Health Systems Management, Part-Time, MS

Health Systems Management: Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or anticipate completion of that degree prior to the start of the HSM degree program. The two prerequisite courses, which consist of an undergraduate course in accounting and an undergraduate course in statistics, also must be completed prior to enrollment. An undergraduate course in microeconomics is highly recommended. Applicants fill out an online application, provide three letters of recommendation and submit official copies of their college/university transcripts from every college/university previously attended. In addition, they submit scores from either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). International students also must submit a credentialing evaluation of their international education as well as the results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Qualified applicants are invited to Rush for an admissions visit. The visit typically includes four faculty interviews, lunch with a current student and an appointment with the Office of Student Financial Aid.

Health Systems Management Technical Standards

Rush University is committed to diversity and to attracting and educating students who will make the population of health care professionals representative of the national population.

Our core values - ICARE - Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect and Excellence translate into our work with all students, including those with disabilities. Rush actively collaborates with students to develop innovative ways to ensure accessibility and creates a respectful accountable culture through our confidential and specialized disability support. Rush is committed to excellence in accessibility; we encourage students with disabilities to disclose and seek accommodations.

The following technical functions are required of all students enrolled in the Health Systems Management program:

Acquire information

• Acquire information from demonstrations and experiences in courses such as lecture, group, and physical demonstrations.
• Acquire information from written documents and computer systems (e.g., literature searches & data retrieval).
• Identify information presented in accessible images from paper, slides, videos with audio description, and transparencies.

Use and Interpret

• Use and interpret information from assessment techniques/maneuvers/procedures. Use and interpret information generated from diagnostic tools.

Motor

• Possess psychomotor skills necessary to perform or assist with day-to-day responsibilities commensurate with the student’s discipline.
• Practice in a safe manner and perform universal precautions against contamination.

Communication

• Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients and families.
• Communicate effectively with faculty, preceptors, employees, other professionals and all members of the healthcare team during practicum, internship and/or other learning experiences.

Intellectual ability

• Measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize data related to diagnosis and treatment of patients and populations.
• Exercise proper judgment and complete responsibilities in a timely and accurate manner according to the Health Systems Management role.
• Synthesize information, problem solve, and think critically to judge the most appropriate theory, assessment, management or treatment strategy.

Behavioral

• Maintain mature, sensitive, effective relationships with clients/patients, families, students, faculty, staff, preceptors and other professionals under all circumstances.
• Exercise skills of diplomacy to advocate for patients in need.
• Possess emotional stability to function under stress and adapt to rapidly changing environments inherent to the classroom and practice settings.

Character

• Demonstrate concern for others.
• Integrity, accountability, interest, and motivation are necessary personal qualities.
• Demonstrate intent and desire to follow the Rush University and Health Systems Management Code of Ethics.

The technical standards delineated above must be met with or without accommodation. Students who, after review of the technical standards, determine that they require reasonable accommodation to fully engage in the program, should contact the Office of Student Disability Services to confidentially discuss their accommodations needs. Given the clinical nature of our programs, time may be needed to create and implement the accommodations. Accommodations are never retroactive; therefore, timely requests are essential and encouraged. To learn more about accommodations at Rush University please contact:

Marie Ferro-Lusk, MBA, MSW, LSW
Manager, Office of Student Disability Services
Rush University
600 S. Paulina St. AAC 440
Chicago, IL 60612     
(312) 942-5237
Marie_S_Ferro-Lusk@rush.edu

Health Systems Management: Academic Policies

Health Systems Management: Graduation Requirements

To be eligible to graduate, a student must successfully complete all the Department of Health Systems Management’s academic requirements, which include earning a minimum of 58 semester hours of credit and achieving a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

In addition, students must complete HSM 624 and 626 as part of their part-time internship experience.  All part time students are required to complete a “Stretch Project” as part of their internship experience.

Students need to have at least 16 documented contact hours of professional or community service.

Health Systems Management: Faculty Work/Service Activities

Members of the faculty of the Department of Health Systems Management are actively involved in the operation of Rush University Medical Center as hospital administrators and health care planners, university administrators, financial managers, clinicians, attorneys, researchers, and information services managers. They serve as consultants to hospitals, planning bodies and other organizations.

