Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management

Back to the Area of Health Management and Research

Program Presentation

A profession's evolution and growth are parallel to the degree of the world's development. This evolution determines the degree of professionalization required by each occupation to increasingly acquire more skills that allow them to perform in the best way in their fields of action.

There is a global need for a greater number of nursing professionals to continue with quality training at a postgraduate level, which will provide them with more tools to face the challenges of this profession in the difficult task of human care, taking into primary consideration the respect for each patient's dignity.

For this reason, the Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management aims to train nursing professionals with a high level of technical competence, professional ethical sense, and social commitment, updating and deepening their knowledge to contribute to the identification and solution of health, management, and education problems, thus improving their work and research performance.

The Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management offers an integral preparation with tools and concepts that allow nursing professionals to enrich their training and improve their personal and work competencies, thus contributing to the fulfillment of institutional objectives in keeping with the changes of the external and internal environments in healthcare centers. All this through theoretical knowledge, analysis of practical cases, and exercises that provide the participant with an advance in the understanding of nursing in its main areas of action.

Who is the programme for?

The proposed training methodology, together with the clarity, comprehensiveness, and didactic design of the contents, allows the Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management to be aimed at nurses who wish to train in the field of management within healthcare organizations and universities.

Diploma

Successful completion of the Program will lead to a Master's Degree in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management.

Upon successful completion of the Program, the student will receive the degree issued by the university where they have enrolled.

Program Structure

The credit structure of the Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management program is shown in the following table. It should be noted that the duration is merely indicative, as the methodology followed integrates the knowledge and skills to be acquired in each part through integrative exercises of knowledge acquisition and internalization of project practices:

MODULES AND SUBJECTS ECTS CREDITSa
Mandatory Subjects 80
Master's Final Project 10
TOTAL 90

a. The equivalence in credits may vary according to the university where he/she has enrolled. One (1) ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credit is equivalent to 10 + 15 hours. If the student is enrolled in a university that does not belong to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the relation between credits - hours may vary.

Duration

The Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management has 90 credits. The duration of the Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management varies between 12 to 24 months. During this period, the student must have successfully passed all the corresponding evaluations as well as the Final Project.

Objectives

General Objective

  • The general objective of the Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management is to train in the acquisition of new knowledge and tools related to management that will contribute to making the right decisions in the development of functions, thus fulfilling institutional objectives in the graduate's field of action.

Specific Objectives

The educational objectives of the Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management are:

  • Strengthen the theoretical-methodological basis of nursing, with an emphasis on activities that favor logical thinking and scientific reasoning.
  • Manage quality health and nursing care, through the nursing and healthcare team in different scenarios, considering the current scientific and technological advances in the area.
  • Value the importance of and introduce the educational process in professional tasks, both in individual and collective actions.
  • Make a bioethical assessment of human acts through reflection and actions based on the patient, user, and healthcare provider.
  • Contribute to the continuous improvement of the healthcare services provided at the workplace, emphasizing the quality of the processes.
  • Develop skills, aptitudes, attitudes, and abilities for the implementation of effective nursing management.
  • Establish effective communication and leadership with individuals, families, and communities, as well as with the healthcare and nursing team under charge.
  • Contribute to the improvement of healthcare and nursing services to respond to the actual and potential healthcare needs of people.

Career Opportunities

Graduates will be able to carry out research projects that will develop the potential of their work centers in many aspects and thus provide quality healthcare services. In short, the educational program trains the student to assume positions with Healthcare Management functions in Hospitals, Primary Care Centers, Public or Private Social and Healthcare Centers, and NGOs.

Graduates may also work as Teachers and Researchers.

Nota: Professional practice is regulated by each country's law.

Study Plan

The Master in Nursing with a Specialization in Healthcare Management has a total duration of 90 credits. The program has a curricular structure based on two complementary formative parts to achieve a comprehensive training:

  • Part I: SUBJECTS
  • Part II: MASTER'S FINAL PROJECT

PART I: SUBJECTS (80 CREDITS)

The first part exposes the nosological aspects of the professional nursing specialty complemented with the knowledge and skills necessary for the development of management functions within healthcare organizations. It seeks to train students to effectively manage nursing care, applying critical judgment and scientific evidence in decision-making.

