Programme Overview

The Master of Science in Health Services Administration (MScHSA) is a new programme offered by the University of Nicosia Medical School. This modern programme aims to rigorously prepare students for leadership positions in the rapidly growing field of health services. It serves to advance professionals’ careers within the health service industry locally and internationally.

A primary goal of the MScHSA is to equip professionals and managers in hospitals, clinics, pharmaceuticals, insurance firms, biotechnology firms, and other health-related settings, with the crucial skills to manage and lead profitable healthcare organizations while, at the same time, delivering high quality services with patient safety at the forefront.

Leadership in Healthcare

Students acquire managerial and leadership skills in key areas such as operations management, legal and ethical decision making, finance, epidemiology, biostatistics, human resource management, health economics, clinical systems management, managerial accounting, quality management, patient safety and more.

All offered courses have been designed specifically for the health services sector. Through utilization of theory, in a research project, field project, or elective pathway, this coursework allows students to analyse complex workplace management.

Entrepreneurship in Healthcare

This dynamic programme emphasizes entrepreneurship in the health care industry. It challenges students to pursue advanced initiatives and address existing problems in their current work environments through the development of business plans and the implementation of field projects.

For instance, students could pursue the implementation of new systems and processes in order to reduce patient waiting times in their hospital/clinic. Another example in this course pathway would be to prepare a business plan for establishing an integrated practice unit in a hospital.

Managing a Crisis such as a Pandemic

Students of the MScHSA will acquire crisis management skills enabling them to respond effectively to adverse situations. For instance, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, essential elements of the program include: knowledge on how pandemics spread within a population, evaluation of measures which could limit such spread, an understanding of how hospital settings and facilities should be structured to increase effectiveness and ensure the safety of both patients and healthcare personnel, as well as an understanding of how new technologies (e.g. telemedicine and big data analytics) could be of assistance. Moreover, students will explore the redistribution of resources in setting up crisis management plans.

Student Outcomes

Our multidisciplinary curriculum focuses on current and emerging issues in the global healthcare industry and prepares graduates to tackle real world challenges in leadership positions at the local, national and international level. Upon graduation, they will be able to pursue or further their career in a multitude of settings, such as hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance firms, health departments, biotechnology firms, start-ups and more. Specifically, graduates can manage and lead healthcare organisations and units through critical evaluation of the industry, efficient operational management, prudent financial planning and effective human resource management. Within our international medical programmes, our graduates have a 99% career placement rate. The strong emphasis on innovation and technological advancements enables graduates to provide vision and initiate strategic change in healthcare organisations.

Programme’s aims and objectives

The main aims of the programme are to enable students to:

• Effectively manage organizations and units in the health services industry with emphasis on quality and patient safety and through the examination of a multitude of factors influencing health services, such as clinical, economic, ethical, political, technical, social, behavioural and environmental.
• Integrate general business management theories and practices with the unique environment of the health services industry, addressing its challenges and opportunities.
• Provide vision, strategic direction and enable change for organizations in the fast transforming health services environment.
• Assess national health system reforms and identify best practices.
• Exploit the potential provided by technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in transforming healthcare practice and organizations.

The specific objectives of the programme are to:

• Introduce and analyse the concepts of Epidemiology and Public Health and highlight their importance for ensuring disease prevention, wellbeing and prosperity in populations.
• Examine the key themes associated with managing human resources and leading individuals and teams, with emphasis on the health services industry.
• Enable students to utilize basic methods and techniques for analysing and interpreting financial information.
• Expose students to the core concepts of Health Economics, with an emphasis on dealing with efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare.
• Discuss patients-centered care and the importance of Patients-Reported-Outcomes (PROMs).
• Discuss the process of implementing a new technology and its clinical benefits.
• Introduce operations management concept and methodologies which are employed in a hospital, emphasizing their use in decision making.
• Introduce the concepts of quality assurance and total quality management in healthcare.
• Understand the fundamental principles and lessons of the patient safety movement.
• Discuss in detail modern health information systems and the effective use of these systems and technologies in health organizations.
• Provide deep understanding of ethics relevant for Public Health professionals.
• Analyze the ways in which health services can be configured to deal effectively with the 21^st century disease burden, as well as meet continuously propagating expectations for improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of healthcare services.
• Examine critically several national health reforms and healthcare systems (both mature and emerging) in a comparative manner, focusing on their respective strengths and weaknesses and identifying best practices that may have wider application.
• Introduce the basic principles of innovation and entrepreneurship and to demonstrate their value in the ongoing improvement of healthcare and population health.
• Discuss the multitude of issues involved in the formation and implementation of strategy in the healthcare sector (e.g. strategy performance and evaluation, strategy development process, leadership and strategic change).
• Allow the student to approach a variety of problem situations commonly encountered in the healthcare marketing management.
• Apply the research methodologies and skills acquired throughout the programme by conducting an independent research project aiming at dealing with a topic of Public Health and Healthcare importance.

Programme Outcomes

Graduates of the MSc HSA programme will be able to:

• Be able to integrate general business management theories and practices with the unique environment of the health services industry, addressing its challenges and opportunities.
• Be equipped with the necessary knowledge, tools and skills to effectively manage organizations and units in the health services industry through the examination of a multitude of factors influencing health services, such as clinical, economic, ethical, political, technical, social, behavioural and environmental.

Specifically, they will:

• Evaluate the components of the healthcare services industry and assess its current trends, opportunities and threats.
• Perform an internal analysis of a healthcare organization, generate strategic options for the future and lead the required change.
• Evaluate how technology, big data analytics, innovation and entrepreneurship transform the healthcare practice and provide new opportunities.
• Review operational practices to achieve high quality and patient safety in general hospital and clinical settings.
• Apply accounting, health economics and insurance principles to healthcare organizations.
• Apply marketing theories and practices to healthcare organizations.
• Apply the basic principles and practices of epidemiology and biostatistics.
• Provide leadership and effectively manage people and teams in a healthcare organization.
• Analyse healthcare legislation, regulation and ethical considerations.
• Perform a comparative assessment of different national health systems identifying best practices and common themes.
• Conduct high quality research in healthcare organizational settings.