Core

Research Methods and Design
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to research in the health sciences through an overview of the research process partnered with an emphasis on how a research question is formulated based on a review of literature. By identifying appropriate theoretical framework, both quantitative and qualitative research design strategies will be presented as a means to answer a
question.

Statistical Methods
This course provides students with a theoretical and practical understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods by drawing on several qualitative research traditions such as ethnography, grounded theory, and case studies. Particular attention will be geared towards the application of these research methods to health care issues, sampling distributions, inferential statistics, estimation and hypothesis testing, and nonparametric statistics.

Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare
This course will provide students with in-depth knowledge on legal and ethical issues with an emphasis on ethical decision making and its on health care as well as the ethical issues in research in the health sciences. The knowledge acquired from this course will enable students to meet the needs of the changing and expanding health care environment.

Health Services, Issues and Trends
This course provides an overview of how healthcare and public health are organized and delivered in the United States. This course will focus on how theory, research, and practice interface with population health and health care delivery in the US. Health issues will be discussed by unit of analysis including individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and national levels. Behavioral health theories will be reviewed for each level of analysis and how each can be used to understand health and healthcare in the US.

Leadership
By exploring current leadership theory and practice, students will be given opportunities to think more deeply and systematically about leadership and consider these concepts in relation to health care organizations.

Cultural Diversity & Disparities in Healthcare
People of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and various forms of cancer. This course will address the reality of these health disparities and different perceptions of the healthcare system between the groups, to understand some of the cultural forces behind them.

Capstone Project
Students will participate in an internship experience approved by the director of the program. Engagement in programs such as community health organizations or health care organizations are highly suggested. Through the internship experience, the student will be responsible for developing and executing a project geared towards the needs or request of the chosen organization in which the internship is based. The project will be reviewed by the faculty advisor to the internship and culminate in a formal paper written by the student that delineates the project and its implementation. Additionally, the formal paper will address the assessment of the effectiveness of the intervention.

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Electives

Global Health
This course will introduce fundamental concepts and issues in global health in developed and developing countries to increase awareness of health issues from a global perspective. It introduces key global health topics and emphasizes the critical relationships between health, disease, and socio-economic development. The challenges associated with global health issues and the global efforts and strategies underway to prevent and control them will also be explored.

Health Behavior
Social and Behavioral theories of health related behavior change will be reviewed to provide an
understanding of and to address public health problems. As an individual’s health and well being is affected by a variety of factors, i.e. social and environmental, we will examine how these factors affect health behaviors and how these influences are used and can be used to improve health and prevent disease.

Community Mental Health and Wellness
Extensive investigations into preventing common problems will be explored. The course will focus on fostering good mental health or psychological wellness. The counselor is seen as functioning in an extremely proactive role and as a wellness educator. Topics include establishing peer mediation programs, suicide awareness, managing impulsivity, forming support groups, training peer counselors, developing study skills, learning stress reduction techniques, recognizing and dealing with depression, isolation, cultural differences, understanding issues in human sexuality, avoiding gang involvement, and improving ethnic, race and gender relations.

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Specialty Track 1- Education

Styles of Teaching and Learning
This course studies the alternative relationships in the teaching-learning process by providing a
framework that presents options in teaching and learning. Topics discussed include: organizing students and subject matter; managing time, space, and equipment; interacting with students; choosing verbal behavior; and creating cognitive connections with learners.

Health Promotion & Education: From theory to practice
By applying the principles and foundations of health promotion and education to the theories and practice, highlighting real-world issues, this course will examine and develop health promotion & education programs to improve health-related outcomes of individuals, families, and communities.

Principles of Curriculum Design and Development
This course is an intensive study of the basic principle and procedure utilized in the development of health professional curricula, as well as the instruction implemented within the health care facility and community. Students will learn the principles of curricula plans and component parts and will be engaged in developing relevant evidence-based curricula addressing the current and projected needs of health care and professional education.

Specialty Track 2- Leadership

Health Care Financing and Risk Management
An examination of concepts related to health care financing. Emphasis will be placed on budget preparation, cost-benefit analysis, managed care, and on developing an understanding of reimbursement systems.

Current Issues and Policies in Health Care
This course covers political, social, and economic issues affecting health care organizations. Topics include the role of government in determining health care policy, the U.S. health care delivery system, costs and financing of health care, and social welfare gains and losses. Candidates will engage in interactive discussions of current trends and economic and social issues related to efforts to reform or revise the health care system.

Health Care Administration
Management, marketing, and financing of the delivery of health care will be explored. Healthcare economics is emphasized from an administrative perspective. The examination of quality versus quantity, the allocation of resources as well as relationships and conflicts among consumers and providers of health care services. Concepts related to technology, including the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) affecting health care organizations is discussed.