Healthcare administration is continually evolving, driven by advancements in technology, shifts in patient expectations, and changes in healthcare delivery models. In this program refresh, we are updating our curricula to ensure that the Healthcare Administration program stays current with these developments. The goal of the program refresh is to accomplish the following:
In addition to these points, the target roles within the program have been significantly expanded and refined to better align with the demands of an applied business setting in healthcare administration. Previously, these roles were broadly defined, relying primarily on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) categorizations under the general label of "Medical and Health Services Managers." While this designation offered a starting point, it didn’t fully capture the specialized roles and career paths that healthcare administration graduates might pursue.
Now, the program has evolved to parse out specific target roles that reflect a broader and more nuanced understanding of opportunities in the field. These target roles encompass a variety of specialized areas within healthcare management, such as quality improvement, healthcare finance, health information systems, operations management, and patient experience coordination. Through this alignment with industry standards and job market expectations, the program positions graduates to pursue meaningful, impactful careers in healthcare administration, ready to meet the needs of both traditional healthcare providers and innovative, business-oriented roles within the healthcare sector.
The program changes are summarized here, along with brief descriptions of the reasoning behind each change.
Please see Section 3 in the Appendix at the end of this document for a more detailed description of all changes and Curriculum Committee feedback.
The full program is now in alignment with CAHME and ACHE core competencies.
Healthcare administration encompasses diverse branches—from government roles with agencies like Medicare and Medicaid to private sector positions in healthcare analytics, operations, consulting, and even roles within startups. HADMN II - Career Navigation and Exploration in Healthcare Administration is designed to help students identify and understand the extensive range of career pathways within healthcare administration. For students transitioning from clinical paths or those aiming to specialize in healthcare administration, it’s crucial to understand the different trajectories and requirements early on. Success in healthcare administration is often experience-driven, so students benefit significantly from targeted career positioning and networking strategies.
From a bird’s eye perspective, the titles of the six remaining programs in the sequence remain similar, as these competencies are important for outcomes. However, the course topics within have been refreshed in order to get to better outcomes and expand knowledge and target roles, particularly when it comes to technology, analytics, and IT. Marketing, increased applied understanding of policy, emergency preparedness, and health justice have also been integrated both in individual courses and throughout the curriculum.
This refreshed HADMN I course builds on a foundation that students have historically enjoyed, preserving its comprehensive introduction to the U.S. healthcare system while adding new, valuable dimensions: