Healthcare Management

Department: Business Administration
Department Chair: Craig Roger
Program Options: B.A., B.S.

The healthcare management major prepares you to apply business and management knowledge in healthcare organizations. You will study business practices, leadership skills and support services used by healthcare administrators and managers in their effort to identify, treat, prevent and control disease, sickness and injury. You will be exposed to the various strategies used to ensure a high quality of patient care service at the lowest possible cost. You will complete courses in business providing you with the essential knowledge of financial and managerial accounting, marketing and management. You gain insight into information technology uses in organizations, social science perspectives and the economics of healthcare. You will take advanced courses in managing a diverse workforce, critical studies of race and ethnicity, biomedical ethics, policy and politics in human services systems, and organizational communication skills, as well as a capstone senior seminar in healthcare management.

Even in a slow economy, when many industries have lost ground in capital expenditure and in jobs, the healthcare industry has continued to expand. This expansion translates to plentiful employment opportunities for individuals with the skills and educational background needed to work in this thriving sector of the job market. Minnesota in particular is a national leader in all dimensions of healthcare, from technology through reimbursement programs.
Healthcare professionals work as administrators, managers, CEOs, planners, and more. Through the efforts of well-trained and caring healthcare managers, patients are treated to state-of-the-art facilities, compassionate medical treatment and an overall positive healthcare experience. Individuals who choose to pursue this career path tend to be sympathetic, caring personality types with an honest desire to help others.

Healthcare managers are employed in a variety of settings including assisted living services, biomedical firms, community agencies, community health programs, dental companies, education, government, healthcare facilities, insurance companies, laboratories, life sciences companies, medical centers, mental health organizations, nursing homes, pharmaceutical manufacturers, public and private hospitals, public health, rehabilitation services, senior citizens homes and social service agencies, among others.

Serving in such an important, life-changing industry has its unique demands, but it also has its unique rewards. If you are interested in health and healthcare, we can help you make a difference in healthcare facilities, and by extension, the lives of the patients they serve.
Entry into the healthcare management major requires an associate or baccalaureate degree in a healthcare discipline such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, etc.

Common Aspects of All Business Majors
As a healthcare management major at St. Kate’s, you’ll benefit from a comprehensive business education that draws on exceptional faculty from academia and business, attracts outstanding students from around the country and world, weaves a focus on ethics into every course, provides introductions to leading corporations, potential employers and women role models and mentors, uses cutting-edge technology to enrich your studies and prepare you for the workforce and prepares you to succeed in the private, government or nonprofit sectors.

At St. Kate’s, you’ll have the opportunity to learn, work and study with business faculty who have real-world experience that enriches their theoretical expertise. There’s no dearth of women role models or creative ways to help you master the curriculum and reach your career goals. Other full-time professors, adjunct and international faculty provide just the right balance of the theoretical and the applied. You’ll not only become familiar with business theory and practice, but you’ll also begin to learn the art of being a successful businesswoman.

Faculty will work with you during your four years at St. Kate’s to develop your business portfolio, a requirement of graduation for students in the business administration department. Presenting a portfolio at a job interview is a powerful way to get the attention of potential employers and prove that you are the right woman for the job. Technology is fully integrated into the curriculum, and faculty will work with you as you learn to perform online research and prepare computer-based presentations. You will learn to integrate technology into your solutions for business problems.
St. Kate’s students frequently receive statewide recognition and scholarships through such organizations as Delta Mu Delta, an international business honor society, and Financial Executives International. St. Kate’s also has an active chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, the national business fraternity, which offers practical business experience and connections with business executives to members along with opportunities to network with students from other colleges and universities. Each year, faculty members nominate two students to receive scholarships granted by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Financial Executives Institute (FEI). St. Kate’s has a high success rate in this scholarship competition. We credit this success to the caliber of the program and its students and to the faculty’s personal knowledge of their students.

St. Kate’s Professional Partnership program will match you up with successful alumnae in your field of interest who will provide links with other professionals and career advice. Most students also participate in internships during their junior and senior years. Internships will allow you to refine your skills, broaden your perspectives and make valuable professional connections. The Entrepreneur Internship program matches business majors with women-owned businesses.
More than 60 companies visit campus to meet students, share information about their companies and recruit potential interns and employees at the annual St. Catherine Business Career Fair. Workshops prepare students on résumé writing, researching companies and interviewing. Many St. Kate’s students also attend the Minnesota Private College Job Fair — another excellent opportunity to connect with potential employers.
See also: Marketing and Management, Small Business/Entrepreneurship, Financial Economics, International Business and Economics, Healthcare Sales, Business to Business Sales, Accounting, Information Systems.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

ACCT 2110 Financial Accounting
ACCT 2130 Managerial Accounting
COMM 3090 Communications in Organizations
MGMT 2400 Principles of Management
MGMT 3460 Managing in a Diverse Workforce
MGMT 4850 Senior Seminar in Healthcare Management
MKTG 2300 Introduction to Marketing (2 credits)
ECON 2900 Topics in Healthcare Economics
ISYS 2150 Information Systems and Technology in Organizations
OSOT 4500 Policy and Politics in Human Service Systems (2 credits)
PHIL 3400 Biomedical Ethics

Required supporting course work:
COMM 2020 Communication Dynamics in Interpersonal Relationships or COMM 2090 Communication and Conflict in Groups and Teams
ECON 2250 Statistical Analysis for Economics and Business (or ECON 2200, PSYC 2050 or MATH 1080)
PSYC 1001 General Psychology or SOCI 1000 Principles and Concepts of Sociology
CRST 2050 Foundations of Critical Studies of Race and Ethnicity

NOTE: Healthcare management majors can complete an economics minor with just three additional courses. ECON 2610 Principles of Microeconomics, ECON 2620 Principles of Macroeconomics, ECON 3350 Money and Banking, and ECON 3500 Managerial Economics are recommended.

Entry into the healthcare management major requires an associate or baccalaureate degree in a healthcare discipline such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, etc.

BUSINESS PORTFOLIO
All majors are required to complete a business portfolio. The portfolio is the vehicle that enables you to integrate the life skills and knowledge you bring with you and the knowledge, skills and values learned within the courses and field experiences throughout the program. This portfolio allows you to validate your experiences at the College of St. Catherine.

The portfolio is cumulative in nature; most aspects are completed as part of course work. You must present your portfolio to your advisor no later than September 30 if you will be a December graduate, or February 15 if you will be a May graduate.
For specific portfolio requirements, please refer to the Professional Portfolio Handbook.

Healthcare management majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors by completing MGMT 4850. You complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000 and CORE 3990, and any other writing-intensive course in this or another department).

URL: http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog0709.nsf/pages/healthcare_management
This page was created on 05/02/2007 and last updated on 06/07/2007.
Comments, questions and feedback about this site may be addressed to registrar@stkate.edu.