I spent the majority of my MBA deployed to Eastern Europe with NATO and the resources remained easy to use and my studies were unaffected.
Sean
I would advise any Military personnel to give distance learning a go. You will be surprised what you can achieve when you have the right support and access to great resources.
Our online Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc is ideal if you are a leader or manager in a health or social care setting, or someone looking to step into this role. You’ll build on your existing experience within your industry and gain not only the knowledge and skills to reach your full potential as a manager, but the emotional tools to lead with empathy and drive positive organisational change. You’ll study online giving you the flexibility to achieve your career aspirations around your commitments to the armed forces.
Course overview
Management and leadership in the healthcare sector is increasingly important worldwide. And with The World Health Organization placing greater emphasis than ever before on the need for managers to have appropriate competencies, and the NHS promoting specific values and principles of care, an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc is a valuable tool in the development of healthcare services.
You’ll learn how healthcare organisations operate in today’s climate whilst developing the full range of management skills needed to help organisations achieve their strategic ambitions, exploring insights from the business world to further your understanding. You’ll be able to use these skills to develop approaches to management and leadership and be well equipped to put in place mechanisms which support the development of organisational learning.
You'll explore the important social factors, and others, which influence managing and leading both organisations and individuals, learning with other current and aspiring managers and leaders from a range of health and social care organisations from around the world.
Our Masters degree will equip you with the knowledge, skills and emotional tools you need to meet today's healthcare challenges. Key topics include:
Resilience and prevention of disasters
Leadership, management and change management skills
Ethical decision-making and its application to practice
Critical reflection on professional practice
Modules and assessment
Modules
In order to successfully complete your master's degree you will need to complete 4 core modules and 1 optional module.
Modules are subject to change and availability.
Organisational Transformation in Health and Social Care
Health and social care institutions (e.g. NHS) are continuously striving to improve themselves and attain excellence against a backdrop of relentless change. The ability to accept rapid and significant change as an inevitable consequence of life is a pre-requisite for organisational survival. We’ll cover the ability of organisations to adopt change rather than merely adapt to it as one of the major hall marks of a learning organisation. You’ll discover how organisational learning becomes the mechanism by which organisational competencies can keep pace with national, local or international challenges. The development of whole-system change initiatives have become the cornerstone; the gold standard approach in managing complex change manifested through individuals who seek to improve service delivery.
Change is inevitable, and it is readily accepted that to remain the same increases organisational risk, however, applying change management strategies to complex and high challenge organisations can be a difficult task yet essential task in today's pursuit of organisational efficiencies. You’ll explore change theory, strategic formation alongside organisational change, the application of advanced technologies and the resilience requirements of your organisation.
Global Leadership
You’ll learn about leadership styles, emotional intelligence and will have the opportunity to learn about your own leadership traits and styles. Leaders predominantly create context and together we’ll explore the skills required to successfully mould and develop the context in a complex evolving environment.
We’ll examine the fitness of health and social care institutions to tackle urgent global issues. It consists of three elements: 1) effective decision making 2) adoption of a global approach, and 3) creation of a new business paradigm. We consider the related concept of 'MisLeadership', which looks at how leaders have often failed to achieve the optimum outcomes for those they lead.
Advancing Professional Decision Making (Optional)
Responding to the continuously changing nature of service design and redesign of health and social care systems. We’ll support you, as health and social care practitioners, to develop and extend your role for advanced practice as you prepare for more autonomous and more integrated organisational roles and functions. You’ll possess the knowledge and skills to take and implement complex decisions in a rapidly changing health and social care sector environment. As advanced practitioners, you’ll have the potential to contribute to the need for organisational transformations across the care sectors.
This is particularly important in advanced organisational practice, and we’ll encourage you to focus on new or advanced areas of service development for effective organisational decision making. You’ll need to be able to utilise both strategic and operational decision-making skills at an advanced level to accommodate national, and where relevant international, strategic intentions with local implementation needs and adjustments.
Organisational and Individual Disaster Resilience (Optional)
Disasters (e.g. floods and earthquakes), pandemics (e.g. COVID-19), major emergencies and many other situations and events cause disruptions to the operation of health and social care. These disruptions often reduce effectiveness and threatens health and social care continuity. Health and social care services are highly dependent on interdisciplinary set of parameters such as infrastructure, management and human resources all of which are essential for the continuity of these critical services and demonstrate the complexity of these services.
