Health Care Organization Management and Leadership Program

Health care is the second-largest industry in the United States and the nation’s single largest private employer. There is a tremendous need for effective and ethical health care leaders with the ability to manage interdisciplinary teams in a complex and evolving health care environment.

The Health Care Organization Management and Leadership Program (HCM) from the University of Rochester School of Nursing is designed for working adults from health care-related professional backgrounds who wish to work in a health care management role.

The Health Care Organization Management and Leadership curriculum is broadly interdisciplinary with a focus on the “big picture” opportunities and challenges facing health care systems. Through hybrid coursework (a blend of in-person and online) and a hands-on capstone project, you’ll sharpen your skills as a manager or leader and learn best practices to assure efficient, quality, and safe patient care delivery systems.  

Unlike other health care management degrees, the UR School of Nursing program includes 224 hours of mentored field placement with health care organizations and leaders. Not only will you gain real-world management experience, but you will forge invaluable professional relationships and receive one-on-one attention from expert faculty who actively practice in their fields.

Before beginning the program, students are required to take the online Writing Workshop (NUR 401) prerequisite.

Coursework

The 30-credit program features hybrid coursework – a blend of in-person classes as well as online education using the Blackboard course management system. Tutorials and self-study help students master Blackboard basics in a few weeks.

In-person classes in the late afternoon/evening consist of several team projects to build your skills for systems thinking and working in teams. Most students work full time during the program.

The coursework provides you with the necessary grounding to be an effective and innovative leader, including:

• human resource management
• performance improvement and informatics
• health care finance
• health care economics
• population health
• program design
• program evaluation
• organizational leadership

Final capstone

After the foundational coursework, you will complete a 168-hour field placement with an executive of a health care organization. In contrast to classroom-based courses where you’re placed at the center of the learning, the capstone project learning is focused externally as students direct organizational projects. Learning from leaders who are experts in their fields enables students to gain real-world experience and forge invaluable professional relationships.

Courses

Requirements

• a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
• cumulative GPA of 3.0 preferred
• statistics course with a grade C or above
• professional goal statement outlining reasons for seeking admission to the program
• two references that address professional and/or academic and leadership ability.  It is desirable that one of the letters be from a professional in health care
• personal interview(s) with program faculty members
• there is no minimum work requirement
• submission of a writing sample
• for international students, TOEFL with a minimum score of 560 (paper-based), 230 (computer-based) or 88 (iBT)
• $50 application fee

Scholarships

• FLPPS Scholarship
• Global Education