HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND POLICY

HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND POLICY Kanak Gautam, Ph.D., Interim Department Chairperson The Department of Health Management and Policy offers two Master's degrees in the School of Public Health: the Administration (MHA) and the Master of Public Health in Health Policy (MPH-HP). The Department also offers a new graduate Certificate in Community Benefit (CCB). Administration The Administration (MHA) degree program prepares women and men to assume management positions throughout the health industry. Founded in 1947, it is one of the oldest and most well-respected programs of its kind in the country. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). The integration of theory and practice in the 2-year full-time, 60 credit-hour, competency-based curriculum allows students to develop leadership, critical thinking, analytical, management, political development and communication skills essential for success as future health care administrators. Students complete required courses offered by the School of Public Health and can take electives in any graduate program offered by the University, including the Cook School of Business, the School of Law, and other academic units. In addition, all students complete a thirteen-week internship in a health care organization. Executive Administration The Executive Administration program is an innovative program specifically designed for working professionals looking to further advance their careers. It provides students with a strong foundation to understand the complex and evolving field of health care. The 60-credit-hour program blends a mixture of online distance-based learning technologies with periodic in-class sessions. Prerequisites Possession of a baccalaureate or first professional degree. Completion of at least 3 credit hours each in microeconomics and finance with a grade of B or higher before matriculation or enrollment in HMP.504. Required Courses BST.500 Principles of Biostatistics; HMP.500 Health Care Organization; HMP.503 Introduction to Health Care Accounting; HMP.511 Health Operations Management; HMP.513 Health Information Systems; HMP.517 Managerial Epidemiology; HMP.518 Behavioral and Environmental Aspects of Population Health; HMP.520 Health Care Economics; HMP.530 Management of Health Care Organizations; HMP.534 Health Care Marketing; HMP.538 Management of Human Resources; HMP.540 Legal Aspects of Health Services Management; HMP.542 Health Care Ethics in a Pluralistic Society; HMP.570 Health Care Financial Management; HMP.571 Financial Aspects of Health Care; and HMP.580 Strategic Management in Health Care Organizations Additional Requirements HMP.504 Fundamentals of Economics and Finance (required of students who have not met the MHA Program's prerequisites in microeconomics and finance); HMP.591 Health Management and Policy Rounds (both semesters in Year 1 of curriculum);

HMP.594 Health Management & Policy Internship; HMP.595 Special Study for Exams. Four electives (12 credit-hours) complete coursework requirements. No formal minor is permitted. Administration/Juris Doctor The MHA/JD dual degree program consists of 127 credit hours of coursework offered by the Department of Health Management and Policy and the School of Law in which requirements for the MHA and the JD degrees are integrated. Students must fulfill all admission requirements for both the Department and the School of Law to be admitted to the dual degree program. Application for admission to the MHA degree program and to the School of Law may be made simultaneously, or students may choose to wait and apply to the MHA program during their first year as law students. Administration/Master of Business Administration The MHA/MBA dual degree program is an intensive, 24-month full-time, 83 credit-hour cooperative venture between the Department of Health Management and Policy and the Cook School of Business in which requirements for the MHA and the MBA degrees are integrated. Students must fulfill all admission requirements for both the Department and the School of Business to be admitted to the dual degree program. Application to the individual programs should be made simultaneously. Administration/ Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management The MHA/BS in Health Information Management dual degree program offers students the opportunity to complete the BS and MHA degrees in a 5-year full-time, 154 credit hour program of study (97 as an undergraduate, 57 as a graduate student). Students who have been admitted for undergraduate study at Saint Louis University and select a major in health informatics and information management may apply in their junior year of study to be admitted to the MHA program to complete the linked graduate degree. Students admitted to the dual program must have an outstanding undergraduate record and demonstrate the potential for senior leadership in the health management field. Administration/ Bachelor of Science in Health Management The MHA/BS in Health Management accelerated master degree program offers students the opportunity to complete the BS and MHA degrees in a 5-year full-time, 150 credit hour program of study (90 as an undergraduate, 60 as a graduate student). Students who have been admitted for undergraduate study at Saint Louis University and select a major in health management may apply in their junior year of study to be admitted to the MHA program to complete the linked graduate degree. Students admitted to the dual program must have an outstanding undergraduate record and demonstrate the potential for senior leadership in the health management field. Master of Public Health in Health Policy The Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy (MPH-HP) prepares students for roles in health policy analysis, development, and implementation as well as advocacy for public and private sector organizations. The 51 credit-hour program consists of public health core courses in six areas (biostatistics, epidemiology, behavioral science/health education, environmental and occupational health, health administration, and health care ethics) and required and elective courses in health policy. The required 42 credit hours in health policy are completed in the School of Public Health. The nine hours of elective courses may be taken in the School of Public Health or other schools of the university offering courses related to health

