A Master of Health Management is for healthcare professionals looking for greater job responsibilities. Prepare for senior positions in healthcare with a 100% online masters degree.
A Masters in Health Management will help you achieve senior roles in Australia's healthcare industry. The programs are ideal for health workers seeking greater job responsibility. Online classes are generally made up of working professionals, such as registered nurses and midwives, social workers, occupational therapists and speech pathologists.
In studying for a Master of Health Management, you learn management strategies. You're also likely to orientate towards a leadership mindset in your professional life. Graduates come away with skills and qualifications to be considered for positions where they manage people, health services and organisational units.
Master's Degree Specialisations
Which Qualities Make You a Good Healthcare Manager?
How to be a good manager in healthcare? The job of a healthcare manager is high in responsibility. You may literally have the lives of people at stake depending on how well you do your job.
A professional demeanour sums up much of the thinking on this topic. A group of qualities related to temperament and habits are needed. "Dependability, good professional judgement and strong character" are essential characteristics according to one author. "Employers are also looking for individuals with a strong character who will commit to their healthcare organization. As a manager, you take a leadership role that others will follow."
Experience in healthcare practice, or sufficient industry knowledge, is also an important quality of a healthcare manager. "Having a strong foundation of healthcare knowledge allows for easier communication between managers, associates, and patients and also lends more credibility to decisions made by the manager." (Slipicevic)
Effective healthcare managers also have a strong set of business administration skills. These include good communication skills, the ability to solve problems, and competencies in areas such as analytics, finance and budgeting, and health workforce planning. That's where postgraduate study can really add to your existing skillset and create a strong platform for managerial success.
Health Information Management
Collecting quality health data and using it well is a focus area when you do a Masters in Health Information Management. As part of the degree, you may study topics such as health informatics, data analysis, and managing information systems. With the expansion of healthcare data sets, demand is stronger than ever for health information management expertise.
UTS Master of Health Services Management (Digital Health)
The Master of Health Services Management from UTS Online prepares leaders to drive improvement and deliver safe, high-value and accessible healthcare services. Students learn to plan and evaluate health and social care services, with a goal to innovate and enhance systems. You also learn how to harness and interpret data as a tool to achieve excellent service results. To specialise in digital health, you study Fundamentals of Health Information Management, Contemporary Approaches to Digital Health, and Using Health Care Data for Decision Making among other subjects. Created for working healthcare professionals, the program is available 100% online.
Health Leadership and Management
A Masters in Health Leadership and Management gives you the opportunity to gain highly transferable skills. Rather than specialising in a particular facet of the health care system, you learn strategies for roles such as organising teams, leading change, managing finances, and handling disputes.
UTS Master of Health Services Management (Leadership)
The 100% online Master of Health Services Management from UTS Online provides job-ready skills for leaders in health. Students learn to plan and evaluate health and social care services with a goal to drive improvement and deliver safe, high-value and accessible healthcare services. Specialise in Leadership with a 12-subject program that includes: Leading Health and Social Care; Health Systems and Change; Organisational Management in Health Care; and Managing Quality, Risk and Cost in Health Care.
Health Services Management
A Masters in Health Service Management is similar to a Masters in Health Management. The key difference is an emphasis on "service", meaning you may study health administration from a consumer perspective.
In health and social care, the consumer – whether a patient, client or facility resident – deserves safety and high service standards. Services must also be accessible and affordable. Managers balance competing priorities.
As with healthcare management masters, health services courses are available 100% online and offer specialisations such as leadership and planning... READ MORE
Nursing Management
Registered nurses and midwives can major in leadership and management as part of a Master of Nursing online course – with the Australian university of your choice.
The specialisation may require you to explore topics such as leading and managing in a healthcare setting, health systems and change, ethics in health care, and finance for a health manager.
Nursing management programs are designed with nurses in mind but represent general health manager training. They're ideal for experience nurses already taking on leadership roles or who are close to doing so... READ MORE
What You'll Study (Course Structure)
In Australia, you can expect a master's program for health professionals to consist of 12 subjects. Online courses are typically accelerated as well, meaning study happens year-round. The usual pattern is to study online part-time, completing a new subject from start to finish every couple of months.
Programs consist of core subjects and elective units. You can major or minor in certain specialisations by choosing enough electives from the relevant study stream.
UTS Online program subjects
Students do 12 subjects, including 6 core subjects. Electives allow for a major and/or sub-majors.
Core subjects
- Foundations of the Australian Healthcare System
- Fundamentals of Epidemiology
- Managing Quality, Risk and Cost in Health Care
- Organisational Management in Health Care
- Policy, Power and Politics in Health Care
- Using Health Care Data for Decision Making
Digital Health sub-major
- Contemporary Approaches to Digital Health
- Fundamentals of Health Information Management
Leadership sub-major
- Health Systems and Change
- Leading Health and Social Care
Planning sub-major
- Health Systems and Change
- Planning and Evaluating Health Services
Quality and Safety major
- Improving Safety and Quality in Healthcare
- Planning and Evaluating Health Services
- Quality and Safety Improvement Methods
- Systems and Service Innovation
Learning Outcomes
A full health master's program will engage your mind on management issues while also providing contextual knowledge of healthcare systems. You'll have the background and strategies to proficiently plan, administer and respond to challenges in the health sector.
Here are examples of learning outcomes. Graduates should be able to do the following.
Explain the different layers of responsibility in the Australian healthcare system, including at different government levels, and how health systems function from a user's perspective.
