| Unit name | Leadership and Management in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0090 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. West |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit explores the issues and challenges related to the leadership and management of healthcare organisations by focusing on a wide range of theory and research that has addressed this topic. It will offer insights into the theory that has informed change in healthcare systems and the historical context including changes in management and governance arrangements of healthcare organisations. The unit will also review the evidence to support different leadership framework and models. In particular, it will focus on leadership for healthcare professionals, looking at what the evidence base suggests in relation to its relationship with performance and how it can be supported and strengthened through ad hoc strategies and policies.
The unit aims to give students a critical understanding of:
1. The key notions of leadership and management in the healthcare context;
2. The main features and characteristics of healthcare organisations and the nature of the environmental context where they operate;
3. The history of leadership and management reforms in healthcare services with a specific focus on the National Health Services;
4. The research evidence on the influence and consequences of healthcare management reforms;
5. The antecedents of the effective development of leadership for healthcare professionals and the consequences, including risks and benefits, of a greater alignment between clinical and management priorities.
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Discuss different conceptual approaches to the study of leadership and management in healthcare organisations;
2. Understand and critically analyse current leadership and management theories in the context of complex professionalised healthcare organisations;
3. Demonstrate an understanding of leadership and management reforms and their outcomes in healthcare organisations;
4. Critically appraise risks and benefits associated with a closer alignment between clinical and management priorities;
5. Identify and critique relevant research to inform an evidence-based understanding of leadership and management in healthcare organisations.
The unit will be taught through a mixture of self-guided study materials, recorded and real time lectures, web-based tutorials and discussions, case study work, readings, and activities. There will be some compulsory pre-course work which will include core readings and critical analysis which the students are required to carry out. The use of the Blackboard online learning environment will be actively pursued to develop students’ understanding and engagement with the unit content.
Formative assessment (ILO 1,2,3)
Students are required to actively participate and contribute to online discussion boards. The formative assessment is aimed at allowing students to gauge and evaluate levels of understanding, progress and development. They will be required to engage with a leadership and/or management issue and related challenges in the healthcare context. They will use the relevant academic and practitioner-focused literatures to analyse and summarise the relevant issue and related challenges.
Summative assessment (ILO 1,2,3,4,5)
The unit is assessed by means of a 4000-word written individual assignment (100%) based on a topic defined by the unit director and related to the teaching content. Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of leadership and/or management models and theoretical frameworks and their implications for practice-oriented organisational issues and environmental challenges.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0090).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
