Looking for a doctoral program w/ a healthcare admin emphasis

Hi guys...

I know that Capella, Walden, UoP (all too expensive for my wallet) and NCU offer this type of program, but can anyone recommend any others? Short residencies are ok. PhD preferred, but will consider others.

I researched the program at Central Michigan (actually a DHA -- Doctor of Health Administration), but it appears to be an executive program with admission requirements that ask for a lot more top level healthcare admin experience than I currently have.

Thanks!

 

Hi. What is your tuition price range? Are foreign doctorates acceptable? Are you willing to write a dissertation that contributes new knowledge to the discipline? Do you plan to use the doctorate to seek full-time teaching? And if I may ask, how old are you?

Dave

 

Touro University International has Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences programs. And they do offer a specialization in Health Care Administration. http://www.tourou.edu/chs/phd.htm

 

Price range: My employer will reimburse for up to $450/credit hour, so I would like to stay as close to that as possible. I hope to start my doctorate in early-mid 2008.

Foreign doctorates: The jury is still out on the foreign doctorate. A lot will depend on whether or not I will be able to get tuition reimbursement for a non US-based program. I have been reading a lot of the discussion on the UNISA vs. NCU thread and I am definitely open to the idea.

Dissertation: Yes. I am definitely willing to write a dissertation that will contribute new knowledge. In fact, I would prefer to do so.

Full time teaching: I don't plan to use this degree to teach full time. I am in HR and have spent the vast majority of my career in healthcare. At some point before I retire (which I suspect will not be for another 10+ years), I hope to slide into the ops side of things. I plan to consult and do some adjunct teaching post-retirement.

Age: I am 48, divorced and my youngest will be headed to college in a year -- leaving me lots of time to work on my doctoral coursework and my dissertation.

Educational background/certifications:

BA, Communicative Disorders - 1981

MA, Audiology -1984

I will finish my MBA in Strategic Leadership @ Amberton 12/07.

Concurrently enrolled in SJCME Long Term Care Administration certificate program; will finish that program before my son graduates in June 2008. (In fact, it is the combination of this program and the MBA that have lead me to consider crossing over to the ops side of healthcare.)

Certifications:
CCC-A (Audiology)
SPHR (Human Resources)

 

Probably a dumb answer

Have u tried Walden or Capella or UoP? These institutes I remember have been flooding my mailbox lately with their advertisement for their doctoral programs in healthcare admin.

 

Please see my initial post...they are out of my price range. NCU meets the price criteria, but I would like a school with a little more history -- it's too new for me.

 

Hi Mary - Here's one to look at:

http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/postgraduate/health_science_doctor/

Here's another:

http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/prospectus/research/mphilphd.html

You're not going to have many choices so don't be too quick to turn away from any respected program.

 

Thanks...and you are correct. The choices seem to be extremely limited. Foreign programs are looking better all the time.

 

If you don't plan to use the doctorate for full-time teaching, then I wouldn't recommend that you pursue it. It's a tremendous amount of work and you can do everything you stated above without pouring yourself (and your money) into a doctoral program.

With an MA and MBA, you will be able to teach adjunct all you want. Another motivation for earning a doctorate might be to learn to be a scholar in health care administration, which you didn't mention above. You might even be able to swing a full time teaching position at a community college with your current education. I don't mean to be discouraging, but those are the facts.

Have you considered writing a book instead of earning a doctorate?

Dave

P.S. All my free advice comes with a double your money back guarantee.

 

Good point, but...

...what about when I am competing for those adjunct positions with all of those folks with their Walden, Capella, NCU and UofP doctorates?

You are correct. That is not my goal.

Again...it all depends on what the competition looks like out there. If I am vying for a full time position against someone with a PhD, who do you think they'll select?

Quite the contrary. In fact, until the next poster shoots down the idea that I might have a realistic chance at doing some adjunct and online teaching with my current degrees, you have actually given me increased hope!

As a matter of fact...I have. It will be fiction and is actually on my list of things to do before I die. I figure I have about 40 good years left, so lots of time to pursue all sorts of dreams.

I will keep that in mind...lifetime warranty? Or limited time offer only?

And now, my P.S. for you...

What did my age have to do with anything?

 

Which state are you in? If you are in Florida UF tuition is around $300 a credit hour. UF offers an online Doctorate in Audiology http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/program.aspx?p=6, to which you can a minor in Healthcare Risk Management http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/program.aspx?p=53 or Public Health http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/program.aspx?p=58 . These are all offered online.

Also, since you are finishing an MBA, perhaps a DBA or DPA with an emphasis on healthcare?

Another possible option (more difficult, but possible):
Although not desinged to be a distance learning PhD, my department (Agircultural and Biological Engineering - http://www.abe.ufl.edu/academics/graduate/index.php ) offers a Management PhD in which an MBA is a prerequisite for the program. Our department is heavily invoved with agricultural and industiral safety and in which your healthcare background would be an asset. You could design a program from courses that are already offered online by other UF departments. There is one major drawback. Most, but not all of the courses you would need are offered online. For those 2 or 3 that are not, you would the full co-operation from whoever is teaching those courses to let you do them DL. Also, since this would be mainly a self-designed program, you would have to have a clear idea of what you want to do.

Just some ideas I'm throwing out there. But like others have said, do you really want to go through all this just to teach online? I don't think it is worth it.

 

Thanks, edowave, for some great ideas. I actually had researched the AuD program a few years ago, but -- along the same lines that you are all suggesting to me -- I did not want to get an AuD just so I could 'maybe' go back to doing some part time audiology when I retire. While I am not from Florida, UFL was one of the two finalists for me, had I opted to go the AuD route. If I wanted to get a doctorate just for the sake of being able to be called Dr. Mary, the AuD is the way that I would have gone. It would have definitely been the path of least resistance.

I am actually thinking a DBA with a healthcare emphasis would be perfect for me. I also believe that it would have far more utility for me than an AuD at this stage of the game. Since I don't want to teach full time, I have considered NCU as a possibility, but I really would prefer a not-for-profit school with a B&M campus, if possible. Just a matter of personal preference more than anything else.

As far as getting a doctorate, it is not just the possibility of adjunct teaching, but also the potential utility I can see it having in my consulting business. I do a little consulting now when I have time, but hope to transition it into something bigger as the years progress.

I'm certainly not looking at it for the potential future income that I would be able to make teaching full-time, as I probably make more now than I would at a univeristy.

I know that I probably do not NEED it for any of these things, but I also have always been one who has opted to make myself as marketable as possible over the years. I am a woman who likes options and who does not mind the work involved in getting there. I have been one who has loved learning my entire life and have often said that I will go to school until the day I die if I have my way, so that part is not a big deal to me.

 

Tulane University http://hsm.tulane.edu/executive/index.html

 

The link isn't currently working.

 

New link: www.sph.tulane.edu/hsm/pages/programs/scd.htm

 

The number of years that you will accrue benefit from earning a doctorate is very limited if you are entering a program in your late forties; it is likely that your investment in tuition and opportunity cost will far outweigh any financial benefit from the doctorate. In sum, I think you are wasting your time if you don't plan to teach full time with the degree.

Dave

 

Hi Marylars,

I just looked up the health management experience requirements for Central Michigan (5 years) and Tulane (3 years). I would be surprized if these were rigidly enforced or entirely dependent on job title, since especially in health care someone without a management title may have had a good deal of management work by default. If you were a practicing audiologist for some years and you have worked and been working as a consultant, I would think you would be considered. Especially in health administration, there is often the concern that too many managers lack practical experience and "street smarts," so playing this up in you app may help a lot. Good luck.

 

Thanks...definitely worth a try!