MSN/MBA Dual Degree

This is an epidemiology methods course designed with the broad perspective required for determination of the distribution and determinants of health and illness in human population groups. One focus is on the information systems, data sets and algorithms used in solving health problems and finding solutions needed for evidence-based practice. Knowledge required for being a critical consumer of research reports in professional literature is an additional focus. Designing health promotion and disease prevention programs for important global and local health problems is also stressed. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 502).

This course provides an overview of policies that affect the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of health care. Students analyze the effects that paradigms, values, special interests, and economics have in the delivery and financing of health care that may or may not result in improvement of health of the public and of specific subsets of patients. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 504).

This course provides students a framework to guide advanced clinical inquiry. Students learn how to formulate researchable and clinically relevant evidence-based practice (EBP) questions, perform advanced literature searches, and critique the strength of current evidence. Students identify and propose EBP projects that are relevant to their specialty areas and present project findings upon completion. Three graduate credits.

This course provides an overview of legal issues associated with healthcare, including HIPAA and Medicare fraud and abuse, and the regulatory and accreditation environments of Medicare, Medicaid, JCAHO, and OSHA. Ethical issues associated with the practice of medicine and decision-making in the healthcare environment are also examined. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 536).

This course focuses on the synthesis of theoretical and practical principles of financial and investment decisions within health care organizations. Students utilize accounting and financial information to execute effective decisions that enhance organizational objectives and patient outcomes. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 520).

This course focuses on defining projects and identifying how to manage them within health care organizations. Students learn to identify project management process groups, methods to formulate and execute goals, break project components into work breakdown structure, and critique project case studies to assure performance improvement. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 522).

This course examines models of change within health care organizations and identify strategic and leadership decisions necessary to effect positive organizational outcomes. Factors that assure short-term and long-term success in a competitive health care environment, including developing partnerships and cultivating human and other resources are analyzed. Students utilize case studies to critique the strategic decision-making process and make recommendations for effective strategic change. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 524).

This course examines the unique environment of health care and the challenges confronting managers in that environment. Topics examined include marketing health care services, recruiting and retaining staff necessary for meeting mission, the strategy of health care services delivery, health care informatics, and decision making in the health care market place. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 532).

In this course, students will study human health, both national and personal, from an economic perspective. Further, students will analyze the ways in which healthcare services are demanded and supplied. Topics include: the value of health from an individual and societal perspective; the demand for physicians’ and other health services; the supply of healthcare; the demand for and the supply of health insurance; international comparison of healthcare expenditures; cost-benefit analyses of public policies and medical interventions; and the role of government in related healthcare markets. Prerequisites: None. Three graduate credits. (Graduate Business students register for MGMT 534).

The course’s seminar provides students with seminar and internship opportunities to engage in self and peer review to facilitate successful implementation of the nurse administrator role, synthesizing advanced concepts learned during the program of study. Students set professional development goals and present case studies for individual and group analysis and evaluation. Students explore options for collaborative health projects that enhance nursing engagement and leadership in the global community. The internship component is a precepted nursing administration practicum experience that provides students with opportunities to implement the role of the nurse administrator within a health care agency or hospital. *The Nurse Administrator’s Professional Portfolio will be completed during this semester. Six graduate credits.

In this course, participants explore the role of economic theory and analysis in the formation of business strategy and policy. The course examines the importance of understanding the competitive environment, including market structure, strategic interactions among competitors, and government antitrust policies, as well as economic forces internal to the firm such as costs. The course emphasizes the importance of economic reasoning in the strategic management process. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: None.

This course focuses on the integration of both the theoretical and practical aspects of financial and investment decisions in the corporate environment. Students will learn to fully utilize accounting and financial information to make sound, ethical decisions. Topics include financial statement analysis, risk & return, capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, financial decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, corporate valuation, working capital management, multinational finance, and current issues such as derivatives, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and corporate governance. The legal and ethical aspects of financial management are examined within the context of the existing legal and regulatory environment. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: None.

This course focuses on the strategic and tactical issues associated with managing the creation and distribution of goods and services. Concepts, techniques, and tools of process and project management are emphasized. Specific topics include, among others, operations strategy, quality management, time-based competition, and supply chain management. The application of these techniques in various settings including the industrial, service, healthcare, and not-for-profit sectors is also examined. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: None.

Good business decisions and strategy depend on drawing inferences from data. Today businesses gather and store vast amounts of data on customers, markets, and the business itself. In this course students will learn how to predict and explain phenomena in the environment through the gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting of information that makes business decision makers more effective. The course focuses on methods of conducting business research, including data collection and sampling, measurement, hypothesis testing, basic quantitative analysis, and multivariate statistical techniques. Students will design and execute their own analysis of data in a business discipline of their choice. Excel is used extensively in the course as an analysis tool. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: None.

Integrative Experience – Organizations are facing many environmental challenges including new technologies, new methods of organizing, diverse consumer demands, new competitors, and diverse employee skills and backgrounds. The common denominator is change. This course examines innovation and organizational change from a strategic and operational perspectives. Students’ knowledge and skills related to innovation and change management are developed with an emphasis on strategy and organizational goals. Applied projects with small businesses and not-for-profit organizations allow students to apply their knowledge of innovation and change management in the real world situations. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: Final semester status, or permission of instructor.

Organizations and businesses need leadership from every individual who works or volunteers to advance its mission and goals. Regardless of style or approach, leadership starts with basic competencies that together create a portfolio for leadership effectiveness. The roster of competencies is fluid and can vary depending on the individual, the workplace and the goals, but the outcome is constant: they contribute significantly to an individual’s ability to lead people. In this course, we will examine what can arguably be considered among the most relevant and substantive competencies for effective leadership currently. Competencies may include emotional intelligence, authenticity, being present, character, creativity, courage and empathy. Incorporating a variety tools and techniques, such as presentations, research, essays and outreach to industry professionals, the course gives students the opportunity to understand, assess, and develop their own capacities and effectiveness in these areas of leadership competencies. Throughout the course, reflective practice, that aligns course theoretical knowledge with student workplace experiences and builds a supportive learning community, will be emphasized. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: None.

Leaders and managers achieve goals working with and through others. They must be skilled in developing individuals to work in teams, in facilitating teams, and in managing conflict. Leaders and managers must understand organizational and national cultures and how they affect the achievement of goals. They must not only hold strong ethical values, but also model them. This course examines the role of managers as leaders in organizations and develops knowledge and skills needed by managers in today’s business environment to successfully achieve organizational goals. This course focuses on who leaders are and what leaders do. It is important to know what accounts for effective leadership and how one can become an effective leader. Subsequently, course material will focus upon fundamental principles of leadership and how these principles relate to becoming an effective leader. Emphasis will be placed on self-reflection and analysis in regard to developing one’s own leadership skills. 3 graduate credits. Prerequisite: None.