Healthcare and Medical Services Management
About Healthcare and Medical Services Management
The healthcare and medical services management concentration focuses on how to effectively manage all aspects of a healthcare or medical services practice. In this program, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare structure, operations management, finance and law and regulation. You will learn critical thinking, leadership and how to creatively solve organizational problems.
This concentration prepares you to work in a range of healthcare positions in the public, private and non-profit sector. This program offers you a practical curriculum that covers leadership, management, communication and regulation specific to the healthcare industry. It prepares you to direct individuals and manage projects in order to maximize performance.
The Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) core curriculum provides you with the skills you need to succeed in today’s global economy. Students who are looking to complete their bachelor’s degree will receive both foundational knowledge and profession-specific skills.
Where can Healthcare and Medical Services Management take me?
A Bachelor of Professional Studies degree with a concentration in healthcare and medical services management will strengthen your skills in leadership, communication, management and finance. The strategies you will learn in the BPS core classes and in the healthcare and medical services management classes will help you enter a new industry or advance your career in organizations of all kinds.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical and health services managers earned a median annual wage of $101,340 in 2021*. By 2030, the BLS predicts that jobs in this field will increase by 32%*.
This is because the large baby-boomer population is aging, and people are remaining active later in life.
Medical and health service managers plan, direct, assess and coordinate the non-clinical side of medical and health services. They might manage an entire facility, a specific clinical area or department, or a medical practice for a group of physicians. They could work in sales or marketing management for a medical device or pharmaceutical company. They may work in policy implementation in a government agency or for a lobbyist in healthcare. Healthcare consulting is also available and represents a diverse field of experts. It’s essential that medical and health service managers understand and comply with changes in healthcare law, regulation and technology.
*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook
Healthcare and Medical Services Management Career Opportunities
- practice administrator
- health informatics managing director
- medical practice manager
- healthcare marketer
- patient advocate
- public health educator
Required Coursework
The Bachelor of Professional Studies is a degree completion program. In order to declare this program of study, students must have completed an Associate’s Degree or be 21 years of age and have completed a series of prerequisite courses. Most students come to this program with some college credit; however, if you are interested in this program and do not have college credit or have not completed the pre-requisite courses, please speak with an advisor to discuss your options.
In addition to prerequisite coursework, the BPS program requires that students complete a core curriculum of 20-22 hours. The BPS Core includes professionally oriented courses like Leading Oneself and Others in the 21st Century, Creativity and Innovation in the 21st Century, and Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability in the 21st Century.
Certificate Milestone Option: The College of Charleston has designed a milestone option for healthcare and medical services management by creating a certificate in project management. The certificate consists of the six courses in the project management concentration. These courses can always be added to a Bachelor of Professional Studies degree in the future. To learn more, click here.
Then, each student is required to complete 21 credit hours within the concentration and 9 hours of electives. The courses in the healthcare and medical services management concentration include:
- ECON 200 Principles of Microeconomics
- HMSM 302 Structure of the US Healthcare Delivery System
- HMSM 303 Healthcare Law and Regulation
- HMSM 320 Healthcare Financial Management
- HMSM 346 Leadership and Management in Healthcare Organizations
- HMSM 402 Healthcare Operations Management
- MGMT 301 Management & Organizational Behavior
There are over 35 electives that students can choose from, including
- HMSM 342 Healthcare Marketing
- HMSM 325 Healthcare Information Management
- HMSM 340 Human Resource Management in Healthcare
View the complete list of electives here.
Finally, depending on the number of transfer credits awarded, students will need to complete additional electives to reach the 122 credits required to graduate.