Navigating the Landscape: The Undergraduate Degree in Healthcare Administration Curriculum

The healthcare sector is undergoing significant transformation, emphasizing value, quality of care, and cost reduction. An undergraduate degree in Healthcare Administration equips individuals with the skills to navigate this dynamic environment. This article explores the curriculum, career prospects, and unique aspects of pursuing a Bachelor's degree in this field.

Introduction: The Growing Demand for Healthcare Administrators

The increasing complexity of healthcare systems and the aging population have fueled the demand for skilled healthcare administrators. These professionals play a vital role in managing healthcare facilities, ensuring efficient operations, and improving patient outcomes. An undergraduate degree in Healthcare Administration provides a solid foundation for a fulfilling and impactful career in this growing field.

The Core of the Curriculum: Building a Foundation

A Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration typically encompasses a multidisciplinary curriculum that integrates business principles with healthcare-specific knowledge. The curriculum aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare industry, including its structure, regulations, and challenges. Here's a breakdown of the common areas of study:

Foundational Courses

Principles of Management: An introductory look at the discipline of management and its context within the business environment. Students of this course build on previously mastered competencies by taking a more in-depth look at management as a discipline and how it differs from leadership while further exploring the importance of communication within business.
Introduction to Business Finance: An introductory look at the discipline of finance and its context within the business environment. This course will help students gain an understanding of the systems, structure, roles, and impact of finance in business. Students will also gain an understanding of the uses of financial ratios, the application of the time value of money concepts, and capital budgeting in business. This course provides the student a business generalist overview of the field of finance.
Principles of Economics: Introduces students to foundational economic theories on markets and market behavior. This information is valuable to students pursuing careers involving decision making and is applicable to any industry.
Introduction to Business Accounting: Provides students with an introduction to the discipline of accounting.
Business Communication: A survey course of communication skills needed in the business environment. Course content includes writing messages, reports, and résumés and delivering oral presentations. The course emphasizes communication processes, writing skills, message types, and presentation of data.
Operations and Supply Chain Management: Provides a streamlined introduction to how organizations efficiently produce goods and services, determine supply chain management strategies, and measure performance. Emphasis is placed on integrative topics essential for managers in all disciplines, such as supply chain management, product development, and capacity planning. This course guides students in analyzing processes, managing quality for both services and products, and measuring performance while creating value along the supply chain in a global environment. Topics include forecasting, product and service design, process design and location analysis, capacity planning, management of quality and quality control, inventory management, scheduling, supply chain management, and performance measurement.
Project Management: Prepares you to manage projects from start to finish within any organization structure. The course represents a view into different project-management methods and delves into topics such as project profiling and phases, constraints, building the project team, scheduling, and risk. You will be able to grasp the full scope of projects you may work with on in the future, and apply proper management approaches to complete a project.
Change Management: Provides an understanding of change and an overview of successfully managing change using various methods and tools. Emphasizing change theories and various best practices, this course covers how to recognize and implement change using an array of other effective strategies, including those related to innovation and leadership.
Organizational Behavior and Leadership: Explores how to lead and manage effectively in diverse business environments.
Values-Based Leadership: Guides students to learn by reflection, design, and scenario planning. Through a combination of theory, reflection, value alignment, and practice, the course helps students examine and understand values-based leadership and explore foundations in creating a culture of care. In this course, students are given the opportunity to identify and define their personal values through an assessment and reflection process. Students then evaluate business cases to practice mapping the influence of values on their own leadership. In this course, students also participate in scenario planning, where they can practice implementing their values in their daily routine (i.e., behaviors) and then in a leadership setting. The course illustrates how values-driven leadership is used in goal setting as well as problem-solving at an organizational level.
Healthcare Leadership and Community Engagement: Focuses on leadership principles and how to apply them in real-world contexts. The course prepares students to analyze community needs and create change through community engagement. As leaders, the students' job is to engage in collaborative approaches with an understanding that the overarching goal is sustained success. This course helps students develop their abilities to negotiate challenges, make decisions, and act to bring stakeholders together to create transformation within communities.
Concepts in Marketing, Sales, and Customer Contact: Introduces students to the discipline of marketing and its role within the strategic and operational environments of a business. This course covers fundamental knowledge in the area of marketing planning, including the marketing mix, while also describing basic concepts of brand management, digital marketing, customer relationship management, and personal selling and negotiating. All of this helps students identify the role of marketing within an organization.
