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Course content
Contemporary healthcare requires skilled leadership and management to address complexity, resource constraints and rapid change. This online MSc in Healthcare Leadership and Management develops the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become an effective and compassionate leader of evolving healthcare services.
You will evaluate and apply theory in healthcare leadership, resource management, policy, resourcing, quality improvement and implementation science to real-world challenges. Learning is grounded in comparative case studies from the NHS, global healthcare systems and the commercial sector, enabling you to critically assess different models and their relevance to the UK healthcare context.
With a strong focus on future healthcare needs, you will explore complex systems, digital health and data analytics to improve care quality, health equity and public health outcomes. Flexible online delivery allows you to study part-time alongside professional practice.
Please note that the module information displayed here is from a previous year and is subject to change.
| Code |
Module |
Credits |
| HPDM219Z |
Management and Leadership in Healthcare
This module explores theoretical knowledge and practical standards and competencies contributing to the effective management and leadership of sustainable health and care systems. You will apply this to your professional context to add value to self, team, community and organisational settings.
You will examine human behaviour in health and care environments to support sustainable practices. This includes evaluation of factors that influence team dynamics, team management, organisational interdependencies and their integration and impact on employee relations.
You will appraise theory and evidence, drawing on multi-disciplinary perspectives on integrated governance, communication, safety culture, speaking up, self-management, decision-making and project management.
|
30 |
| HPDM214Z |
Resourcing in Healthcare
This module explores productivity in healthcare, focusing on finance, activity and people. You will develop key skills in financial aspects: accounting, budgeting, information systems, health economics principles, supply and demand, and their integration into healthcare policy. These build understanding of decision-making and service improvements which maximise impact on health outcomes.
Additionally, you will study behavioural influences on productivity, including staff morale, social capital and leadership models. Resource allocation and financial decision-making studies are underpinned by medical ethics considerations, applying individual patient and population perspectives. Sustainable finance practices to support Sustainable Development Goals are examined, including sustainability ratings and environmental, social and governance risks.
|
30 |
| HPDM215Z |
Leading Change in Healthcare
This module will develop critical insights into diverse approaches to leading and sustaining change, implementing innovation and improving health and care services. You will acquire skills in quality improvement methodology, emphasising the use of continuous process and outcome data to support sustainable improvement. The module critically appraises implementation science, examining core theories, models, and practices within contemporary health and care contexts. The role of psychological safety as a foundation for effective change will be explored. You will analyse behaviour change and sociological models of implementation, evaluating how these frameworks inform strategies to increase the uptake, application, and sustainability of evidence-based practices. |
30 |
| HPDM216Z |
Future Health
You will explore future healthcare needs and investigate how complex healthcare systems and data analytics can be harnessed to bring about sustainable and equitable improvements. Informed by epidemiology, public health and disease prevention strategies, you will appraise the potential of digital health to transform the quality and value of healthcare “from bedside to board” through patient-centred and consumer-led approaches and identify drivers to transform existing linear healthcare structures into complex systems. You will consider the possibilities and effects of different healthcare systems, going beyond data analytics and artificial intelligence to look at societies’ expectations and the need for change. |
30 |
| HPDM217Z |
Researching Professional Practice
In this module you will evaluate your practice as a professional through the lens of research and scholarship in healthcare education and leadership. You will be supported to appraise a variety of literature, identifying your own areas of interest and potential gaps in what is known. You will learn about data collection and analysis, ethics, the positionality of the researcher and potential career pathways for scholarship in healthcare education. Having carried out a literature review of your own, you will then design a small-scale research project and write a proposal for funding. |
30 |
| HPDM218Z |
Strategic Business Proposal/Plan
Healthcare leaders are responsible for developing and implementing major projects that contribute towards organisational strategic objectives. This module consolidates learning across the programme and applies new knowledge to a real-world situation. You will complete a situational analysis of your organisational context to identify an area for improvement, with a focus either on enabling one of the three shifts from “Fit for the Future: 10-year health plan for England” or one of the WHO’s strategic priorities. Consulting with stakeholders, this analysis will be used to propose an innovation or improvement project, which you may start to implement during the programme. |
30 |
Entry requirements
2:2 in a healthcare related degree or 2 years professional experience in healthcare.
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course.
The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2.
Find out more about our English language requirements »
Pay as you study
Total fees for this programme is £12,800.
To make it easier to budget, you don’t need to pay the total fee upfront. Instead, you can pay for each module as you are about to start studying it. You can pay for the whole year if you prefer, but the minimum payment is at least the cost of the module you are taking that term.
