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Graduate Certificate in Health Services Management

Course code/s: Melbourne (HCHSM)

Please note that a Master of Health Sciences with a major in Health Administration is also available for students who may wish to expand this study program.

The Graduate Certificate in Health Services Management is designed to meet the preliminary postgraduate learning needs of health care managers and clinical and support services professionals who are interested in health policy or management. The graduate certificate subjects provide an opportunity for people working in health care to acquire foundation health services management skills at a postgraduate level. The course is designed to introduce health professionals to the formal study of health management, assisting students to develop key competencies in health management, while exploring broader health policy and management concepts. This course provides a structure for the study of the health sector and health policy context in which the manager works, together with an emphasis on targeted knowledge and skills which effective managers need. The Graduate Certificate may be completed online.

Admission requirements

Applicants are required to hold a minimum three year undergraduate degree and have at least two years experience working in the health system. For those without formal qualifications, but with experience in health services management, there is a special entry category of ‘recognition of prior learning’, and selection criteria may include work experience and skills. Managers with experience in other industries who are planning to transfer to the health care sector may also be considered for this course. Special entry students may be required to undertake prerequisite studies.

Course structure – graduate certificate

The course is normally undertaken part-time over one year, and students are required to complete four subjects. Domestic students who enrol in the Graduate Certificate may apply to progress to the Master of Health Sciences. The Graduate Certificate will be subsumed upon completion of the higher qualification. It is possible to exit from the Master of Health Sciences with a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Services Management or a Graduate Certificate in Health Services Management. Each student’s program is developed in consultation with the course coordinator, but generally students are required to successfully complete the following:

Teaching period	Subject code	Subject title	Credit Points
TE-SEM-1	PHE5HOR	Healthy Organisations	15
TE-SEM-2	PHE5HSR	Health Service Resource Management	15
online students may choose TE-SEM-1 PHE5HRM
plus two subjects chosen from the following:
TE-WK11-15	PHE5LAE	Health Law & Ethics	15
TE-SEM-2	PHE5HOR	Healthy Organisations	15
TE-SEM-1	PHE5HDD	Health Data for Decision Making	15
or
TE-SEM-2	PHE5HDE	Health Data for Decision Making – Skills Enhancement
TE-SEM-1	PHE5AHS	The Australian Health Care System	15
TE-SEM-2	PHE5PDE	Program Development and Evaluation	15
TE-SEM-2	PHE5HSO	Health Management Strategy	15
TE-SEM-2	PHE5CHS	Comparative and Historical Study of Health Sciences 2	15
TEWK06-09	PHE4CQM	Applied Quality & Safety in Health and Community Services	15
or
TE-SEM-2	PHE5HCQ	Health Care Quality	15

The program’s timetable is designed to accommodate working students, and offers a combination of evening, block and online modes.

Subjects are taught at both the City and Melbourne (Bundoora) campuses.