policy. All students also complete a 13-week internship. Prerequisites Possession of a baccalaureate or first professional degree. Required Courses BSH.500 Behavioral Science and Public Health; BST.500 Principles of Biostatistics; EOH.500 Environmental and Occupational Health; EPI.500 Principles of Epidemiology; HMP.500 Health Care Organization; HMP.504 Fundamentals of Economics and Finance; HMP.520 Health Care Economics; HMP.521 Economic Evaluation; HMP.530 Management of Health Care Organizations; HMP.541 Health Policy and Law; HMP.542 Health Care Ethics in a Pluralistic Society; HMP.550 Health Policy; HMP.553 Capstone Seminar in Health Policy; HMP.572 Government Financing of Health and Health Care; Additional Requirements HMP.591 Health Management and Policy Rounds (both semesters in Year 1 of curriculum); HMP.594 Health Management & Policy Internship; HMP.595 Special Study for Exams. Three electives (nine credit-hours) complete the coursework requirements. Master of Public Health in Health Policy/Juris Doctor The MPH-HP/JD dual degree program allows students to complete both the MPH-HP and JD degrees through a 124 credit-hour, 4-year program of study. Students must fulfill all admission requirements for both the Department of Health Management and Policy and the School of Law to be admitted to the dual degree program. Application for admission to the MPH-HP degree program and the School of Law may be made simultaneously, or students may choose to wait and apply to the MPH- HP program during their first year of study in the School of Law. Master of Public Health in Emergency Management and Crisis Leadership The Master Degree of Public Health in Crisis Leadership (MPH-EMCL) is designed to meet projections for current and future demands for interdisciplinary competence in emergency management and crisis leadership across all sectors. The purpose is to encourage progressive growth and refinement of the emergency management discipline and higher education community and to the further legitimization and professionalization of the emergency management community. Ultimately, this results in the preparation of a highly educated and integrated homeland security management and leadership capacity that operates from a common knowledge, science, and theory-based framework. This includes situational and transformational leadership, analytical, theoretical and strategic thinking skills, critical thinking and decision science, systems theory, design and dynamics, hazard anticipation and identification, risk and gap assessment and analysis, risk management and adaptability, vulnerability reduction and resilience enhancement, and community continuity. This programs is designed to address this market demand. Students complete 51 credit-hours of core public health and emergency management and crisis leadership courses on campus and on-line. Prerequisite: Possession of a baccalaureate degree. Required Courses: BSH.500 Behavioral Science and Public Health; BST.500 Principles of Biostatistics; EOH.500 Environmental and Occupational Health; EPI.500 Principles of Epidemiology; HMP.500 Health Care Organization; HMP.504 Fundamentals of Economics and Finance; HMP.520 Health Care Economics; HMP.521 Economic Evaluation; CMH.502 Ethical Issues in Public Health;

HMP.537 Organizational Behavior and Management; HMP.562 Crisis Leadership HMP.XXX Interpersonal Dynamics and Crisis Leadership HMP.XXX Critical Thinking and Crisis Leadership HMP.XXX Crisis Leadership Capstone Additional Requirements HMP.591 Health Management and Policy Rounds (both semesters in Year 1 of curriculum); HMP.594 Health Management & Policy Internship; HMP.595 Special Study for Exams. Three electives (nine credit-hours) complete the coursework requirements. Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management and Crisis Leadership The graduate cerficate in Emergency Management and Crisis Leadership is an 18 credithour program. It is designed for public health and health care professionals who do not choose to pursue a graduate degree in the area. Prerequisite: Possession of a baccalaureate degree. Required Courses: HMP.562 Crisis Leadership HMP.XXX Interpersonal Dynamics and Crisis Leadership HMP.XXX Critical Thinking and Crisis Leadership Two electives (six credit-hours) complete the coursework requirements. Graduate Certificate in Community Benefit The graduate certificate in Community Benefit (CCB) is an 18 credit-hour program. According to recent U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidelines, notfor-profit health care organizations must demonstrate that they are significantly benefiting the communities they serve in order to maintain their tax-exempt status. Community benefit, which impacts both notfor-profit organizations and communities alike, is a very dynamic and emerging area in health care. Saint Louis University offers the nation s first program that provides the necessary academic background and skills required to understand this complex, evolving field. All courses in this program are provided through asynchronous distance learning and are specifically designed for those who wish to specialize in community benefit. A certificate can be earned in three consecutive semesters. Students may enter the program at the beginning of any semester. The certificate can also be used as a first step toward graduate education in public health at Saint Louis University. Several courses will meet core requirements for students who wish to work toward an MPH or MHA. Prerequisites Possession of a baccalaureate degree. Required Courses HMP.DIST Orientation to Community Benefit and Distance Learning (Zero credit hour course required each semester) HMP.543 Evidence based Public Health and Community Benefit HMP.544 Managerial Epidemiology in Community Benefit HMP.545 Organization of Health Services and Health Policy in Community Benefit HMP.546 Organizational Behavior and Management for Community Benefit HMP.547 Fundamentals of Economics and Finance in Community Benefit HMP.548 Social Justice and Social Ethics in Community Benefit Additional Requirements