The subjects that make up the first part are shown in the following table:

TYPE OF SUBJECT MODULES AND SUBJECTS CREDITSa
  MODULE 1: MANDATORY BLOCK  
Mandatory
Concepts, Theory, and Models in Nursing 4
Science of Human Care/td> 4
Nursing, Quality, and Accreditation Processes 4
Health Education 4
Family and Community Nursing 4
Epidemiology I 4
Management of Health Services 4
Economy 4
Strategic Management of Human Resources 4
Project Planning and Management 4
Organizational Structure and Change 3
Conflict Resolution/Transformation in the Healthcare Sector 3
Interpersonal Communication Techniques 4
Team Management Techniques 3
Stress and Burnout 3
Research Methods 4
Data Visualization for Decision-Making 4

a. The equivalence in credits may vary according to the university that issues the degree.

PART II: MASTER'S FINAL PROJECT (10 CREDITS)

The Master's Final Project or Thesis, which has a course load of 10 credits, has the objective of presenting a complete work that shows the total development of a project, contemplating the possibility of its concrete execution according to the guidelines and details of the proposal presented.

TYPE OF SUBJECT/th> MODULES AND SUBJECTS CREDITSa
MODULE 2: MASTER'S FINAL PROJECT  
Mandatory Master's Final Project 10

a. The equivalence in credits may vary according to the university that issues the degree.

Note: The content of the academic program may be subject to slight modifications depending on updates or improvements made.

Description of the Subjects

1st PART: NURSING AND HEALTH

  1. CONCEPTS, THEORIES AND MODELS IN NURSING

    The development of this subject aims to convey to the student the basic elements to study systematically and in detail the most common conceptual models of nursing and to establish the difference between them and the theories.

    INTRODUCTION TO THEORIES AND MODELS IN NURSING
    HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF NURSING THEORIES
    NURSING THEORISTS AND ITS MODELS
  2. ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BIOETHICS

    Through this subject the student will acquire the ethical foundations on which rests the speech and bioethical method, as well as the ethical principles that influence the bioethical assessment of human acts.

    ORIGIN AND DEFINITION
    ETHICAL TRIPOD
    INTEGRAL VISION OF THE HUMAN ACTION
  3. FOUNDATIONS OF HUMANIZATION AND DEHUMANIZATION IN HEALTH

    Having a global vision on the meaning of humanization. Presenting the relationship between humanization and quality of professional relations in the field of health.

    INTRODUCTION
    DEHUMANIZATION IN HEALTH
    HUMANIZATION IN HEALTH
    EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND HUMANIZATION OF HEALTH
  4. AID RELATIONSHIP

    Knowing and understanding the model of aid relationship inspired in Humanistic Psychology.

    TOWARD A DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT OF AID RELATIONSHIP
    EMPATHIC ATTITUDE
    ACTIVE LISTENING
    ANSWER IN THE AID RELATIONSHIP DIALOG. EMPATHIC ANSWER
    UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE IN THE AID RELATIONSHIP
    THE SKILL TO CUSTOMIZE, CONFRONTATION AND AID RELATIONSHIP
    AUTHENTICITY IN THE AID RELATIONSHIP
  5. SCIENCE OF HUMAN CARE

    The subject focuses on the nurses care of the patient. It is the care of an integral human life, which must be par excellence humanizing. The aim of this subject is to introduce students to the science of human care with the intention that they are able to understand the functions of the nursing profession, so as to integrate the fundamental concepts in the care of the patient as a holistic being.

    INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE OF HUMAN CARE
    HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF CARE: FROM EPISTEMOLOGY TO PRACTICE
    FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE IN CARE
    CULTIVATING SELF-CARE AS A PROFESSIONAL NURSE
    THERAPIES AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
  6. PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF AGING

    The aim of this subject is that the student knows and understands the physical, psychological and social changes of aging.