Find out more about the funding opportunities available to you, including the UK government postgraduate loan scheme.
What opportunities does an online Masters in Healthcare Leadership and Management lead to?
Employer-valued skills this course develops
You will develop skills in strategic management and change leadership, financial decision-making, systems-thinking and digital transformation relevant to senior roles in healthcare.
Career paths
The programme is aimed at clinical and managerial professionals working in the NHS and prepares you to lead service improvement, innovation and organisational change from bedside to board level.
Further study
This programme is designed to be studied as a full MSc, with the flexibility to exit earlier with a PGCert or PGDip if your circumstances change. You can also study individual modules, with one topic available each term, allowing you to build your learning over time.
Complete the form to speak with our team about the best pathway for you.
Teaching and learning
How you'll learn
- Online lectures & masterclasses
- Interactive online resources
- Discussion forums
- Guided independent study
Learning from experts
The programme is delivered by experienced academics, lecturer practitioners and researchers with expertise in healthcare leadership & management, finance and NHS-focused education.
Applying research to practice
Teaching is informed by University of Exeter health services research strengths including health economics, implementation science and health professions workforce wellbeing. You will apply research evidence to real-world healthcare challenges through case studies, quality improvement approaches and implementation science frameworks with a strong emphasis on theory-to-practice translation.
Course-specific learning activities
Learning focuses on analysing complex systems, evaluating policy and developing strategic improvement proposals grounded in your professional context, including a strategic business project aligned with NHS or WHO priorities.
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Prof Sarah Bradley
Mr Rob Bethune
Dr Susanne Smith
Dr Tracey Rosell
Dr Nermin Hamza
Dr Alistair Hellewell
Prof Sarah Bradley
Sarah is Associate Professor of Medical Education. Her career began as a registered nurse in the NHS, and she has more than two decades of experience in leading and delivering undergraduate and postgraduate health professions education. Sarah’s interests lie in supporting healthcare professionals to develop as clinicians, leaders, educators and researchers. She is Director of Education and Student Experience for postgraduate programmes in the Department of Health and Community Sciences in the Medical School, Programme Lead for the MSc Healthcare Leadership & Management, and Admissions Lead for the Medicine programme.
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Mr Rob Bethune
Rob Bethune is a colorectal consultant surgeon and the clinical lead of the Quality Improvement team at the Royal Devon University Trust. His clinical practice focuses on surgical care for inflammatory bowel disease. He has held leadership roles in service improvement, including a year at the Southwest Strategic Health Authority working on a 17 hospital collaborative to raise perioperative standards. He later led an NIHR funded programme evaluating quality improvement collaboratives across the English NHS. He has published widely on quality improvement, patient safety, and human factors.
Dr Susanne Smith
Susanna is a Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Leadership & Management in the University of Exeter's Faculty of Health & Life Sciences (Education & Scholarship). I have around sixteen years experience teaching at postgraduate level in healthcare and have a particular interest in leading change at a systems-level and equipping students to manage the complexities of real clinical systems to improve safety, patient outcomes and staff well-being.
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Dr Tracey Rosell
Tracey is a Lecturer in Healthcare Leadership & Management in the University of Exeter's Faculty of Health & Life Sciences (Education & Scholarship). She has around twenty years experience teaching at postgraduate level and in executive education. This includes experience with organisations in diverse industries, particularly healthcare, and as a lawyer specializing in Human Resources and Employment Law. Tracey’s particular interest is in leading change at a systems-level and equipping students to manage the complexities of real clinical systems to improve speaking up, safety, patient outcomes and staff well-being.
Dr Nermin Hamza
Originally a dentist, Nermin has a passion for Quality and Leadership which she has pursued by completing a Masters and PhD in the field. Before joining academia, she worked as a Healthcare Quality Manager in Egypt. Her teaching experience commenced in Saudi Arabia and over the past 10 years has taught in several UK universities before joining Exeter.
Dr Alistair Hellewell
Alistair is a consultant anaesthetist working in the NHS with a special interest in anaesthesia for ENT, transfer medicine, non-technical skills and leadership. He has been actively involved in medical education throughout his career working locally, regionally and nationally. He is a co-lead for the Simulation Unplugged course at the Royal College of Anaesthetists and faculty member of the Anaesthetists as Educators portfolio of courses. In 2015 Alistair founded the Philosophical Breakfast Club, a cross industry collaborative learning organisation and platform that creates connections through conferences and events to improve outcomes in safety critical industries.
Study a 100% online Masters degree in Healthcare Leadership and Management at a Top 15 University*
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