Introduction to Communication: Connecting with Others! It may seem like common knowledge that communication skills are important, and that communicating with others is inescapable in our everyday lives. While this may appear simplistic, the study of communication is actually complex, dynamic, and multifaceted. Strong communication skills are invaluable to strengthening a multitude of aspects of life. Specifically, this course will focus on communication in the professional setting, and present material from multiple vantage points, including communicating with others in a variety of contexts, across situations, and with diverse populations.
Success in today’s workplace requires more than technical skill. It depends on emotional awareness, cultural understanding, and ethical decision-making. This course will help you strengthen your ability to communicate effectively, connect across differences, and lead with empathy. These are not soft skills.
Fundamentals of Spreadsheets and Data Presentations: Offers learners an overview of the use of spreadsheet functions and methods for presenting data within spreadsheets. Learners will have the opportunity to explore features and uses of MS Excel and apply the tools to situations they may encounter while studying in their program. They will also be introduced to real world uses and tools to collect, organize and present data.
Constitution: Examines the evolution of representative government in the United States and the changing interpretations of the civil rights and civil liberties protected by the Constitution. This course will give candidates an understanding of the powers of the branches of the federal government, the continual tensions inherent in a federal system, the shifting relationship between state and federal governments, and the interactions between elected officials and the ever-changing electorate. This course will focus on such topics as the role of a free press in a democracy, the impact of changing demographics on American politics, and the debates over and expansion of civil rights. Upon completion of the course, candidates should be able to explain the basic functions of the federal government, describe the forces that shape American policy and politics, and be better prepared to participate in America’s civic institutions. This course has no prerequisite.
Critical Thinking and Logic: In this course you will learn key critical thinking concepts and how to apply them in the analysis and evaluation of reasons and evidence. The course examines the basic components of an argument, the credibility of evidence sources, the impact of bias, and how to construct an argument that provides good support for a claim. The course consists of an introduction and four major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the four competencies that will be covered in the final assessment.
Applied Algebra: Is designed to help you develop competence in working with functions, the algebra of functions, and using some applied properties of functions. You will start learning about how we can apply different kinds of functions to relevant, real-life examples. From there, the algebra of several families of functions will be explored, including linear, polynomial, exponential, and logistic functions. You will also learn about relevant, applicable mathematical properties of each family of functions, including rate of change, concavity, maximizing/minimizing, and asymptotes. These properties will be used to solve problems related to your major and make sense of everyday living problems.
Applied Healthcare Probability and Statistics: Is designed to help develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic mathematics, introductory algebra, and statistics and probability. These concepts include basic arithmetic with fractions and signed numbers; introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are now commonplace in the healthcare field. This course will help candidates make informed decisions about which studies and results are valid, which are not, and how those results affect your decisions. This course will give candidates background in what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, this course guides candidates in calculating simple probabilities based on events which occur in the healthcare profession.
Physical Science: This course provides students with an overview of the basic principles and unifying ideas of the physical sciences: physics, chemistry, and earth sciences. Course materials focus on scientific reasoning and practical, everyday applications of physical science concepts to help students integrate conceptual knowledge with practical skills.
Composition: Writing with a Strategy! In this course, you will focus on three main topics: understanding purpose, context, and audience, writing strategies and techniques, and editing and revising. In addition, the first section, will offer review on core elements of the writing process, cross-cultural communication, as well as working with words and common standards and practices. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the seven competencies that will be covered in the final assessment.
Human Growth and Development: This is Human Growth and Development, a three-module course that examines the entire human lifetime, from conception to death. Presented chronologically, the course focuses on three key areas: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, along with other important issues such as cultural influences, emotions, and resilience. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the four competencies covered in the final assessment.
Introduction to Sociology: This course teaches students to think like sociologists, or, in other words, to see and understand the hidden rules, or norms, by which people live, and how they free or restrain behavior. Students will learn about socializing institutions, such as schools and families, as well as workplace organizations and governments.
Health, Fitness, and Wellness: Focuses on the importance and foundations of good health and physical fitness-particularly for children and adolescents-addressing health, nutrition, fitness, and substance use and abuse.

