About us

The goal of the postgraduate program is to prepare health and aged care managers for leadership success. Through helping our students to meet the leadership and management challenges that face health and aged care organisations, we contribute to improving the effectiveness of health and aged care services.

The program focuses on management as a professional and personal practice, as well as on its theoretical foundations and technical systems. Accordingly, our educational programs have the following characteristics:

Targeted to managers and professionals: we do not accept students who lack practical experience in the health/aged care sectors.

Emphasis on practical skills: all topics focus on the application of theories, systems, methods and skills to the challenges managers face.

Strong theoretical underpinnings: theory provides a framework or 'language' for understanding, analysing and discussing management practice, the causes of problems and the logic of systems and strategies. A strong theoretical base enables managers to think rationally, exercise good judgement and apply knowledge, evidence and logic to problems and solutions.

Grounded in the sector and its culture: the health and aged care systems are unique, and managers need a combination of general management and system-specific education.

Informed by action learning theory: the difficult issues faced by managers are not resolvable with textbook knowledge alone. Insight which questions personal practice (the ability to 'see oneself' in the midst of the action) and versatility (the ability to steer the course of the action through different ways of playing leadership roles) are needed, along with deep knowledge of the way organisations really work.

We therefore use an adult learning approach in which:

• students can relate the subject matter to their own experience and work setting
• active contribution to small group discussions and tasks is expected
• students recognise and respect the value of their classmates' contributions
• each student embarks on a pathway of personal growth and development
• students will be encouraged to think critically and challenge points of view with intellectual rigour
• students will acquire a set of core practical health management skills as well as strong conceptual and analytical skills
• respect for other people's cultures and needs will be fostered.

We strive to ensure that the Program meets the learning needs of our students in accordance with the educational goals and philosophy outlined above. The methods we use operate at three levels, as follows.

1. Quality of topics

The topics we teach are the building blocks of the program, and they are designed to enable students to enhance their capabilities in areas defined by our Statement of Graduate Attributes

Each delivery of a topic is evaluated by participating students, using a comprehensive evaluation framework and supplemented with a discussion at the final teaching session for that topic. This evaluation is designed to provide information to Health Care Management on a broad range of matters that are critical for future planning. The results are collated for each topic, and reviewed by the topic coordinator, the course coordinator and the Head of Health Care Management. They are also presented at the end of each year to the Curriculum Committee.

The Curriculum Committee is made up of all lecturers in the Program and a student representative. Meetings are informal and allow for teachers to share their successes and their concerns about each topic, as well as to consider the needs of the full range of students. The Committee is also responsible for ensuring that the graduate attributes are adequately addressed in the topics.

2. Quality of courses

The overall quality of our courses, the extent to which they meet the learning needs of our students and the requirements of industry employers, is assessed periodically as part of accreditation surveys, and by our Industry Advisory Board at its annual meeting.

In accordance with Flinders University policy, the Program also undergoes an expert external review every five years.

3. University and College oversight

These internal departmental quality assessment strategies are nested into a quality framework created and maintained by the College of Business, Government and Law and the University. Curriculum changes over time, as well as student results, are reviewed by the College and central levels through a comprehensive set of approval requirements.

The goal of the post-graduate program is to prepare health and aged care managers for leadership success. Through helping our students to meet the leadership and management challenges that face health and aged care organisations, we contribute to improving the effectiveness of health and aged care services.