Program Description

• Aims to train students to provide safe, high-quality care through effective organisation and management. 

• Explore management, marketing and leadership skills in contemporary health service organisations.  

• Learn how to deal with the pressure of developing services, changing policies and ever changing demands of senior management positions.
• Understand how to motivate teams, transform services to meet changing demands and promote caring environments.
• As the health care environment is constantly changing you will be encouraged to demonstrate adaptable, creative, analytical and innovative attributes.
• Classes are interactive, striking the right balance between tuition and discussion.
• Throughout the year we will host a series of social, networking and guest speaker events, including senior managers in the NHS, to enhance your learning experience.
• Delivered in conjunction with the Adam Smith Business School, which holds triple accreditation from AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS and has 40 years of experience delivering management and leadership courses as part of its MBA.

Main Campus Location

This programme is undertaken at the Gilmorehill Campus, in the West End of Glasgow. Easy to travel to by bus, subway, train or car.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

The complex nature of health services poses challenges to those charged with managing competing needs and demands with limited resources. This programme aims to train students to provide safe, effective and high-quality care through effective organisation and management.  

The programme will cover three main themes:

• Provision of a thorough knowledge and understanding of evidence-based practice by introducing systems for managers and administrators to minimise errors and monitor performance. The programme will provide guidance in strong leadership and effective management to ensure achievement of organisational objectives against a background of increasing public expectations.
• Provision of a critical appreciation of relevant theoretical, methodological and technical literature from the central business disciplines and to cultivate analytical and interpretive abilities and enable students to integrate these with essential managerial and business skills. 

• Reflection on the knowledge acquired during the taught elements of the programme and take independent responsibility for the application of explicit management responsibilities and practices to a relevant problem for the completion of the dissertation.

Core and optional courses

The programme comprises the following courses:

Compulsory courses - all completed in semester 1 

• INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN HEALTH SERVICES
• CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
• MARKETING MANAGEMENT
• RESEARCH APPROACHES IN HEALTH CARE
• MANAGING STRATEGIC CHANGE

Optional courses: on campus

• MANGING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION*
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT*
• LEADERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY HEALTH CARE**
• MANAGING HEALTH CARE ORGANISATIONS*
• UNDERSTANDING HEALTH POLICY*
• SUBSTANCE USE, HEALTH, AND SOCIETY*
• GLOBAL HEALTH CHALLENGES*
• HEALTH AND CULTURE*
• ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTH*
• QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS*
• ETHICAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC HEALTH*

Optional courses: online

• LEADING IMPROVEMENT IN CARE PROVISION (online)**
• TRANSFORMING CARE SERVICES (online)*
• HEALTH ECONOMICS FOR HTA ONLINE (online)*

* Choose any 3 optional courses from either on campus, online or a combination of both.
** Cannot be taken together

MSC HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT PROJECT (60 credits)

Subject to satisfactory results from taught courses, students progress on to a 10,000-12,000 research project. This may include:

• Empirical research utilising quantitative or qualitative methods
• Secondary analysis of routine data or datasets collected as part of a larger study or utilising routine health service data
• A comprehensive and original literature review on a relevant subject
• A health policy report of an issue using evidence from the literature and/or from original sources to draw conclusions and make policy recommendations.

The research project is an independent piece of work which students take under the supervision of a member of the academic staff and/or an external supervisor (including senior managers in the NHS).

Transferable skills

This programme provides a range of training in transferable skills, including:

• Develop skills in independent learning, time management, team work and leadership.
• Develop reflective practitioner skills.
• Synthesise information and data from multiple sources and develop skills in literature review. To include books, journals, social media (including Twitter, blogs, podcasts), general media, governmental and charity publications as well as patient experience.
• Improve confidence in presenting original work to peers including essays, oral presentations, and posters.
• Reflect and learn from peer and course tutor feedback.
• Critically review literature and develop analytical skills.
• Develop organisational skills.
• Develop skills in problem solving.

Programme alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme. For more information, please see: Student contract.

CAREER PROSPECTS

Suitable for those working in a range of settings including public, private and not for profit health service environments.

You may already be a health professional and wish to develop your leadership skills to further your organisations values or be looking to develop linkages across the health and social care sector.

Alternatively, you may be new to management and health service organisations but wish to engage in a role where your values and compassion can facilitate social change. Examples of job types include:

• Health service management at all levels and globally
• General practice
• Large hospital organisations 
• Private healthcare sector
• Charity organisations
• Pharmaceutical industry at a local, national, and global level.