We’ll equip you to assess and improve the resilience of your organisation. Responding to communities’ need for more effective and less interruptive health and social care services, by integrating resilience in the way the organisation operates. You’ll reflect on this complexity and the interdisciplinary nature of these services whether you are from medical, paramedical, military, engineering, or other backgrounds. You’ll specifically develop broad and detailed knowledge about the components of risks, disaster typologies, vulnerability assessment, emergency complexities and disaster response phases.
We’ll provide a framework, which’ll allow you to recognise the need for resilience, and to demonstrate capability to assess and address at least one of its key parameters that has the potential to affect the continuity of health or social care service.
Postgraduate Research Design
This module is designed to give you the necessary tools to identify and plan research in order to address real-world problems within your practice, or address existing knowledge gaps within your field. The module will provide a framework allowing you to propose and justify a research question and design appropriate to your professional practice.
Major Project
The Major Project, central to the Masters award and enables you to demonstrate your ability to synthesise learning from previous modules and use your learning as the basis for planning, conducting and writing up a research or work-based project.
Assessment
How you’ll be assessed will vary between modules. This is in order to assist you in developing submission evidence for Management and Leadership professional recognition later. Assignments include the production of reports, essays, a portfolio and Major Project.
Meet your tutors
Dr Nebil Achour, PhD, MSc, BSc
Nebil is our Course Leader for the MSc and has a vast amount of expertise in the resilience of healthcare to major hazards, about which he has published over 50 scientific articles and reports. He was also a member of the global WHO Hospital Safety Index revision panel.
After gaining a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Tunis Advanced School of Science and Technology, Tunisia, Dr Achour worked in private engineering and design firms on designing structures and training engineers in several countries. Granted a Japanese Government Scholarship to further his education, he gained his MSc with a focus on the response of hospital lifeline systems following seismic activities and his PhD on hospital's fragility assessment in 2004 and 2007 respectively from Kanazawa University.
Following his graduation, he was then employed as a Post-doctoral Researcher in his graduate University. He joined Loughborough University in September 2007 as a Research Associate. He coordinated the research activities of the £11million HaCIRIC research centre, and the CPM WBDL MSc Course. He was awarded the Best Paper Award during the CIB World Congress 2010, and the Highly Commended Paper in the 2016 and 2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence. Nebil is actively involved in national and international research and consultancy activities and interested in exchanging knowledge with academics and practitioners, specifically those working on similar topics.
How you'll study
Our Healthcare Management MSc is studied 100% online.
You’ll study through Canvas, our world-class online Learning Management System (LMS), which can be accessed from your phone, PC or tablet at home or on the move. Canvas provides instant access to study materials, forums, and support from tutors and classmates, as well as enabling easy submission of your assignments.
On successful completion of your studies, you’ll be invited to attend a graduation ceremony on campus. If attending the ceremony in person is not possible then we’ll arrange to have your certificate sent to you.
Careers
What could an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc do for my career?
There is an ever-growing demand for healthcare managers, so if you’re looking to develop valuable skills to aid your work as an armed forces medic, or even advance your healthcare career once you leave military service, a healthcare management master’s will set you on the right track.
If you’re considering a career in healthcare management after you leave the service, starting your studies while you’re still in the armed forces will not only allow you to enhance your learning with your current work experience, but allow you continue working while you learn.
An Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills, making you an attractive candidate to employers. You’ll gain the skills and experience you need to thrive in a variety of workplace environments and managerial positions, setting you on the path to reach your goals.
What job roles can I consider with an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc postgraduate degree?
Within your current role as an armed forces medic, the Healthcare Management MSc course will enhance your leadership skills so that you meet the personal and professional standards expected of a healthcare leader. If you're thinking past your armed forces career, you could set your sights at a mid-level or senior roles within the health and social care sector.
Examples of job roles Healthcare Management MSc graduates may consider, potentially with more training and experience depending on their starting point, are:
Nursing Home Supervisor/Manager/Director
Children's Home Supervisor/Manager/Director
Supported Housing Care Supervisor/Manager/Director
Social Worker
Health Service Supervisor/Manager/Director
Hospice Supervisor/Manager/Director
What skills will I get from an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc to help my career?
Choosing to study a Healthcare Management MSc will give you many transferable skills; here are just some of them:
Ability to Initiate change
Develop strong leadership skills
Work well with multi-disciplinary and inter-agency teams
Critically reflect and apply research strategies
What can I study after an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc?
