Oregon Health and Science University’s Division of Management and Portland State’s School of Business Administration have united to create a master’s of business administration in healthcare management that will be offered starting winter 2009.
While this degree will be similar to the general-purpose MBA, all curricula will be addressed with a focus on healthcare. Students will be exposed to both OHSU’s exceptional health training and PSU’s respected business administration education.
Business administration faculty member Jeff Millard is confident this joint degree program is expected to yield positive results.
“We are extremely proud to be launching it,” said Millard, also the director of admissions and operations for Portland State’s School of Business Administration.
The new program is geared toward working professionals or anyone who has management responsibilities in a healthcare organization, including physicians, dentists, nurses and managers of medical business. It also attempts to accommodate working professionals with a part-time cohort schedule.
According to Dr. Jim Huntzicker, head of the Division of Management at OHSU’s School of Medicine, the idea for this program first spawned when a graduate student was interested in advancing from a program certificate to a master’s degree.
Following this, Huntzicker and his associates decided to go out and discover what the healthcare market was actually seeking. From their research, it became evident that many traits-particularly leadership skills–are missing in the industry.
“The MBA healthcare program is based on the principle that the application of modern management practices will do much to benefit healthcare, not the least of which will be better outcomes for patients,” Huntzicker said.
Degree requirements include 72 credits of online and in-class courses, with most being taught at OHSU’s South Waterfront campus. Courses will focus on several categories, including healthcare understanding, leadership, finance and others, according to Portland State’s graduate business programs Web site.
On average, it is projected that the degree program, which is accredited through PSU by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business, will take three years to complete for students taking about eight credits each quarter.
The overriding objective of the curriculum is to prepare students to apply their new knowledge immediately in the workplace and equip the future’s healthcare management staff with the skills to operate more efficiently and effectively, according to documentation on PSU’s graduate business programs Web site.
For more information, visit www.healthcareMBA.pdx.edu.
New healthcare management degree
What: New joint master’s of business administration in healthcare management degree program offered by Portland State and OHSU.
How: Program curriculum is comprised of 72 credits and is intended to take three years when students take eight credits per term.
Who: Targets working professionals or anyone who has management responsibilities in a healthcare organization.
When: Offered starting winter 2009, which begins in January.