Faculty members hold leadership positions, participate in seminars and engage in other professional activities sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Hospital Association, the Chicago Health Executives Forum, the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society and the Illinois Hospital and Health Systems Association.

Health Systems Management: Career Services

Health Systems Management students receive ongoing career mentoring, counseling and related services throughout their academic career. During the first academic year, full-time students are placed in part-time jobs throughout Rush University Medical Center. The job sites include Perioperative Services, Nursing Administration Revenue Management, Human Resources, Finance, Medical Affairs, Enterprise Resource Planning, Capital Projects, Long Term Care, Quality and Accreditation, Women and Children’s Services, Patient Relations, Emergency Management, Rush Health, Emergency Department, Health and Aging, Strategic Outreach, Midwest Orthopaedics and Rush University Medical Group. The jobs provide practical experience, reinforce the coursework, produce a more dynamic classroom experience and offer students a multifaceted perspective on the field of health care management. The student’s manager also functions as a preceptor for the work experience.

Program faculty and staff provide assistance identifying opportunities for summer internships and part-time work during the second academic year and counseling/assistance to secure postgraduate fellowships or jobs.

While students receive individualized input regarding their career goals, the program’s Professional Seminar series provides systematic training, guidance and feedback in professional skills development and career planning.

Health Systems Management: Rush Center for the Advancement of Healthcare Value

The vision of the Rush Center for the Advancement of Healthcare Value is to be recognized globally as an innovator in conducting research that prepares leaders for the future of health care.

Our center is housed within the Department of Health Systems Management at Rush University.

Our center’s work is grounded in interdisciplinary research and focuses on translating research into practice and uses practice as a foundation for research. Our research is differentiated by the following:

• Academically based center with close ties to the practice community
• Strong focus on leadership development in health care research and practice
• Pursuit of objective knowledge
• Experts in advanced analytic methods
• Proficiency in large multisource database analyses

Our research focuses on evaluating ways to improve the value of care provided by health care organizations. This work addresses important challenges that relate to:

Organizational excellence and leadership

The OEL program focuses on improving health care value by understanding the critical roles of leadership, governance, lead­ership development and other high-performance work practices to organizational outcomes, such as patient

experience and financial performance.

The patient experience: Studies focusing on identifying evidence-based approaches to improving the patient experience, including patient decision making, facilities and throughput, patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes.

Health care value, quality and safety

The health care value, quality and safety program focuses on the following topics:

•  Lean operations

•  Throughput improvements

•  Education in variation and standardization

•  Just culture

•  Informed decision-making and problem-solving

•  Change management

•  Sustainability strategies in health care organizations

Population health

Population health research focuses on identifying the patterns of health determinants and their relationships with health out­comes among populations. The design is to implement evidence-based practice or interventions at an individual or societal level to reduce health disparities among vulnerable populations, such as racial and ethnic minorities, the uninsured, low-income children and women, and the elderly.

International health

The department’s international health care research program focuses on improving value by strengthening the evidence base for improving the value of health care through global exchange. Our research includes macro- and micro-level drivers of health care exports and international medical travel.

Workforce of the future

Our research on the workforce of the future focuses on improv­ing health care value by strengthening the pipeline of talented professionals into critical health care positions, with a special emphasis on understanding and addressing the challenges faced by early careerists from disadvantaged and underrepre­sented groups.

Interprofessionalism

Interprofessionalism in health care delivery and health care education is becoming increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of improved service delivery. Research in this area focuses on the differential outcomes associated with a coordinated, team-based approach to service delivery.

For more information about our center, contact Tricia Johnson, PhD, Associate Chair of Research and Education, professor and director, at (312) 942-7107 or tricia_j_johnson@rush.edu.    

Health Systems Management: Curriculum

The curriculum is designed to instruct students in the current theory and practice of health services management, including the study of organizational behavior, quantitative and analytical techniques, planning, finance and human resources management. The curriculum structure gives students the opportunity to apply managerial principles in real-world learning environments and to design and conduct applied health services research projects.

The curriculum content focuses on: management and leadership competencies and their application to health services organizations through a study of organizational behavior, quantitative methods, budgeting, finance, information systems, law, strategic planning, governance, health policy, marketing, health insurance and managed care, health economics, and the social and environmental determinants of health and disease.