HMP.549 Capstone Project in Community Benefit Graduate Courses HMP 500 Health Care Organization (3) This course introduces students interested in the health care delivery system to contemporary issues in the organization, financing and delivery of health and medical care in the United States. This cornerstone course provides students with fundamental concepts, terminology, and factual information that are the building blocks for other courses in their program of study. It also helps students understand the views and values of patients, providers and payers. (Offered fall HMP.503 Introduction to Health Care Accounting (3) This course introduces students to the basics of financial and managerial accounting. It focuses on the accounting concepts that are most critical to management decision making within health care environments. (Offered fall HMP.504 Fundamentals of Economics and Finance (3) This course is designed to provide students with little or no prior training in economics and finance with a solid overview of key fundamental concepts, theories and analytical tools in each field of study. The large majority of the course is devoted to a study of the fundamentals of microeconomics, covering the basics of supply and demand, consumer theory, market structure and the theory of the firm. The rest of the course introduces students to three key fundamental concepts of financial management: the time value of money, financial risk and required return. Overall, the course develops students functional literacy in the fields of economics and finance so they can be better consumers of economic and financial information today and more effective decision makers in the future. (Offered fall HMP.510 Quality Improvement in Health Care Management (3) Prerequisite: HMP.530 and HMP.538 or permission of the instructor. This course examines the historical development, current concepts and techniques and future trends related to the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of health care services. Cases will be used to present current issues. (Offered fall HMP.511 Health Operations Management (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 and BST.500 or permission of the instructor. Course examines operational issues in health care management. Topics include systems analysis, continuous quality improvement and re-engineering, demand forecasting, facility location and design models, decision analysis techniques, linear programming, queuing and waiting models, inventory control models, Lean and Six Sigma techniques, and statistical quality control. The goal is to instill an understanding of the language, applications, and limitations of quantitative models with regard to decision- making and problem solving in health service organizations. (Offered spring HMP.513 Health Information Systems (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500, or permission of the instructor. This course is designed to develop four areas of student knowledge, skills, and competencies in Health Information Management (HIM). It provides a broad overview of the theory and application of computers in the health setting, with emphasis on the health manager s role in relation to the information function. It introduces students to computer hardware, software and operating systems through hands-on experience as they build an online survey and a simple web page Students learn to identify the necessary resources, staff support and change management required to develop, implement, and evaluate a health information system. Finally, the course explores the potential and limits of information technology in improving community level health delivery via such resources as the Internet. (Offered fall HMP.517 Managerial Epidemiology (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 and BST.500 or permission of the instructor. This course introduces concepts, methods, and strategies in epidemiology as they apply to health services management. The course provides basic tools used in descriptive and analytical epidemiology, both of which are crucial to making informed inquiry into the health of human populations and informed decisions regarding the distribution of health services resources. Analytic reasoning is emphasized throughout the course; however, formal statistical methods are not covered in detail. (Offered fall HMP.518 Behavioral and Environmental Aspects of Population Health (3) This course examines the conceptualization and implications of social/behavioral and environmental/occupational factors on health in populations. The course demonstrates how these factors are integrated with strategic management through practical applications. (Offered fall HMP.520 Health Care Economics (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 and HMP.504 or permission of the Instructor. The main purpose of this course is to enable students to apply economic theory and analysis to health issues and problems, by emphasizing how markets work and why they fail in the production of health and delivery of health care services. Topics covered include an overview of the U.S. health economy; the production of health and the demand for health care; market structure; the market for health insurance, managed care, and hospital services; and the role of public policy in producing healthy populations. (Offered spring