Master of Health Science

Health Care Administration Concentration

The M.H.Sc. degree with a concentration in Health Care Administration is designed to provide clinical and administrative health professionals with the theoretical and practical training necessary to enhance career mobility and professional advancement. The new concentration will offer courses in leadership and management, finance, ethics, risk management, research, and other essential areas of health care administration. While there are specific routes for administrators to follow into higher leadership roles, this type of educational experience is often lacking for the clinician who wishes to assume more leadership responsibility within their medical organization. Current research evidence shows that there is a need for not just formal administrative leadership, but also a need to develop integrated leadership processes throughout healthcare delivery systems.

A program that provides potential leaders in health care with the necessary skills, abilities, and competencies to realize their goals is needed. Leadership opportunities abound in a broad array of environments through the full spectrum of health care from education, the implementation of policy and technology as well as the delivery of health care. The M.H.Sc. program at Nova Southeastern University has the resources and expert faculty to provide students with a meaningful educational experience in Administration in Health Care.

Completing this concentration requires 31 credits as detailed below.

Note: All courses are delivered and organized as distance learning

Required Practical Components

10 credits total.

course name	credit hours
MHS 5309: U.S. Health Policy This course will explore how US health policy is made and the interests and roles of various stakeholders and state, local and federal governments. Students will analyze health policies and discern what impact proposed and executed health policies will have on health care entities, groups, individuals and healthcare practice. Students will gain the skills necessary to conduct a policy analysis that examines a health care or public health issue or concern.	5
MHS 5207: Practicum The practicum is a cumulating experience for M.H.Sc. Students. Under supervision of an M.H.Sc. faculty advisor, students will develop community- based, health promotion and disease prevention interventions with underserved and/ or non-traditional populations.	5

course name

credit hours

MHS 5309: U.S. Health Policy
This course will explore how US health policy is made and the interests and roles of various stakeholders and state, local and federal governments. Students will analyze health policies and discern what impact proposed and executed health policies will have on health care entities, groups, individuals and healthcare practice. Students will gain the skills necessary to conduct a policy analysis that examines a health care or public health issue or concern.

MHS 5207: Practicum
The practicum is a cumulating experience for M.H.Sc. Students. Under supervision of an M.H.Sc. faculty advisor, students will develop community- based, health promotion and disease prevention interventions with underserved and/ or non-traditional populations.

Health Care Administration Courses

21 credits total.

course name	credit hours
MMIS 623: Information Privacy and Ethics Building on a foundation in classical ethics, we examine the impact of the computer and the Internet on our society. Topics include ethical decision making; professional codes; whistle-blowing; computer crime; copyrights, patents and intellectual property; privacy; and risk management. Students analyze case studies and write a research paper.	3
MHS 5530: Principles of Management in Healthcare This course will discuss the various principles of management and its associated issues as they relate to the modern healthcare professional. The course will explore topics such as concepts of organizational management, decision making, strategic planning, resource management and allocation, conflict, and the concept of power.	3
MHS 5535: Issues in Health Care Leadership This course requires the student to solve a simulated problem facing a simulated health care organization addressing its impact on all aspects of the health care institution. Students will describe their leadership philosophy based on recognized leadership theory and how this will play a role in achieving an effective solution to the proposed problem. The course will employ interactive technology to disseminate information on the weekly evolution of the simulated problem. The course culminates in a detailed analysis of the problem which includes: proposed solutions for corrective and preventive measures, potential intended and unintended consequences and evidence of the student's leadership philosophy	3
MHS 5537: Health Care Leadership Quality Assurance/Risk Management The student will examine health care quality assurance and risk management in the United States and the methods that are utilized to achieve improvements in health care organizations. Upon completion of this course the student will be prepared to implement continuous quality improvement and performance improvement in management and performance improvement in management and performance systems, by interpreting and understanding of data available to devise, generate, and apply quality performance improvement programs.	3
MHS 5538 Patient Safety Compliance in Health Care This course will provide the framework for developing a patient safety program. Specific topics will include: The link between patient safety and legal and regulatory compliance; the role of accreditation standard-setting organizations in patient safety; evidenced-based outcomes and standards of care; the creation and preservation of reports, data and device evidence in medical error situations; and managing patient safety compliance through accountability-based credentialing for health care professionals. The student will be expected to complete a case study on the implementation of a patient safety initiative in a health care setting of their choice.	3
MHS 5510: Research Methods This course is designed to enable participants to develop skills in reading and critically evaluating published research using the scientific model. The advantages and disadvantages of quantitative and qualitative research methods will be compared and contrasted. Research articles will be collaboratively analyzed to develop an appreciation of potential methodological problems and their implications for evidence based professional practice.	3
MHS 5546: Health Care Finance This course introduces fundamental theory and concepts of health care finance with relevant application to a wide variety of health care settings. Emphasis will be placed on the understanding of key issues in order to provide the tools necessary for clinicians to function within a health care environment. Concentrating on a managerial rather than production accounting perspective, major topics includes principles of accounting, budgeting, analysis of financial statements, activity-based costing, responsibility accounting, and provider payment and reimbursement systems. The student will be required to prepare a formal paper on a health care finance topic.	3