    SENSORY AND MOTOR FUNCTIONING
    PSYCHOMOTOR ACTIVITY AND OLD AGE
    COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE IN THE AGING PROCESS
    INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING
    PSYCHOLOGY OF MEMORY IN ELDERLY PEOPLE
    PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORIES PERSONALITY
    PARTNER AND ELDERLY PEOPLE
    SUCCESSFUL AGING LIFE STYLES
  7. NURSING, QUALITY AND ACCREDITATION PROCESSES

    The subject seeks to increase knowledge and skills in nurses that manage and deliver services in the production chain of the clinical processes and in the management of the executing units. So that enable them to strengthen the continuous improvement of processes, by promoting the necessary cultural change in people focused on the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of the people who demand it.

    BASIC CONCEPTS OF CARE QUALITY
    NURSING AND CARE QUALITY MANAGEMENT
    MANAGEMENT BY PROCESSES
    PATIENT SAFETY IN NURSING CARE
    QUALITY UNIT QUALITY COORDINATOR
    KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TRAINING QUALITY MANAGEMENT
    CARE STANDARDIZATION CARE COMMISSION
    CARE QUALITY IN HOSPITALIZATION UNITS
    NURSING PRACTICE STANDARDIZATION AND NORMALIZATION AS THE BASIS OF THE QUALITY AND THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
  8. HEALTH EDUCATION

    The aim of this subject is to train professionals in the development of specific and transversal competences in the teaching activity to be able to teach other professionals.

    LEARNING FACTORS
    CURRICULAR DESIGN, PROGRAMMING AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCIES
    LEARNING METHODOLOGIES IN THE CLASSROOM
    CREATION, ADAPTATION AND EVALUATION OF MATERIALS
    ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES AND DESIGN OF CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
    LEARNING EVALUATION
  9. NURSING BASED ON EVIDENCE

    This subject seeks to integrate the nursing process based on evidence with regard to the search of information, application of critical judgment and use of the greatest evidence available, in decision-making for the delivery of nursing care.

    INTRODUCTION TO NURSING BASED ON EVIDENCE
    NURSING BASED ON EVIDENCE PROCESS
    FORMULATION OF A CLINCAL QUESTION
    SEARCHING FOR THE BEST SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
    ANALYSIS OF THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
    DECISION MAKING
  10. MENTAL HEALTH NURSING

    This subject seeks to know and apply the knowledge and the most important tools for the management of patients with psychopathology.

    CLINICAL AND PSYCOPATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS
    TREATMENT AND NURSING CARE IN MENTAL DISORDER
    MOST RELEVANT ASPECTS OF THE LEGISLATION ON MENTAL HEALTH
  11. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY NURSING

    The aim of this subject is to plan nursing care throughout the whole life cycle at the family and community level.

    INTRODUCTION TO FAMILY AND COMMUNITY NURSING
    COMMUNITY NURSING IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
    COMMUNITY NURSING IN ADULTS AND ELDERLY ADULTS
    COMMUNITY NURSING IN WOMEN
    NURSING HOME CARE
    DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

2nd PART: HEALTH MANAGEMENT

  1. HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT

    This subject gives the main concepts of health services management, technical aspects and implementation of systems that allow to improve management.

    MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES
    TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL
    IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL
  2. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF HR

    This subject is oriented to design the conceptual and methodological framework to recognize the strategic and systemic approach of the current Human Resources Management (HRM) and the importance of staff to achieve objectives.

    OVERVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION IN HUMAN RESOURCES
    OVERVIEW OF THE HR DIRECTOR FUNCTIONS
    NEW TECHONOLOGIES IN THE HR MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF HR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
    MOTIVATION THEORY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
    STAFF TRAINING AS A STRATEGIC FACTOR
    EMPHASIS ON THE STAFF
    MANAGEMENT BY DEPARTMENTS
  3. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT BY COMPETENCIES

    This subject explains the need to resort to specific theoretical-methodological budgets in order to insert in the MHR’ practice the approach by competencies. It also underlines the need to resort to the training process as the only sustainable path to maintain revitalized such competencies and their development. Moreover, it emphasizes the need to resort to use the performance evaluation as a process of feedback for the revitalization and development of the above-mentioned labor competencies.

    PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT BASED ON COMPETENCIES
    PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
    PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PHASES
    COMPETENCIES ASSESSMENT
    THE EVALUATION INTERVIEW
    PREPARATION OF A COMPETENCY PROFILE
    REVIEW OF THE POSITION COMPETENCY PROFILES
    DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ON THE BASIS OF POTENTIAL
  4. STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

    This subject shows the transformation process that took place in current organizations and analyzes future trends to be faced.

    ORGANIZATIONAL EVOLUTION
    SCENARIOS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EVALUATION
    ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
    THE CHANGE AS A CRUCIAL ASPECT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY
    INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN THE ORGANIZATION
  5. RESOLUTION/TRANSFORMATION OF CONFLICTS IN THE AREA OF HEALTH

    The purpose of the subject is that students build a conceptual and practical training that will allow them to act as mediators of conflicts in Health institutions.

    PSYCHOSOCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE HEALTH AGENTS: PATIENTS, PROFESSIONALS AND INSTITUTIONS
    THE ATTENTION IN HEALTH: MULTIPLICITY OF AGENTS
    THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE AREA OF MEDIATION AND NEGOTIATION IN THE CONFLICTS THAT ARE GENERATED IN THE AREA OF HEALTH
  6. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES

    The subject identifies the elements that are involved in a process of communication, lists those items and describes the roles of the different characters that are part of the process of communication in a workspace.

    COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ASPECTS
    PATTERNS OF COMMUNICATION AND ITS PARTICIPANTS
    COMMUNICATION PROCESS
    MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
    COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
    TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
    PERSONAL QUALITIES TO BE A GOOD COMMUNICATOR
    COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION IN THE HOSPITAL
  7. WORK TEAMS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

    This subject provides the theoretical and practical elements on groups and work teams, their characteristics, and the techniques and tools for their effective management.

    GROUP AND TEAM CONCEPTS, THEIR DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS
    PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS TO MOTIVATE WORK TEAMS
    COMPETITION LINKED TO TEAM WORK
    MEMBERS AND ROLES IN A WORK TEAM
  8. STRESS AND BURNOUT

    This subject teaches how to manage stressful situations, within the health care organization, by giving the student the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge.

    THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES IN THE CONFRONTATION OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
    TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS FOR THE STRESS MANAGEMENT
    CAUSAL FACTORS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
    INCIDENCES OF STRESS DEPENDING ON PERSONAL VARIABLES

3rd PART: RESEARCH AND MASTER'S DEGREE FINAL PROJECT

  1. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHODS

    The aim of this subject is to study techniques and stages of scientific research, analysis between variables, guidelines for the organization of data and the processing of logical reasoning in order to compare populations.

    THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
    RESEARCH TECNIQUES
    THE RESEARCH PROCESS
    RESEARCH FINAL REPORT
  2. EPIDEMIOLOGY

    This subject seeks to provide the basic tools to understand the epidemiology and apply it in health studies. It also gives guidelines on how to perform a quality search on the Internet.

    CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION
    RUNNING MEDICINE RESEARCH BASED ON EVIDENCES
    EVALUATION TOOLS
    INTERNET SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTATION AND ACCESS TO DATABASE AND WEB SITES ABOUT HEALTH SCIENCES
  3. RESEARCH SEMINAR I AND II

    In research seminars the student will apply the own and acquired knowledge, in order to design strategies and methods for the resolution of original research problems, which are relevant in any topic of study.

MASTER'S DEGREE FINAL PROJECT OR DEGREE THESIS

The Master's Degree Final Project must be an original and personal work. In addition, it must be a contribution with a strong component applied, on the basis of the previous modules.

Before developing the MDFP, the student must have read the guidelines for its implementation, located in the Virtual Library icon, in the campus. Moreover, students will have to send to their tutor a report with the title of the project to develop, an approximate index and a brief explanation, following the format of the template contained in these guidelines.