HMP.521 Economic Evaluation (3) Prerequisite: HMP.520 or permission of the instructor. Economic evaluation is the comparison of different interventions (or a proposed intervention versus the status quo) to determine which is the best use of society s scarce resources. It includes costminimization, cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis. This course covers the theoretical basis for economic evaluation, its use in health, and the mechanics of the 4 types of analysis. (Offered spring HMP.529 Multi-institutional Arrangements in Health Care (3) Prerequisites: HMP.500, HMP.530 and HMP.538 or permission of the instructor. Resource pressures are causing restructuring of health care organizations and change in job descriptions and career tracks. This course examines career opportunities in the health care industry arising from organizational consolidations and increased importance of certain industry segments. Consolidated organizations examined include for-profit hospital chains, physician practice management corporations, academic medicine networks, for-profit rural hospital chains, post-acute networks, ambulatory care chains and employer alliances. New industry segments examined include the medical devices industry, pharmaceutical industry, medical supplies industry, health information industry and e-commerce. The course prepares students for a variety of careers in the fast-changing health care industry. (Not currently offered.) HMP.530 Management of Health Care Organizations (3) This course focuses on the macro-organizational concepts of managing complex health care organizations. Health care organizations are complex systems transforming inputs (professionals, supplies, etc.) into outputs (health services) for customers (patients). To perform well, these systems require

appropriate environmental assessment, strategy, governance, organizational structure, work processes, distribution of power, innovation and change. These requirements for effective organizational performance form the core content of the course. (Offered fall HMP.531 Medical Practice Management (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500, HMP.530 and HMP.538 or permission of the instructor. This course focuses on ambulatory health care delivery systems, comparing and contrasting them with other health care models. The managerial process, including financing, personnel, organizational structures, physical plant, and external relationships, will be explored. The relationship of demographic variables to the planning process for ambulatory care will be developed. (Offered spring HMP.533 Long-Term Care Administration and Planning (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500, HMP.530 and HMP.538 or permission of the instructor. This course is designed to provide the student with a body of knowledge representative of the current state-of-the-art. Emphasis will be placed on adapting health care administration concepts to serving the long term care population with particular emphasis on continuity of care. Inter-disciplinary staff coordination and the complex family-client interrelationships will be examined as facets of promoting and maintaining optimum potential quality of life for each client. (Not currently offered.) HMP.534 Health Care Marketing (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 or permission of the instructor. The purpose of this course is to train future health services professionals in managing and marketing health services from a strategic perspective. The course is intended to present principles, theories, methods, and tools used in developing, implementing, and managing successful marketing strategy, which creates and shapes the future. The marketing process, consumer behavior, the marketing mix, and controlling and monitoring marketing processes are examined in relationship to the unique and changing aspects of the health services industry. (Offered spring HMP.535 Business Sectors in Health (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 or permission of the instructor. This course introduces students to business sectors within healthcare that strategically impact cost and quality of health services. Covered sectors include suppliers (pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical supplies, medical devices, distributors, and group purchasers) financial intermediaries (HMOs, PBMs) and health care providers (hospitals, medical groups, nursing homes). Each sector is analyzed in terms of organizations, products/services, customers, and strategic business practices. (Not currently offered.) HMP.538 Management of Human Resources in Health Care (3) This course focuses on functions and concepts required for managing human resources in organizations. It combines traditional human resource management (HRM) functions with concepts from organizational behavior. Course content includes selection, training and development, compensation, performance appraisal, motivation, organizational development, union activity, and modes of conflict resolution. (Offered spring HMP.539 Leadership in Health Care Organizations (3) Prerequisites: HMP.500, HMP.530 and HMP.538 or permission of the instructor. This course focuses on leadership in organizations, exploring the relationships among different approaches to leadership and different organizational contexts. The course is intended for those who aspire to leadership; those who want to make a positive difference in an organization or institution. The course provides a series of opportunities to think more deeply and systematically about leadership and to increase each student s personal capacities as a leader. (Not currently offered.) HMP.540 Legal Aspects of Health Services Management (3) Prerequisites: HMP.500 and HMP.530 or permission of the instructor. This course is designed to familiarize students with legal issues in the health care field. It is also designed to provide students with insight into how the legal