reduce barriers and service gaps in patient care.
5. Document and report client management and resources of need.
6. Develop and deliver health care team and client cultural diversity training.
7. Applying a team-based approach to care while working in partnership with patients/families to promote timely access to care, understanding of patient care that is culturally sensitive and language appropriate, continuity of care, and the improvement of the whole-person.
8. Act as a Liaison for the patient, patient’s family members and visitors.
9. Seeks out and responds to questions and inquiries that is of patient concern.
10. Advise all relevant departments of our health care customers concerns that require staff intervention.
11. Act as a Grievance Coordinator to understand, investigate, and take action on ethical issues, sensitive approaches, and care team’s interactions with patient and the patient’s family members.
12. Act as an Information Resource to aid in gathering information through interactions with community, state, and national resources to ensure gathering and utilizing current data collection for patient populations.
13. Act as an Institutional Change Agent to discuss patients and their family member’s reasoning for institutional changes based on recurring complaints, and results from surveys and advisory councils.