Introduction
The current health managers in most health facilities are of clinical care background with little training if any in health services management. Health planning and management courses are mostly offered at postgraduate level of which courses are usually very expensive and can only be accessed by those at undergraduate level.
The School of health sciences at MMU has come up with a diploma course in Health Services Management in order to bridge the management gaps identified above. The course targets all health workers in management positions and those to be at any level of health care delivery. The course therefore will be of interest both to those who have recently moved into management roles in the health sector, or existing managers who wish to formalize and develop their management skills in health service delivery.
At the end of the programme, students should be able to:
1. Analyze the situation in their health institutions, identify managerial problems, come up with feasible and practical solutions
2. Apply effective management functions at all levels.
3. determine performance standards and quality of service delivery
4. Acquire team-building techniques in order to ensure a strong teamwork spirit among members of the health team.
5. Analyze the available resource capacity (human, physical, financial) versus service needs
6. Develop an annual work plan and budget for their health institution that clearly shows the monitoring plan and tools, implementation plan, evaluation plan and tools.
7. Interpret the budgetary implications of management decisions taken either by the management Team, the organization they serve or the Ministry of Health
8. Lead and motivate staff using constructive supervision and communication skills
The programme is open to Ugandans and Non-Ugandans who fulfil the admission requirements.
To do this course, the applicant must be working in the Health Sector with a minimum of a certificate in any health related field e.g. clinical medicine, enrolled nursing, medical laboratory, etc.
The programme is weekend on campus. Training involves lectures and field work in selected practicum sites
Duration of the programme
The Diploma in Health Services management shall take two (2) years each having two semesters lasting 17 weeks. Each semester will comprise of 15 weeks of study and 2 weeks of written examinations.