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Getting Ahead in Health Services: Healthcare Management and Leadership Principles

Learn the principles of being an effective leader and manager in healthcare, including the theory of transformational leadership.

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  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    8 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Included in an ExpertTrack

    Course 1 of 5
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Acknowledging key differences between leadership and management practices

Want to know how to be a good leader and manager in health services? Explore the tools and techniques available with this self-paced course.

You’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the fundamental theories, concepts and principles of leadership and management practice, and discuss the difference between managers and leaders.

You’ll also find out how leaders and managers employ relevant skills and behaviours in global and cultural contexts.

Explore the difference between leadership and management

Can good leaders be developed? Is it possible to be a good leader and a bad manager? And what are the most effective – and ineffective – leadership styles and practices? This course will show you how effective leadership and management must go hand in hand, despite their differences.

Discover effective examples of leadership theories

As you delve into the history of leadership models and theories, such as contingency, situational and transformational leadership, You’ll study strong leaders in history. You’ll explore how leadership theories have developed over time, and pinpoint the relevant behaviours required of healthcare professionals.

Consider health leadership across countries and cultures

Culture has a strong impact on the expectations of leaders – it can impact leadership approach, skills required, and even how leaders present themselves in a professional context.

You’ll have the opportunity to review how leading works in different countries, and how that relates to the skills, qualities, and behaviours required by healthcare leaders.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    What are the key concepts relevant to emergent leaders and managers?

    • Welcome to Getting Ahead in Health Services: Healthcare Management and Leadership Principles

      In this section we will outline the topics you will explore this week.

    • What are the differences between leadership and management?

      What are the differences between the practices of leaders and the practices of managers? What is similar about the roles and activities and what is different?

    • Can leaders be developed?

      Exploring the key elements of leadership development.

    • Effective and ineffective leadership and management practices and styles

      To be able to develop ourselves as leaders and managers we need to be able to identify effective and ineffective practices and barriers to leadership.

    • Summary of Week 1

      Congratulations! You have reached the end of your first week of Introduction to the Principles of Management and Leadership in Healthcare. In this section we look back on what we have learned and what we will learn next week.

  • Week 2

    Leadership theories and characteristics

    • Introduction to Week 2

      This week you will consider historical theories of leadership, develop an awareness of leading in different countries and cultures and key characteristics of effective leaders.

    • The history of leadership theories

      Recognising and understanding various leadership theories from a historical perspective.

    • Leaders in history

      Understanding historical leaders and past decision making processes can enable you to become a better leader today and in the future. During this activity we will consider famous examples and apply lessons learnt to the present da

    • Introduction to key leadership theories and concepts

      Exploration of the psychological contract and two different leadership theories

    • Leading in different countries and with different cultures

      What leadership looks like in different countries whilst adapting to various cultures.

    • The characteristics, skills, qualities and behaviours required by healthcare leaders

      The key skills, qualities and characteristics of modern-day healthcare leaders.

    • Summary of Week 2

      Congratulations! You have completed Week 2 of this course. In this section we look back on what we have learned and what we will learn next week.

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  • Make your career dreams a reality.

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Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Develop awareness of the key differences between leadership and management practices
  • Understand the history of leadership theories
  • Evaluate the characteristics, skills and behaviours to be a leader and to be a manager considering cultural differences
  • Debate whether leaders are born or can be developed
  • Compare different leadership theories and concepts and how these have developed

Who is the course for?

This ExpertTrack is designed for students or healthcare professionals, administrators wishing to progress into middle or senior management roles, as well as policy makers, executives, consultants, and service providers in the health sector.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

About this ExpertTrack

Discover how to enhance your emerging healthcare management career through practical leadership theories and personal development.

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After your free trial you can:

  • Pay $39 per month to keep learning online
  • Have complete control over your subscription; you can cancel any time
  • Work at your own pace and set your own deadlines at every stage
  • Only pay while you’re learning; the subscription will cancel automatically when you finish
  • Complete online assessments to test your knowledge and prove your skills
  • Earn digital course certificates and a final award that you can share online, with potential employers, and your professional network
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Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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