HLTHMGT 721 : Health Management
Medical and Health Sciences
2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
- HLTHMGT721 Health Management is offered for students who want to enrol in postgraduate programmes at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FMHS), such as Master in Health Leadership as a core paper, Master in Public Health (MPH) and other PG courses as elective papers. Most of the MPH students opted to study this paper as part of their master's degree. This is the only management course available at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. Potential students are encouraged to enrol in this course as soon as possible because the maximum intake for this course is only 40 students.
- This course is helpful for prospective students who want to become managers in the health systems and health services sectors, including the Ministry of Health, Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ), World Health Organisation (WHO), private and public hospitals, primary care, Human Resources(HR) management sectors and private healthcare organisations.
- This course follows problem-based learning (PBL) principles, introduces key issues, and provides the student with a wide range of general management principles in the health sector. There are six modules in this course to teach the following topics.
- Management tools such as SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces and Value-Values Matrix for team management will be used to identify the challenges and competencies required to function as an effective healthcare manager. Guest lectures by healthcare professionals, leaders and clinicians may be organised so that the students can learn directly from the healthcare organisations' perspectives on various topics.
- In light of health organisations being heavily human resource-intensive, there is a focus on human resource management, team management and the role of innovation in workforce development for the future of the health workforce.
- A feature of the course is the active participation of all involved. As we reflect and build on our experiences and share these with others in a theoretical context, learning takes place in the applied field of health management.
- The course is taught on-site at the University Grafton campus. The students are required to attend all lectures as per the timetable provided and are expected to actively participate in class group work exercises to achieve effective learning outcomes. The material is applied throughout the course through case studies, discussions and in-class debates.
- The course will help students critically evaluate how to be an effective healthcare manager and address the various demands of working in a healthcare organisation's complex, dynamic environment.
- There is no written exam in this course, and 100% of the work is based on individual assignments for the learning outcome assessments.
Course Contacts
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | People and Place |
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and describe an understanding of healthcare issues and problems as your case study (Capability 1.2 and 4.1)
- Critically evaluate the health management skills and competencies required for the identified case study problem and highlight particular challenges to meet the goals and objectives (Capability 1.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.2, 6.2 and 8.1)
- Apply and analyse theoretical concepts of engagement and management theories concerning the identified case study. (Capability 2.1, 3.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)
- Develop and demonstrate an understanding of Change management, Health Workforce requirements, HR management, and Performance Management which are needed to explain how change can be managed in a healthcare setting concerning your case study. (Capability 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1 and 8.2)
- Articulate and demonstrate the health management skills learned for the effective management of the healthcare organisation. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.2, 6.2, 7.1, 8.2 and 8.3)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Case Study (Scenario identification) | 5% | Individual Coursework |
| Essay-1-skills, competencies & challenges | 25% | Individual Coursework |
| Essay-2 Applying theory to the case study | 25% | Individual Coursework |
| Final Report and Oral Presentation | 45% | Individual Coursework |
| 4 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| Case Study (Scenario identification) | ||||||||||
| Essay-1-skills, competencies & challenges | ||||||||||
| Essay-2 Applying theory to the case study | ||||||||||
| Final Report and Oral Presentation | ||||||||||
Students are required to complete all assignments to graduate from this course.
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15-point course, and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15-point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 18 hours of lectures, 6 hours of discussion forums activities and exercises, 6 hours of self-directed learning, 50 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 70 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
- Attendance is required at scheduled activities, lectures, and in-class group exercises to complete the components of this course.
- Lectures and other learning activities, including seminars, will be available as recordings or slides.
- Attendance on campus is required for the oral presentation.
- The activities for the course are scheduled as a block delivery.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
This course scored 93.3% for overall satisfaction by the students in the SET survey-2024, and students actively participated in all the modules. The attendance for this course was always 80 to 100%. There was feedback from students to increase the lecture hours from two hours to three hours and increase the word counts for assignments. These suggestions have been implemented from the 2025 academic year.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.