Friends University: Health Care Leadership

[ HEALTH CARE LEADERSHIP ]

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions regarding the Master of Health Care Leadership program. You can either click on the questions below to go directly to the answer, or scroll at your own pace. If this page does not answer your questions, contact Jeanne Patton at Jeanne_Patton@friends.edu, (316) 295-5901 or (800) 794-6945.

Why Master Health Care Leadership?
What can I do with a Master of Healthcare Leadership?
Do I need prior experience in healthcare to be considered for this program?
How was the curriculum developed?
What kind of entrance exams or other criteria are needed to enter this program?
I understand there is an Capstone project. What does this mean and how does it work?
Are there other universities in Wichita offering a MHCL?
Why not a Masters in Healthcare Administration?
Why Friends University?
What resources are available through the Friends library?
What is the seat time and online time? Web materials?
Is there an Advisory Board?

Why Master Health Care Leadership?
We made a decision to make the Masters in Healthcare Leadership a stand-alone program. This is not an MBA that has a few courses in healthcare. This program was developed with the distinct needs of the healthcare leader and administrator, not a one-size-fits-all degree. Supporting data is from sources such as The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition and Kansas Job Vacancy. This data shows significant growth in healthcare fields including clinical, information technology, and administration in short and long term care. The January 2005 edition of Information Week in had an article on President G. W. Bush's. Additionally, local and national media have run numerous articles addressing the shortage of healthcare professionals including the jobs highest in demand. A Feb. 13, 2005, Wichita Eagle article also lists various levels of nursing as the number two, four and eight out of 10 as the occupations that will add more jobs in the south central area.

Though we cannot speak to the hard numbers of growth in administration based on this data, one would assume administration of the healthcare profession will be in demand. The Kansas Executive Order number 03-21 states the healthcare industry is 12 percent of the state's gross product and employs thousands. Other documents from The State of Kansas with Web sites regarding healthcare:

Turnover in healthcare:

Acute care: 20 percent
Senior care: 50 percent

List of healthcare providers categories in a 50-mile radius of Wichita (These numbers are based on data from 2004 SBC and also an estimation of surrounding providers):

Hospitals: 20 (Does not include outreach or departments within the hospital or hospital system)
Hospice Care: 12
Clinics and medical care offices: 150
Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities: 80

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What can I do with a Master of Healthcare Leadership?
Though the training and the overall learning experience is suitable for all levels of management, the degree is designed to help the existing or aspiring mid-level manager obtain the skills and degree necessary to manage in a number of healthcare facilities

It is also designed for the clinical and non-clinical or operations manager wishing to develop skills in leadership, regulatory law, organizational behavior, ethics, information systems, and other courses dedicated to excellence in healthcare leadership

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Do I need prior experience in healthcare to be considered for this program?
Though it is helpful to have healthcare experience, it is not mandatory. We find the cohort group is conducive to those with experience "helping by leading" in the classroom. Likewise, a student with minimal experience challenges the class to re-think their stand or decision-making process by their questions and experiences in other areas. Many times in the director interview, the potential student and the director will weigh out the benefits and decide whether the student is ready for the challenge. Recent graduates with a minimum of an undergraduate degree are encouraged to apply.

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How was the curriculum developed?
The curriculum has been assembled by comparing similar programs and their course offerings. We also asked many of the leaders in various disciplines in healthcare including acute and long term, clinic and hospital administration, insurance and regulatory boards, and other agencies what they see as important and emerging issues in healthcare leadership. The advisory board consisting of many of these experts also gave input on the curriculum.

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What kind of entrance exams or other criteria are needed to enter this program?
There is no entrance exam. We believe the director interview, letters of recommendation, prior grade point average of 2.75 and a completed undergraduate degree are sufficient to make a decision whether the student is ready to enter the MHCL

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I understand there is an Capstone project. What does this mean and how does it work?
As part of the curriculum, the student will complete a 30-40 hour Capstone project where he/she will work closely with a healthcare professional learning first hand the intricacies of their chosen field of study. The student will pick from a number of employers who are willing to have them shadow their activities in the chosen field of study. Once the project is completed, the student writes a comprehensive paper outlining the learning experience

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Are there other universities in Wichita offering a MHCL?
Based on our most recent research, there is no university located in Wichita offering a MHCL. There is a Masters of Public Health Administration (MPH) offered by The University of Kansas. The degrees are unique in their course offerings

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Why not a Masters in Healthcare Administration?
We believe the current trend is to emphasize leadership in healthcare. Though there are classes related to managerial accounting and strategic planning of the healthcare facility, we want to emphasize the need for strong leadership

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Why Friends University?
There are many good choices for the student including online and distance learning. While we see the validity in this area, we find that most of our students enjoy the face-to-face interaction. Our faculty and adjunct instructors come with experience in healthcare and this combination allows the student to get various points of view.

Classes are offered one night a week when they are convenient for the student. We understand the student's work and family obligations. Though the student is expected to be prepared for all classes, our faculty are willing to work with students when special circumstances arise. Our classrooms are well-equipped with up-to-date computer labs. And we have the one of the prettiest campuses in the state.

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What resources are available through the Friends library?
Since this program is dealing with management issues in health care, there are several databases that the library would suggest:

ProQuest
"Health and Wellness Resource Center"
"Health Reference Center Academic"
"PubMed Central"
"Medline"
"Lexis/Nexis" with a section specifically for medical and health journals and information
"BasicBiosis"
"Expanded Academic"
"PsycFirst"
"Psychology and Behavioral Sciences"
If you are dealing more with a business issue, we would recommend "ABI/Inform", "Business and Company Resource Center" or "Lexis/Nexis"
HIPPA information can certainly be found in all of the above mentioned databases

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What is the seat time and online time? Web materials?
Currently we have not developed a particular class that will use online as its primary source of delivery. Each class will have the option to use online as a feature or augmentation of the material or research. Web materials will be a contributor to the program as it contains up to date literature which is consistent with the program's goal of offering timely material in the class. (Examples of material would be through trade publications, legal journals, healthcare websites, online presentations, and other literature).

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Is there an Advisory Board?
It will consist of members from acute and long term care, clinic and hospital management, medical group consulting and medical health insurance. The initial request of the board will be to examine the proposed curriculum and get their input on its relevance to their expertise and vision.

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