Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management

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Health Care Management Is Unique

Wright State University's Health Care Management (HCM) program offers an executive curriculum for health care professionals and administrators that is designed to develop the strategic management and leadership skills of its students.

Co-sponsored by WSU's Raj Soin College of Business (RSCB) and the Boonshoft School of Medicine, the HCM Certificate Program is designed for physicians, managers, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers and administrators who are employed full time and can benefit from master's-level business courses.

With advances in new technology and the heightened demand for health services by the baby boomers, the era of rapid change that has characterized the health care sector will continue into the foreseeable future. With change, opportunities arise for many who are willing to adapt. Those who possess the right management skills and understand the complexity of the health care marketplace will be in a position to successfully lead organizations and benefit professionally. Recognizing that the business of health care is dramatically different from other sectors, this program will introduce participants to advanced business concepts, evaluation techniques and strategic thinking so they can lead effectively, improve quality, increase productivity and better manage organizational costs.

Classes are typically held one evening a week, and students who complete the year-long program are awarded a Certificate in Health Care Management.

Further Enhance Your Education

Program graduates who wish to further enhance their educations can apply to either the AACSB International-accredited MBA Program at the Raj Soin College of Business or the Master of Public Health Program at Boonshoft School of Medicine. All course credits from the HCM Certificate Program are transferable to these WSU master's programs.

Why Wright State University?

We strive to provide an optimal balance between high quality instruction and executive-style convenience. Our program provides:

• Access to dedicated faculty members who possess real-world business experience and who recognize that most HCM program participants have demanding full time positions.
• An educational experience enhanced by a diverse cohort of participants with varied professional experiences and training backgrounds.
• The opportunity to utilize Web-based, distance-learning tools to complement weekly instructor-lead class sessions.
• A convenient, off-campus teaching environment designed for graduate-level instruction located at the Research Park in Kettering (near highways 35 and 675).
• Course registration handled by our dedicated, customer service-oriented program staff.

Program of Study

The four Health Care Management courses emphasizes real-world applications. To achieve the certificate, students need to complete the three core courses and one of the two electives:

Core Courses

Health Systems Management (CMH 734) — 4 credit hours
This survey course introduces an advanced understanding of health systems. Topics include: health economics, population-based approaches to health care, how health systems operate, strategic assessment, macroeconomics, principles of capitation and risk, budgeting and finance, health business professionalism and principles of quality. Sample Syllabus.

The Economics of Health and Health Policy (EC 755) — 4 credit hours
Sessions focus on the market for health care and its financing, the role of government, the impact of innovation, incentives for quality and economic evaluation. This investigation introduces underlying economic theory, emphasizes real-world examples and incorporates a discussion of current health care and public health policy issues. Sample Syllabus.

Strategic Leadership in Health Care (CMH 754) — 4 credit hours
This course introduces students to concepts, principles and practices of strategic management in health care settings. Topics include: negotiation, leadership, organizational design, organizational culture, strategic plan development and stakeholder and SWOT analyses. Sample Syllabus.

HCM Electives

Health Care Finance (FIN 750) — 4 credit hours
This course starts with an introduction to basic financial management concepts and delves into health care–specific topics, including: accounting and financial statement interpretation; risk, return, time value of money; capital decision making; operational and capital budgeting; risk analysis; tactical alternative analysis; and forecasting. Sample Syllabus.

Population-Based Management (CMH 744) — 4 credit hours
This course presents techniques of epidemiology and biostatistics to evaluate population-based health programs as they can be practiced in public health, prevention and health care quality management settings. Sample Syllabus.

Application Process To be admitted to the program, students must first be accepted into the WSU School of Graduate Studies in non-degree status. Minimum graduate school requirements include an earned bachelor's and/or advanced graduate degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants will need to arrange to have an official transcript sent from each college or university that awarded any of these degrees as documentation. Applications and information can be obtained from the School of Graduate Studies office at E344 Student Union on the main campus or by calling (937) 775-2976. All correspondence pertaining to the admission of a student should be addressed to the School of Graduate Studies, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy., Dayton, OH 45435-0001.

In addition to applying for admission to the School of Graduate Studies, applicants should submit the following supplementary application to the Certificate Program Coordinator at the address below.  Certificate in Health Care Management Supplementary Application Submit your Supplementary Application to: Attention: Lori Metivier HCM Certificate Program Coordinator WSU Center for Global Health Systems, Management, and Policy 3123 Research Blvd., Suite 200 Kettering, OH 45420-4006 Application information can be obtained by contacting Lori Metivier at the Center for Global Health Systems, Management, and Policy by phone at (937) 258-5547 or by e-mail at lori.metivier@wright.edu.

Who Pursues a Certificate in Health Care Management?

Here are some typical participant profiles:

• A physician interested in learning strategic management techniques and leadership skills to expand and improve the operations of his practice.
• A hospital nurse manager looking to increase her management skill set with courses in health care finance, economics and strategy.
• A health plan administrator wanting to learn how to improve health care quality within her organization and how to develop a corresponding implementation strategy.
• A physician, working as a medical director for a health care organization, would like to better understand the economics of health care and principles of health care finance.
• A medical technologist seeking the management expertise needed to take on greater financial and managerial responsibilities within his her firm.
• A specialty-group practice manager wishing to learn more about how to implement population based health programs and improve her negotiation skills.
• Non-health care professionals who have already transitioned or are interested in transitioning to a position in health care.

Certificate Program Cost

The cost of the Health Care Management Certificate program will be graduate tuition (subject to change) and an program fee ($102 per credit hour effective Fall Quarter 2009) that covers the cost of administration and course materials.

For More Information

The HCM Certificate Program has been awarded the WSU President's Award for outstanding customer service. We invite prospective students to schedule an informational visit at their convenience to meet our staff and to tour our teaching facility. We are also happy to conduct information sessions at organizations for personnel that might be interested in learning more about our program.

Our Certificate Program brochure may be downloaded. (To view this file, you will need Adobe Reader, a free download.)

For additional programmatic questions or to schedule an informational visit, please contact John McAlearney, Ph.D., director of the HCM Certificate Program, by phone at (937) 258-5555, or by e-mail at john.mcalearney@wright.edu.

Program Faculty

Comments from Current and Past Participants

• "If you are looking for a timely alternative to online, CD-ROM, or other glorified correspondence courses in healthcare management, look no farther. Rather than spending hours squinting at a monitor, you will be learning with a diverse group of peers, critiquing the latest literature in the field, and picking the brains of the expert faculty."
  —James R. Ebert, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati
• "Certificate in Health Care Management is truly an executive-level and convenient educational experience for me. I like the small class size, which allows me an excellent opportunity to interact with my colleagues and teachers. This is an excellent program and I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested."
  —A.N. Chatterji, M.D., F.A.C.P., Endoscopy Center of Dayton, Ltd.
• Just what I needed in my career! The HCM Certificate Program has helped me gain more knowledge so that I can have some understanding and control over forces that drive health care and my practice.
  —Hemant Shah, M.D., Pulmonary Medicine of Dayton
• The program has helped me to better understand the complicated interactions among all the players in the delivery of healthcare including government. I have been surprised how much diverse information I have been exposed to through the excellent lecturers and experts in various fields that I otherwise wouldn't have known.
  —David Smith, M.D., Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services