system functions, how lawyers analyze legal problems, and how health care administrators may interact with the legal system and lawyers. (Offered spring HMP-541 Health Policy and Law (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 and HMP.550 or permission of the instructor. This course is an overview of health law in the U.S. and its interrelationship with health policy. Topics covered include the U.S. legal system, contracts, intentional torts, medical malpractice, legal and ethical obligations to provide healthcare, privileging, medical decision-making, tax-exemption, antitrust, fraud, public health law, and constitutionally protected rights. Emphasis is placed on describing how existing laws and legal principles influence the development of new health care policies. (Offered fall HMP.542 Health Care Ethics (3) This course introduces students to the ethical issues confronting health care leaders in today s pluralistic society and increasingly complex health system. It develops students ability to analyze ethical problems arising in the fields of health management and policy. Students learn to assess the values of our society, which might be used to solve these problems, and to employ the methodology of ethical decision-making. (Offered fall HMP.543 Evidence-Based Public Health and Community Benefit (3) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. This course provides students with the skills to understand the connection between evidence-based public health and its relationship to community benefit. Students master the application of assessment, program development, implementation, and evaluation from an evidence-based perspective. Students explore the role of community in the design, implementation and evaluation of evidence-based approaches for disease prevention and health promotion. (Offered spring semester). HMP.544 Managerial Epidemiology in Community Benefit (3) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. This course provides students with the skills to understand the connection between epidemiology and biostatistics and their relationship to community benefit. Further, the student applies concepts learned to the planning, development, and evaluation of community benefit efforts. (Offered summer HMP.545 Organization of Health Services and Health Policy in Community Benefit (3) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. This course provides an overview and orientation of health services in the United States, various factors that influence the delivery of health services, the role of health policy, and the expanded role of hospitals and clinics within the broader public health perspective. Historical and contemporary issues are addressed. (Offered fall HMP.546 Organizational Behavior and Management for Community Benefit (3) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. This course provides an understanding of how decision makers manage an organization to achieve strategic initiatives and the impact that these efforts have on the behavior of people within the organization. Topics include: organization effectiveness, strategic alignment, organizational structures and processes, group processes, leadership, decision making, negotiation, motivation and human resource management. (Offered summer

HMP.547 Fundamentals of Economics and Finance in Community Benefit (3) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. This course is designed to provide students with little or no prior training in economics and finance with a solid overview of key fundamental concepts, theories and analytical tools in each field of study. The large majority of the course is devoted to a study of the fundamentals of microeconomics, covering the basics of supply and demand, consumer theory, market structure and the theory of the firm. The rest of the course introduces students to three key fundamental concepts of financial management the time value of money, financial risk and required return. Overall, the course develops students functional literacy in the fields of economics and finance so they can be better consumers of economic and financial information today and more effective decision makers as organizational leaders in the future. (Offered spring HMP.548 Social Justice and Social Ethics in Community Benefit (3) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. Many health care organizations judge their success based on their ability to care for those who lack the resources to otherwise access care. What does justice require of such an organization? This course applies traditional bioethical principles to community benefit decisions and explores the concept of human dignity as it relates to the special moral importance of health. This course also provides students with opportunities to explore how personal ethics must be coupled with social ethics. (Offered fall HMP.549 Capstone Project in Community Benefit (0) Prerequisite: enrollment in the final semester of the CCB program. This required project provides the culminating experience for the certificate program in which students synthesize all applied concepts from the courses into one comprehensive project. (Offered all semesters.) HMP.550 Health Policy (3) This course orients students to the policy process to increase their understanding of the nature of health policy making and health politics. It also provides students with the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of current health care policy issues. (Offered fall HMP.552 Legislative Health Policy and Process (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 and HMP.550 or permission of instructor. This course provides a theoretical and practical understanding of the procedures and practices that define legislative health advocacy in the area of Federal health policy. The course provides students with an understanding of the legislative procedures and process, and the skills needed to address public health policy issues at the