This material requires a personal monitoring by the tutor of the Master's Degree Final Project, which, ultimately, will guide the students in their development and will indicate, if necessary, any additional reading that need to be performed.

The tutor will give the approval for the final presentation of the MDFP. Once the project is finished, it must be delivered in digital media for its final evaluation that will be carried out by an appointed tribunal among the rest of the Master’s Degree tutors. The evaluation system of the MDFP will take into account the presentation, originality of the topic, structure and its content.

 

Management

Academic Direction:

  • Dr. Maurizio Battino. Director of the Health and Nutrition Area of the Iberoamerican University Foundation. Researcher in Biochemistry and lecturer at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Scienza dell'Alimentazione.

General Academic Coordination:

  • Irma Domínguez Azpíroz, PhD(c). International Health Area Coordinator. Doctoral Candidate in Education. International Master in Nutrition and Dietetics. Master in Physical Activity: Training and Sports Management.

Program Coordination:

  • Vivian Lipari Zegarra, PhD(c). Doctoral Candidate. Master in Public Health by the Universidad de Chile, and MSc in Health Services Administration at the Universidad Federico Villarreal, Peru.

Teaching staff and Authors

  • Dr. Arturo Salazar Campos. Doctorate in Education by the Instituto de Estudios Superiores en Educación por Competencias, Mexico. Master in Public Health by the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mexico.
  • Dr. Elsy Tavares. Doctorate in Intercultural Relations by the Universidade Aberta, Portugal. MBA Management and Coordination of Pedagogical Training by Cognos Formação, Portugal.
  • Dr. Ernesto Bautista Thompson. Doctorate in Computer Science by the Centro de Investigación en Computación del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico. Master in Materials Science and Engineering by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
  • Dr. Gabriela Grover. Doctorate in Public Health Sciences by the Universidad de Guadalajara.
  • Dr. Judit García. Doctorate in Psychology and Educational Sciences by the Universidad de León. Master in Psychology and Educational Sciences and Master in Primary Education. Degree in Psychopedagogy by the Universidad de León.
  • Dr. Lucas Pina. Doctor of Medicine from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Master in Strategic Management and Direction in Health by the Universidad Europea del Atlántico. Master in Education by the Universidad de Jaén, Spain.
  • María Eugenia Luna Borgaro, PhD(c). Doctoral Candidate. Master in Human Resources and Knowledge Management by the Universidad de León.
  • Dr. Nohora Martínez. Doctorate in Mental Health: Genetics and Environment by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and the Universidad de Almería. Master' in Nutrition and Metabolism by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and the Universidad de Barcelona.
  • Dr. Oscar Ulloa. Doctorate in Education by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Master in Community Development by the Universidad Central Marta Abreu de Las Villas, Cuba. Specialist in Social Worker Training and Degree in Psychology.
  • Dr. Carmen Lilí Rodríguez Velasco.  Doctor in Education from the International Iberoamerican University, Master in Occupational and Organizational Psychology from the University of Havana, and Bachelor in Psychology from the Central University of Las Villas, Cuba. Academic Coordinator and Professor at the International Iberoamerican University.
  • MS. Emilse Galeano. Master in Strategic Management of Health Organizations by the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana, Mexico. Specialist in Strategic Planning and Quality Management in Hospitals and Health Institutions by the Universidad CAECE, Argentina.
  • MS. Lucía Vassallo. Master in Health Services Management by the Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Peru. MBA Project Management by the Instituto Europeo de Postgrado.
  • MNurs. Pedro Ibarra. Master in Nursing Science and Health Management by the Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Spain.
  • M.Ed. Zayra Queb. Master in Educational Mathematics by the Instituto Campechano, Mexico.

FUNIBER Training Scholarships

The Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) allocates periodically an extraordinary economic item for FUNIBER Training Scholarships.

To apply, please fill out the information request form that appears in the web of FUNIBER or contact directly the Foundation’s headquarters in your country that will inform you if you need to provide some additional information.

Once the documentation is received, the Evaluation Committee will determine your application's eligibility for the FUNIBER Training Scholarship.