A new MBA programme at UCaims to revolutionise the way in which Irish hospitals are managed. Hélène Hofmanreports
A new academic programme aimed at preparing health professionals for management roles within the health service has been launched by University College Dublin's (UCD) Michael Smurfit School of Business.
The executive Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Management will be available from September on a part-time basis.
It is aimed at doctors, nurses, administrators, allied health professionals and other professionals in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector who are combining their work as a healthcare professional with a management role.
The programme will be run in conjunction with the UCD school of medicine and medical science and apply modern management methods to the health sector.
"The health sector manages a budget of over €12 billion and employs over 100,000 individuals, which is a large portion of our workforce," says Dr Geraldine Doyle, head of teaching and learning at the UCD school of business and academic director of the MBA in Healthcare Management.
"Therefore, it is essential to have an MBA that trains individuals in best practice in terms of management. It looks at bringing what traditionally has been best practice in the private sector and applying it to the public sector.
"This essentially will emphasise cost control, efficiency and increase the quality of the service to ensure patient safety and provide the best possible outcome for patients."
According to Doyle, the MBA in Healthcare Management, which is based on the Harvard model and will replace the old MBA in Health Services Management that was run with the Royal College of Surgeons, is the first of its type in Ireland.
Participants in the new programme will spend 50 per cent of their time studying modules common to all MBA programmes, such as decision-making and data analysis and human resource management, with other MBA students.
The remaining 50 per cent of the course will comprise health-sector specific subjects taught in conjunction with the school of medicine and medical science such as evidence-based practice, health economics, and legal and ethical issues.
Participants will be offered three optional electives, including the international module, from either the general management modules or healthcare specific side.
"The Harvard model was chosen because an MBA is designed to train an individual to be a leading manager within their organisation and give them all the skills they would need to be an effective leader.
"We wanted to do that and decided the MBA healthcare participants would study these subjects with other executives from varying different backgrounds," Doyle says.
"Students will now carry out half of their modules with other executives which will allow them to look at modern management techniques and practices in place across the board and apply them to the health sector," she explains.
"We've also added an international module, where students will travel to the University of Louvain in Belgium and all modules are required to have an international dimension."
When in Belgium, they will visit the university hospital and a large pharmaceutical company. Students will also be included in a round-table discussion with members of the European Commission and be introduced to the members of the EU's committee on health and environment.
"We felt the international module was important. The overall idea is that students will look at other European practices and perform comparisons between here and there," says Doyle.
"The emphasis is on action learning, where individuals on the programme will be exposed to different management ideas and practices and be required by way of an assignment or team work or group work to critically evaluate how that particular practise can be applied in their own organisation . . . the objective is to train existing managers in the health sector to be future leaders, to influence and to inform change in the future."
The MBA will be offered on a part-time basis over two years with lectures taking place on Friday afternoons and Saturday morning.
For more information and application forms, contact UCD Smurfit School of Business on tel: 01-7168934 or e-mail: smurfitschool@ucd.ie. The closing date for applications is July 9th next.