Contents

Course StructureFull-time

Many students will study the course full-time for a year, and mutual support will be gained from regular action learning sets, as well as close tutorial supervision. More intensive support will be available for the undergraduate medical students since they will have potentially different needs in academic and pastoral support. All students will undertake a period of elective study to visit an organisation or study a managerial area in depth. In addition, placements will be organised for regular contact with senior managers or leaders in a health service or relevant private sector environment to provide the experience and understanding required for the course, and to give a grounding for the dissertation.

Part-time

Other students may be working full-time and may already have a management role or responsibilities: they will be permitted to study part time. These students may undertake the placements/elective, but there will be flexibility since this group may be able to undertake their work-related assignments in their own management context.

Placements will not be credit-rated but will provide an opportunity to gain management and leadership experience and increase understanding of the issues studied on the course.

Areas of studyAs well as health service 'management' in its classical sense, the course will cover the topic of leadership from both traditional and postmodern perspectives. We have developed several exciting new modules to tackle ethical management and leadership, together with ecological approaches to the health service, particularly related to learning and quality improvement.

The first semester of the course begins with the core double module Organisational Context and Leadership of the NHS which is followed by a range of optional modules, a Research Methods module dedicated to MA students, together with action learning sets, and an option. Semester 2 includes regular placements in relevant public service / private organisations, further optional modules and learning sets, and preparation for the dissertation. The dissertation, developed and written up in semesters 2 and 3 involves small-scale empirical research or desktop research in the form of systematic review or research-by-design. It should be completed by the end of July.

Syllabus

Core modules

* Organisational Context and Leadership of the NHS
* Research Methods and Critical Appraisal

Options from at least three of the four themes

* People
* Leadership for Health Professionals
* Managing People in the Public Services
* Human Resources for Health Services

* Contemporary themes
* Knowledge Management
* Managing Change
* Organisations, Partnerships and Networks
* Ethical Leadership and Ecological Management

* Planning
* Strategy and Planning in the Public and Voluntary Sector
* Service Planning and Development
* Managing Finance for the Public Sector

* Quality
* Quality and Clinical Governance
* Introduction to Patient Safety
* Education and Learning Organisations

* Elective study visits
* Experiential learning