Master of Health Science in Health Care Education

Admission Requirements:

Candidates for admission to the Masters of Health Science degree must have completed a bachelor’s degree and have two years’ professional work experience in a health care environment.  Such professional experience would include, but is not limited to, health care administration, health information technology, occupational therapy assistant, respiratory therapist, physical therapist assistant, radiologic technologist, dental hygienist, and other health care specialists.

 General Requirements for Admission:

1. Complete and submit Graduate Admission application to the Allied Health Department.
2. Submit all official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate course work to both the Registrar’s Office and the Washburn University Allied Health Department.
3. Applicants for unconditional acceptance must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 hours from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning.
4. Applicants for conditional acceptance must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 -3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 hours from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning.
5. Applicants must submit a personal statement explaining reasons for entering the program.  Applicants applying for conditional acceptance must explain why cumulative grade point average is lower than 3.0 and how the applicant expects to be successful at the graduate level.
6. Applicants must submit a resume detailing their education and professional growth.
7. Applicants must have successfully completed a College Algebra course with a grade of no lower than a “C” from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning.
8. It is the responsibility of the applicant to be familiar with the Microsoft Office productivity software, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Life Experience

Under no circumstances will academic credit be awarded for life experiences.

Master of Health Science Degree Requirements

1. Complete all required coursework with no single course grade lower than a “B”.
2. The completion of 36 hours of course work
3. Maintain continuous enrollment (enrolled in a 3 credit hour course) each regular semester (fall and spring)

Nondiscrimination

It is the policy of Washburn University and the Department of Allied Health to assure equal educational and employment opportunity to qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, sex, marital or parental status, or sexual orientation.

Program Curriculum: (36 Hours)

AL 600 - Foundations of Health Care Education (3)
AL 601- Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care (3)
AL 602 - Special Populations in Health Care (3)
AL 603 - Health Care Decision Making (3)
AL 620 – Research Method for Health Care Personnel (3)
AL 622 - Educational Program Administration (3)
AL 624 - Assessment in Health Care Education (3)
AL 626 – Instructional Technology  (3)
AL 720 – Curriculum and Instruction Methods in Health Care (3)
AL 722 – Advanced Trends in Health Care (3)
AL 724 – Health Care Education Internship (3)
AL 726 – Health Care Education Practicum (3)

Graduate Courses:

AL 600 - Foundations of Health Care Education (3)
This course focuses on the history of health care education programs, educational theory and concepts, teaching and learning styles, and principles of adult education including characteristics, needs, and motivations of adult learners.

AL 601- Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care (3)
This course is designed to provide foundational knowledge concerning legal and ethical concepts that guide health care. The course will explore the application of ethics and the law in resolving ethical situations through case studies and articles.

AL 602 - Special Populations in Health Care (3)
This course includes a discussion and analysis of the impact of special populations on the health care delivery system. Major topics will include diverse ethnic populations, rural populations, migrant populations, minority populations and populations defined by diagnosis (e.g., diabetes, etc). This course is designed to acquaint the student with health care delivery implications of globalization in the context of cultural competence.

AL 603 - Health Care Decision Making (3)
Decision making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on reducing uncertainty and selecting a reasonable choice based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. Decision making theories, methods, and processes will be studied as well as the application of decision analysis and knowledge-based systems, including data mining, data warehouses, data marts, clinical data repositories, and data modeling.

AL 620 – Research Method for Health Care Personnel (3)
This course is designed to provide the health care professional with a basic knowledge in quantitative statistical analysis and research design. Topics covered include descriptive statistics, parametric group comparison statistics, basic non-parametric statistics, and provide an introduction to linear modeling. Students will be introduced to Excel and SPSS statistical software programs and application toward solving modern healthcare problems. (Prerequisite: College Algebra)

AL 622 - Educational Program Administration (3)
This course focuses on the fundamental elements of educational health care program planning, assessment, and troubleshooting by examining the activities of Program Directors and Clinical Coordinators. The impact of credentialing, accreditation, and licensure requirements is discussed along with issues related to higher education such as general education requirements, academic advising, grievance/appeal processes, and tenure and promotion.

AL 624 - Assessment in Health Care Education (3)
This course examines the elements of effective learner assessment within health care education programs including the clinical setting. Fundamental principles of assessment are discussed as well as various authentic assessment methods. This course emphasizes practical application in which the learner will develop a learning module using various assessment strategies and analyze the effectiveness of each assessment.

AL 626 – Instructional Technology  (3)
This course provides an overview of current instructional technologies which support active learning within health care education programs. The integration of technology in the traditional, blended and online environments is discussed as well as copyright and fair use laws as they relate to the utilization of technology in higher education. This course emphasizes practical application.

AL 720 – Curriculum and Instruction Methods in Health Care (3)
This course focuses on understanding the process of developing health care related curriculum. Instructional design models, implementation planning, student assessment methods, analysis of effectiveness and continuous improvement are discussed. This course emphasizes practical application.

AL 722 – Advanced Trends in Health Care (3)
This course explores current trends and issues within the dynamic environment of health care. Learners discuss political, social, cultural and ethical issues and their influence on the health care delivery system.

AL 724 – Health Care Education Internship (3)
The course provides opportunities for observation and experience in presentation related to health care topics. Presentations may include departmental in-service, lecture class, laboratory class, professional society or to the general public such as a support group.

AL 726 – Health Care Education Practicum (3)
Development of an action research project which will address a relevant issue in health care education.