MS Health&Wellness Mgmt

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by Kizmet, Aug 14, 2016.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  2. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    It seems a bit pricey at $725 per credit.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    The price tag figures into the equation but I think that this might be one of those degrees that we here about where your first reaction is "Oh, that sounds interesting." and it probably is interesting. The question is, "Is there something about it that makes it worth that high pricetag?" or said another way, "What is it about this degree that makes it better that an MBA with a Health/Medical concentration, or an MPH for that matter?" Once a person goes through such a program and has the degree, is there some niche market where this has special value or is it just a bunch of interesting courses cobbled together to form a new degree?
     
  4. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    This school is well respected in the field of nutrition, HOWEVER, adding the word "wellness" to this degree is the kiss of death.
    Wellness isn't health, and wellness isn't nutrition- and in the non-RD world, you need to have health or nutrition for a number of reasons. I predict this program bombs entirely. I give it until 2018.
     
  5. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    It doesn't sound like they are trying to appeal to would-be nutritionists. It sounds an awful lot like an MSM/MBA in "wellness" so that I can learn to be the next David Wolfe.
     
  6. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Even worse. Not a single business prefix.
    Even with this masters, you couldn't teach in any of the 3 fields it encompasses - business, nutrition, or health. All ACTUAL programs at community colleges. All ACTUAL degrees that lead to employment.

    This degree probably appeals to those in the health promotion industry (vitamin pusher, consultant, YMCA worker, gym owner, exercise class teacher) that don't need a degree but think having one will help them "get ahead." My opinion still stands. Look at the class list- useless.

    UW Health & Wellness Master's Courses - University of Wisconsin Health and Wellness Management
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Oh I agree that it's useless.

    But with the present rate of degree inflation this might well become the entry level credential for working at a Planet Fitness. So maybe they are just getting in on the ground floor.
     
  8. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    While a public health or health education degree would be better, after looking at the course descriptions, the curriculum seems most fitting for those running a wellness program within an organization (programs that help employees get healthier and reduce their health insurance premiums) or those working in a community health department for the government or non-profit organization teaching people how to use condoms, seek mental health counseling, wash their hands, exercise with their children, etc. There is very little in there that would be relevant to personal trainers and health coaches.

    Wellness and Engagement Administrator at the University of Houston


    Community Health Worker with a Clinic

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 27, 2016
  9. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I never said it was something that would apply to fitness trainers. When I said "for working at Planet Fitness" I was thinking of the retail side (i.e. Manager, assistant manager etc) because the coursework looks like a business curriculum without the Business prefixes. It reminds me of some of the Educational Administration degrees out there that are actually similar to an MBA even though all of the coursework is delivered through an education department.

    Interestingly, I found that U Houston position. The education requirements are:

    I'm not sure what they would consider a directly related degree. But I imagine there is some flexibility. They probably just don't want someone with a degree in accounting trying to wiggle their way in.

    If the second job you posted is also for a bachelor's level position then that just reinforces that this Masters program is only going to be useful if the degree inflation keeps up.
     
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    For the record, my company has a wellness coordinator. It's actually a part-time appointment held by someone in HR who just happens to possess an MS in Nutrition. While this new degree seems to cover all of the bases one might be wise to consider how there are many people out there who qualified for those jobs before this program ever existed.

    Now if the person at Houston got that job with only a bachelor's then perhaps a program like this would be a good way to remain competitive. But that's probably a fairly small segment right there. So they are probably just hoping anyone who digs the word "wellness" will sign up.
     
  11. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Cookderosa basically did.

    I'm not sure about University of Houston, but I've come across community health positions at other organizations. Sometimes, they'll list healthcare-related and social science degrees such as psychology and sociology. I haven't seen many positions that require a master's degree; but, then again, there are a lot of people who get MBAs and MPAs for jobs that don't require graduate degrees.
     
  12. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    But that's my point. It just adds to the degree inflation problem. When you start hiring MBA grads for $23k/year call center jobs it is perhaps time to say "Whoa now, time out, let's examine this MBA situation." Instead, people seem to panic and say "OMG! I need to get a Masters right away!"

    If someone asked me to hire a wellness coordinator I imagine I'd be generally open to almost any social or natural science along with anything that even casually relates to healthcare. But it's also one of those jobs that doesn't exist, in full-time form, at every company. It's actually somewhat rare. So you're dealing with people who are going to fit the criteria by drawing from different backgrounds, primarily.

    Nutritionist who happens to be on staff? Done.

    Personal trainer with a degree in psychology who is a licensed massage therapist? OK, sure.

    Degrees like this strike me as the domain of people who already have the job. Those people may have some TA to burn. Or maybe they think it will (and maybe it will) impress a manager during review time.

    I'm not saying that no one will get the degree in hopes of landing one of these jobs. I'm just saying that it would be a pretty huge gamble. A nutritionist can do this job or go out and be a nutritionist. This degree kind of narrows your focus. It's one of the problems I have with very specific graduate level programs. Someone with a degree in health informatics might have studied the same data analysis courses as the data analysis major. But one has "Health Informatics" on their degree which can cause employers to pass over them if they aren't in the healthcare biz.
     
  13. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I don't think a graduate degree that is very specific is as dangerous as an undergraduate degree that is very specific. To me, it looks like this program is targeting people who are either in management or looking to move into a management position. Their undergraduate degree is likely not in wellness management. When I'm talking about people getting MBAs for jobs that don't require one, I'm not talking about entry-level positions. I'm talking about people promoting to or getting hired for management positions that don't require a graduate degree.

    I wouldn't compare data analytics with health informatics. Data analytics is not a substitute for health informatics. CAHIIM accreditation is pretty big in that field, and you can't get a CAHIIM-accredited degree in data analytics. If you're looking to join USPHS, you won't qualify without a CAHIIM-accredited degree. One does not get a degree in health informatics if one does not want to work in healthcare.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 1, 2016
  14. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I think you make some good points. Admittedly I've never hired a health informatics person. But whenever I have a posting for a data scientist I can pretty much guarantee that I'll get at least one person with a degree in health informatics.

    Part of that could be that I'm typically dealing with PhDs and candidates for those jobs. One was telling me during an interview about how Maclaren developed tech that was integrated into healthcare. So when you are dealing with that level of granularity there are likely more crossovers and opportunities to move back and forth than a more intermediate user.

    Either way, I can see when I've waded out of my depth, so forget my data analytics/health informatics comparison.

    Where I think specialized graduate degrees contribute to degree inflation is simply that, in a day before these degrees existed, there might not be a graduate level of education for them. So employers cannot expect a graduate degree if no such degree exists. Once those degrees start to pop up then the requirements start to follow. And I think that's unfortunate for a few reasons. The first is that to get a $40k job you start needing a masters. The second is that, with so many people making so many career changes during the course of a life, it potentially means that someone loses that mobility.
     
  15. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    There will always be people who either can't find a job in their field or won't like their field and will attempt to enter another.

    My guess is that a lot of people earn higher degrees to become more competitive. When employers start to see more applicants with higher levels of education, they know they can afford to up the requirements. On the other hand, there are people who earn more degrees for raises or to perform better at their jobs. Nonetheless, I think a public health degree is still better than this program.
     

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