Depending on your long-term goals and interests you may decide to explore a doctorate qualification. Having a master’s degree under your belt is a key entry requirement in opening doors to study at this level.
Careers Advice Service
Once you become an ARU student you will be able to access our Employability service to help you whatever stage of your career, whether that’s landing your dream job or the next progression step.
We offer:
careers advice, including one-to-one online and telephone appointments with our experienced advisers
help with your CV, job searches, applications, and interview preparation
an online portal packed with useful careers resources
our Employability Programme, which helps you hone the skills employers say they want in graduates.
Entry requirements
Applicants should ideally have a good first degree or equivalent and be currently working in, or have recently worked within, the arena of Management and Leadership in healthcare.
A professional qualification isn’t a necessity for access to the course, but you must meet the criteria above and demonstrate a strong interest in Management and Leadership.
If English is not your first language, you will be expected to demonstrate a certificated level of proficiency of at least IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.
As a distance learner, you'll also need a suitable computer with internet connection, together with sufficient IT competence to make effective use our online learning management system (LMS) with high-speed internet and email.
For non-graduates, non-traditional entry routes to the course may be possible by clearly demonstrating on your application that your qualifications and experience are equivalent to an Honours degree.
Various entry points are available depending on accreditation against military training. For more information on the options available to you, get in contact with us
Fees & funding
Fees
The full tuition fee for this course is £7,700.
The tuition fees you pay each year for the full Healthcare Management MSc will be £3,850. The course is studied over 2 years.
Accredited prior learning may reduce the tuition fees. This will be confirmed once your application has been submitted.
If you have completed certain RAF qualifications, then you may be eligible for an advanced entry route which would reduce the cost of the course to £5,067. Please contact us for more information.
Funding
Your course can be fully funded by the new Postgraduate Student Loans now available (subject to eligibility).
We offer payment by instalments, so you can spread the cost of studying with us.
You can use your ELCs towards this course. Anglia Ruskin University is a recognised ELCAS provider (number 1007). Please contact your Learning Centre for details of ELC, eligibility and how to apply.
For more information on how you fund your studies please see our funding page.
FAQs
Why study an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc?
Health care is a demanding sector, that has undergone rapid changes in a short space of time and is in need of dedicated and knowledgeable leaders.
Every day as a healthcare manager will provide you with new challenges allowing you to build skills and resilience that you can then apply to your current role in order to climb the career ladder.
An Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc will build upon your existing armed forces experience in order to maximise your leadership talents to inspire those working with you and under you to undertake lifechanging work.
Whether you’re in the armed forces and looking to advance your skills in a management position or are working towards your post-military service career goals, this online MSc will prepare you for the challenging world of healthcare management.
How can an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc benefit my career?
There is an ever-growing demand for healthcare managers, so if you’re looking to develop valuable skills to aid your work as an armed forces medic, or even advance your healthcare career once you leave military service, a healthcare management Masters will set you on the right track.
If you’re considering a career in healthcare management after you leave the service, starting your studies while you’re still in the armed forces will not only allow you to enhance your learning with your current work experience, but allow you continue working while you learn.
An Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills, making you an appealing candidate to employers. You’ll gain the skills and experience you need to thrive in a variety of workplace environments and managerial positions, setting you on the path to reach your goals.
Which students are best suited to an Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc?
Most of our students for this Masters in healthcare management have a an undergraduate degree, however there are some cases where we do also accept students who don’t have a degree but have the equivalent workplace experience.
This course is aimed at those who are currently serving in the armed forces and are looking to either grow their career as an army, navy, or air force medic, or are preparing for a career after they leave the armed forces.
We understand that there are unique challenges faced by armed forces students, and we aim to provide all of our students with the highest quality of distance learning. We seek to ensure that your experience as a serving online learner is as straightforward as possible; including an option for advanced entry to armed forces personnel, based on rank and experience
What will I learn on this Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc?
Our distance learning Armed Forces Healthcare Management MSc seeks to equip you with an essential understanding of organisational practices and structures, and your experience in the armed forces will help to inform your learning.
The leadership skills that you gain will allow you to play an influential and life changing role in steering healthcare organisations in new directions that will improve not only patient care but improve the working environment of those in the sector.
Your work in the armed forces may have given you a greater insight into the national and international perspectives of healthcare sectors, and this course aims to prepare you for the ever-evolving nature of healthcare; encouraging you to supplement your learning with your own world experience. You’ll examine and implement a range of cultural and global perspectives and consider the different factors that go into healthcare decision making.
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