federal level. Students will examine aspects of planning, strategic thinking and political endeavors necessary to develop and implement legislative policy. (Not currently offered.) HMP.553 Capstone Seminar in Health Policy (3) Prerequisite: Eligible students are within 15 semester-hours of completion of credits required for the MPH in Health Policy degree. As a capstone or culminating experience, the seminar integrates learning from all aspects of the curriculum through application of knowledge in individual and group exercises. The course also considers issues of current significance for health policy in the United States and internationally. (Offered spring HMP.560 Disaster Preparedness (3) This introductory interdisciplinary practicum on disaster preparedness planning and management builds on recent US human and natural disaster experience. The course is designed to introduce public health, social work, nursing, public administration, business and other students to the organization, roles and evaluation of disaster preparedness. The course covers the history of disaster preparedness pre-911, changes that have occurred afterwards, and experience with Hurricane Katrina and further change in disaster preparedness that is under consideration. (Offered annually.) HMP.562 Crisis Leadership (3) Today s organizations, communities, and social systems are faced with unprecedented, increasingly complex, and more devastating and recurrent crisis events. This course provides students with an overview of crisis leadership and emergency management, the continuum between traditional and crisis leadership, and a framework for a systemic approache to related theory, models and methods. HMP.570 Health Care Financial Management (3) Prerequisites: HMP.500 and HMP.504 or permission of the instructor. Corporate finance techniques for financial decisionmaking are applied to health care organizations using real world case studies. In addition to basic finance concepts, topics include capital acquisition, cost of capital, capital investment decisions, tools of risk analysis, and financial and operating analysis. Both for-profit and not-for-profit health care organizations are studied. The course employs extensive use of Excel. (Offered spring HMP.571 Financial Aspects of Health Care (3) Prerequisites: HMP.530 and HMP.570 or permission of the instructor. Managed health care integrates health insurance functions with delivery of medical care. This course introduces students to financial issues faced by health care managers in a managed care environment. Topics include fundamentals of insurance, capitation rate development, risk analysis in managed care systems, cost accounting and management, and Medicare and Medicaid managed care. The course employs case analysis and team projects with local health-related organizations. (Offered fall HMP.572 Government Financing of Health and Health Care (3) Prerequisite: HMP.500 or permission of the instructor. This course introduces the economic theory of public goods and relates it to the role of government in providing for the maintenance and improvement of community health. The efficiency and effectiveness of current government financing strategies are analyzed. Topics include the theories of public goods and public choice, public budgeting processes, cost-benefit/cost effectiveness analysis of public investment, structure of Medicare, Medicaid and public health funding, and the economic effects of public financing of health-related services. (Offered spring HMP.573 Security, Privacy, and HIPAA (3) Prerequisite: HMP 513 or permission of the instructor. Medical professionals need to update their understanding of how to protect patient privacy due to the migration of paper-based medical records to electronic form. This elective explores security, privacy and HIPPA regulations/compliance within the health care industry, combining theory, best industry practices, case studies, and handson labs. (Offered annually.) HMP.580 Strategic Management in Healthcare Organizations (3) Prerequisite: Completion of all required courses in the first three semesters of full-time study for the MHA degree or permission of the instructor. The purpose of this capstone course is to assist the student in integrating the knowledge and skills developed during the course of study in the MHA program in the context of strategic thinking and strategic management of health care organizations. Integration is supported by individual and team analysis of

complex cases, at least two of which are simulations. (Offered spring HMP.591 Health Management and Policy Rounds (0) Full year career development series including executive speaker sessions designed to expose students to the philosophical approaches, management styles, decision-making strategies and problem solving techniques of leading health care management and policy executives; professional development sessions offered to strengthen students job search and career success skills; and training sessions for the Department s required internship program. (Offered fall and spring semesters.) HMP.594 Health Management & Policy Internship (0) Prerequisite: completion of all required course work in the first year of the student s curriculum and approval of the Department s Internship and Placement Coordinator. A required intensive 13- week field experience designed to provide students with an opportunity to employ skills and principles learned in the classroom while working in a health sector organization. (Offered annually.) HMP.595 Special Study for Examinations (0) HMP.597 Research Topics (1-3) HMP.598 Graduate Reading Course (1-3) HMP.5CR.90 Master s Degree Study (0) HMP.DIST Orientation to Community Benefit and Distance Learning (0) Prerequisite: enrollment in the CCB program. This orientation provides general overview information on community benefit and on being a distance-learning student through Saint Louis University School of Public Health. (Required each