|  | | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Question: What is the distinction between the MHA and MPH degrees? Answer: In general, students receiving the MHA degree seek management positions in health care delivery organizations like hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and physician practices. Some are also employed by consulting firms, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical firms. While there is some overlap with the positions obtained by MHA students, MPH degree students generally seek and obtain jobs in not for profit community-based organizations, managed care organizations, public health agencies, and government. The MHA requires 60 credit hours of course work (15 more hours than the MPH) and includes a 10-month paid residency (925 hours) in a local health care organization while completing course work. The MPH requires 45 credit houres and a 200 hours practicum. In the additional 15 hours of required course work, MHA students take financial management, operations, and quality management, ethics, health care marketing, strategic management, and health care law. Many MHA graduates obtain 1 to 2 year fellowships to continue their management training after graduation. MPH students frequently go directly into full-time jobs upon graduation. |
| More about Master of Health Administration (MHA) Positions: Health care administration is a broad field. Consequently, administrators have
a wide range of duties. They ensure good communication between medical staff, administration, committees and departments. Administrators create a smooth-running organization with well-planned departments, such as nursing, food service, housekeeping, maintenance, and human resources. They develop policies, plan budgets, coordinate space, and plan future expansions. They are responsible for the institution's resources and sound financial standing. Health care administrators usually report to a board of directors or to the organization's trustees. Perhaps the best known work setting in health administration is the hospital. A Hospital Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer are almost always individuals with a Master's degree who manage various branches of the hospital, plans for future programs and facilities, and works with the governing board, government officials, and the general public to serve the needs of the hospital and its community. A Mid-level Manager in a hospital works under the highest level of hospital administration. Mid-level positions include areas such as finance, human resources, operations, information systems, quality improvement, marketing and public relations, and patient relations. In most areas, the Master's degree tends to be required for entry level Department Heads. A Long-term-care (LTC) Administrator coordinates what has been traditionally referred to as a "nursing home". This type of health care facility is multiplying due to the aging population. Also increasing is the highly specialized hybrid care centers such as: the continuous care/retirement center (CCCRC), health care/adult day care center, assisted living center, senior center and free standing hospice. Many physicians today are forming group practices where several MD's work together to share overhead costs and increase efficiency and effectiveness of their service delivery. In such settings, physicians usually hire a person knowledgeable in health administration, particularly finance, to coordinate the administrative needs of their practice. This person is called a Clinic or Medical Group Practice Administrator. As the complexity of the American health care system increases, opportunities increase for health care consulting firms that specialize in providing expertise to other health organizations needing such. A Health Care Consultant provides assistance or expertise to health organizations in a single area, such as computers or operations, to multiple areas encompassing a wide variety of services to their clients. |
| More about Master of Public Health (MPH) Positions: A Masters Degree is usually a necessity for any individual seeking to rise above the entry levels of administration in public health as well as health care. The Master of Public Health in Health Systems Management is the only MPH degree program in the School that provides in depth education and training in the management of health-related organizations be they in the private, public or governmental sectors. Individuals knowledgeable about public health administration are needed by government agencies, organizations and facilities at the federal, state, and local levels. Such individuals are often called Public Health Administrators. Typical government organizations offering employment are state and local public health departments, health planning agencies, regulatory bodies, and the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system. The major military services also need health administrators to staff their health care operations and have programs which can provide both experience and graduate training in exchange for commitments of service. Individuals with a MPH are also employed by hospitals, long-term care facilities, continuous care/retirement centers (CCRC), health care/adult day care center, assisted living centers, free standing hospice centers, wellness centers, senior centers, group practice clinics, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and healthcare consulting firms. In addition, MPH degree students are also qualified to work for non-governmental organizations (NGO's), public health research institutions, chronic disease management programs, and managed care organizations. | | |
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