Access health data to perform analysis, produce reports and make health service management recommendations.
Understand how effective healthcare management depends on and influences workplace incentives, processes and culture.
Outline strategies and frameworks with which to manage risk, quality and cost in a healthcare environment.
Identify key issues in health planning and performance evaluation, including challenges and solution strategies.
Outline legal, ethical and professional practice requirements in the delivery of services where patient safety is involved.
Career Opportunities
A specialist master's degree in health leadership and management may improve your career opportunities markedly. You gain an internationally recognised manager qualification, along with knowledge and skills to improve job performance. As well, graduates benefit from enhanced management literacy and communication skills, which will help get you noticed and give great answers to interview questions.
As you may be aware, job opportunities are abundant in health coordination and organisation. The National Skills Commission projects employment of Health and Welfare Services Managers may grow by a massive 26.5% in Australia over the five years to 2027. Graduates work in public and private healthcare practices, including fields such as aged care, allied health, dentistry, medical science, medicine, nursing, paramedicine, physiotherapy and public health.
Some of the different types of roles you could are to: manage a hospital department or health practice, manage health data and information services, develop public health policy, plan staff development and performance assessment, manage risks, and design health services delivery.
Entry Requirements
Entry requirements for a health manager masters vary by program. But you're generally expected to have a health background, with relevant qualifications and/or experience.
If you seek entry based on academic qualifications, your bachelor degree or higher qualification may need to be in a health or human services field. Likewise, for course admission based on professional experience, you should have worked extensively in healthcare or human services.
For automatic entry into the UTS health master's program, applicants need a bachelor’s degree or equivalent or higher qualification. Your undergraduate degree should be in a relevant discipline from health or human services. Alternatively, you may be admitted based on evidence of general and professional qualifications that demonstrates the potential to succeed with postgraduate studies.
Graduate Certificate pathway
Applicants who are unable to meet the entry requirements for the master's program may gain entry by enrolling in the embedded graduate course. For the graduate certificate, an additional avenue for entry exists for people without a bachelor degree. You may be considered based on extensive work experience in healthcare or human services. Relevant work experience will be demonstrated via a CV and a Statement of Service.
Related: Health Management Graduate Certificate
English language proficiency requirements apply for students with international qualifications. Fully online courses are unavailable to international students on a Student Visa.
Tuition fees the health masters are $3,192 per subject in 2022. FEE-HELP loans from the Australian Government are available for eligible domestic students.
Course duration is 2 years of part-time study. Key dates: Intakes happen in Jan, Mar, July, May, Sept, Oct.
FAQs
As a healthcare manager, you have a leadership role and oversee potentially many different parts of a health service operation. Three key functions that must be done well are the following.
- Organise and direct the delivery of medical or other healthcare services. Patients and clients are in need of services and, on occasion, lives may depend on it. Managers of healthcare organisations need to ensure services are delivered on a daily basis. A big part of the job may be making decisions to keep services running smoothly. You'll need to delegate jobs and responsibilities, supervise people and operations, ensure equipment and supplies are available, and make decisions to avoid or overcome any obstacles to service delivery.
- Maintain high standards of client care. In healthcare, mistakes can be very costly to clients and patients. There are also many laws and regulations that must be complied with. A big part of your role as a leader is to ensure the quality and safety of services, backed by the professional development of staff. While there are profit and cost-saving goals as well, there is a fundamental requirement that agencies deliver only the services they are capable of providing, delivered with safe processes by qualified and well-resourced professionals.
- Plan spending and staffing. Managing resources and finances are a key part of the job for healthcare managers. You need to do planning on different timeframes, from the next day to perhaps two years from now, so that the service operation can be efficiently maintained. Project management skills may also be needed for tasks with deadlines. Within a budget, managers need to direct spending to each expenditure area. Workforce planning, including recruitment, is important since you need highly trained professionals to deliver many healthcare services.
For a longer list of duties, refer to the ABS guide for Health and Welfare Services Managers.
At university, health management studies represents training for managers who work in health care and social services. The courses, which are typically postgraduate, prepare health professionals to be managers, taking on tasks such as supervising others, leading teams, managing budgets, reporting, and planning services.
As with every other industry, the health sector needs educated managers and leaders to coordinate activities, organise people and operations, and make executive decisions. Specialised courses are available that are tailored to healthcare settings, where you're dealing with patients or clients who need special individual attention.
How is the study of management different in the health sector? Students of the courses learn general business administration while also studying unique aspects of health service management, such as: how Australia's health systems work, patient safety amidst cost pressures, health regulations, ethics in the provision of services, and the administration and analysis of health data including patient records.
Studying healthcare management positions you to be selected to and perform management and leadership roles in healthcare organisations. Those are arguably the key benefits: access to important, high-paying jobs and the knowledge and skills to perform your duties with distinction.
Most health service managers are drawn from the pool of health professionals in a given sector, whether they are nurses, doctors, pharmacists or other allied health professionals, psychologists or counsellors. Health leaders are trained to do something else before being called to, or seeking out, opportunities to move into administration of their chosen domain.
Studying healthcare management is appropriate to build the specialised knowledge and skills required in a quite different line of work. Those increased capabilities will serve you well in carrying out the daily duties of health managers. Online learning allows you to build expertise as a part-time student who may be working full-time.
Achieving a university-level qualification also demonstrates both commitment and skill in management, uplifting a graduate's prospects when applying for health manager jobs. Postgraduate certifications include a graduate certificate, graduate diploma, or masters in healthcare management.
