Curriculum

The Vanderbilt Master of Management in Health Care is a 30-credit-hour graduate degree in management designed specifically to help rising managers in health care organizations gain fundamental business skills and apply them immediately on the job. Over a one-year period, students participate in core business courses one night a week, attend intensive health care industry-specific courses one weekend per month and work in teams on a health care strategy project throughout the program. Our unique schedule assures the highest quality educational experience without disrupting the day-to-day operations of sponsoring organizations.

A foundation in management fundamentals

Clinical professionals in the Vanderbilt MM Health Care gain the essential business knowledge and management skills necessary to effectively manage a health care organization. Through management core courses, students will learn key business fundamentals. Core courses include the following:
 

• Economics
• Marketing
• Accounting
• Finance
• Operations
• Leading Teams in Organizations

A deep-dive into business specifics in health care delivery

In conjunction with the management core courses, the weekend health care industry-specific courses apply the core management curriculum to health care. The topics covered are highly relevant to today’s dynamic health care environment. These weekend courses provide a deeper understanding of how business fundamentals relate to the challenges faced by executives in their organizations. Owen faculty and industry leaders provide their insight and expertise on some of the most crucial elements of health care business.

An integrated and applied curriculum

The MM Health Care curriculum builds further upon the management foundation and health care specifics with the Capstone Project. While gaining a solid understanding of management and health care business, students are assigned a project that requires the student team to fuse the knowledge to date and apply it to a real problem from their organization. The skills acquired in this project are far greater than what can be acquired from theoretical lecture. Develop your ability to

• Work with others as a team.
• Lead with influence and gain consensus.
• Problem-solve creatively and think outside the box.
• Make decisions like an executive.
• Appreciate differing opinions and perspectives.

A focus on leadership

At Owen we know it takes more than just the business fundamentals to lead an organization through the challenges faced by executives on a daily basis. Knowing your strengths and your areas for improvement is an essential part of learning to effectively manage others. The Vanderbilt MM Health Care curriculum is especially designed with a focus on leadership development. Students develop high-level management techniques to lead teams and people with confidence.

A collaborative classroom

In the MM Health Care program, students learn not only from the expertise and insight of the instructors but also from the varied perspectives of their classmates. MM Health Care students are all working professionals with extensive background in health care. As a result, the classroom is full of diverse perspectives that enrich the discussion and expand the breadth of health care knowledge to draw from. Vanderbilt professors are adept at drawing upon the collective experience of the class to identify and discuss ways that theory can be applied to real-time organizational opportunities and challenges.