Healthcare-Specific Courses

Healthcare Organization and Management: Explores the structure, governance, and management of healthcare organizations, including hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities.
Healthcare Finance and Economics: Covers the principles of healthcare finance, reimbursement models, and economic factors influencing the healthcare industry.
Healthcare Law and Ethics: Examines the legal and ethical issues in healthcare, including patient rights, privacy, and compliance.
Healthcare Information Systems: Introduces students to the use of technology in healthcare, including electronic health records, data analytics, and telehealth.
Healthcare Quality and Performance Improvement: Focuses on the principles of quality management and performance improvement in healthcare settings.
Healthcare Policy and Regulation: Explores the role of government in healthcare, including policy development, regulation, and healthcare reform.

Essential Skills Development

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Develops the ability to analyze complex healthcare issues and develop effective solutions.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Enhances communication skills for interacting with patients, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders.
Leadership and Teamwork: Develops leadership skills and the ability to work effectively in teams.
Data Analysis and Interpretation: Provides the skills to analyze and interpret healthcare data for decision-making.
Ethical Decision-Making: Fosters ethical awareness and the ability to make sound ethical decisions in healthcare settings.

Specializations: Tailoring Your Degree

Many universities offer specializations within their Healthcare Administration programs. These specializations allow students to focus on specific areas of interest and develop expertise in a particular niche. Common specializations include:

Health Information Management: Focuses on the management of health information systems, data security, and privacy.
Patient Safety and Quality: Emphasizes the principles of patient safety, quality improvement, and risk management.
Long-Term Care Administration: Concentrates on the management of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Experiential Learning: Applying Knowledge to Practice

Experiential learning opportunities, such as internships, practicums, and volunteer experiences, are crucial for gaining practical skills and building professional networks. These experiences allow students to apply their knowledge in real-world healthcare settings and gain valuable insights into the day-to-day operations of healthcare organizations.

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Healthcare Administration Practicum: The practicum experience is provided through the Healthcare Administration Practicum I & II courses.

Career Prospects: A Growing and Diverse Field

A Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration opens doors to a wide range of career opportunities in various healthcare settings. Graduates can pursue positions such as:

Medical and Health Services Manager: Plan, direct, and coordinate medical and health services in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities.
Healthcare Administrator: Oversee the administrative and operational aspects of healthcare organizations.
Health Information Manager: Manage and protect patient health information.
Clinical Manager: Supervise and coordinate the activities of clinical staff.
Healthcare Consultant: Provide expert advice and guidance to healthcare organizations on various management issues.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a significant growth rate for medical and health services managers, indicating a strong demand for qualified professionals in this field. The median annual wage for medical and health services managers was $110,680.

Choosing the Right Program: Factors to Consider

When selecting a Healthcare Administration program, consider the following factors:

Accreditation: Ensure the program is accredited by a reputable accrediting agency, such as the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
Curriculum: Review the curriculum to ensure it covers the essential areas of healthcare administration and aligns with your career goals.
Faculty: Look for experienced faculty members with strong academic and professional backgrounds.
Experiential Learning Opportunities: Inquire about internship and practicum opportunities.
Career Services: Check if the university offers career services to assist with job placement.
Tuition and Fees: Compare tuition rates and financial aid options.

Degree Completion Programs

Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS): These degrees differ from Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees.
BSHA Program: A degree completion program, students must have already completed coursework equal to at least 90 quarter units. However, unlike many other degree completion programs, healthcare professional units can be applied towards the BSHA degree. For example, nursing, radiography, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dental hygiene, etc., units may be applied towards degree completion rather than a student having to take additional electives unrelated to student’s career of choice.

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