Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management & Economics in Healthcare

Introduction

I entered SUNY Empire State College to fulfill my career aspirations and advance my knowledge and skills in management and economics. One of my professional goals is to become a manager who can establish and support the workflow of an organization. I am not sure whether I will proceed with working in the healthcare industry, but I believe that business and economics knowledge will help me to be competitive in the job market. Therefore, I have chosen to continue my development and obtain a bachelor’s degree in science. The area of my degree is Business Management & Economics; a concentration in Health Care Management.

Goals and Expectations

My academic goal is to gain an understanding of multidisciplinary approaches in managing healthcare organizations. As I want to get a job as a supervisory manager, my expectations include getting an in-depth knowledge of business processes, technologies, and management systems. Thus, specific courses, which are stated in my degree plan, such as healthcare management, and introduction to accounting, will help me to manage and monitor operations in business in the future.

Area of Study

There is specific Area of Study Guidelines for the bachelor’s degree in Business Management & Economics in Healthcare Communication skills that enhance the manager’s potential to convey the information effectively were mentioned in the Learning Styles course (Business, Management, and Economics, n.d.). Information management’s basic knowledge was studied in Health Informatics to get an understanding of systems that can be used to support operations. Economics that help to solve problems and make decisions using economic frameworks, theories, and concepts were partially studied in Introductory Accounting. Quantitative skills that develop analytical thinking were trained extensively in Math For The Inquiring Mind.

Understanding people in an organizational context as one of the guidelines that highlight the necessity to know how individuals and groups are working together in organizations was profoundly discussed in the Organizational Behavior course. As for understanding organizations within broader contexts, knowledge was gathered during the Diversity In Workplace course that provided solid concepts of organizations’ functioning in a fast-paced environment and ever-changing world.

US Health Systems course has also contributed to understanding how professionals address diversity, political, technological, and international issues in organizations. Overall, Area of Study Guidelines that are tailored specifically for a bachelor’s degree in Business Management & Economics were followed and developed with the help of different courses in the educational plan.

BS in Management

As I major in Business Management & Economics in Healthcare, my degree requires an extensive number of courses to gain the depth of knowledge with a specific focus on management. The courses that combine management theories and frameworks and healthcare concepts in my degree, such as health informatics and managed care, reflect the profound learning experience, which I gained during my education. Other courses included in my degree are presented in the chart with a comparison of similar programs offered in other educational organizations.

College #1 (NYU School of Professional Studies) (BS in Healthcare, n.d.)	College #2 (CUNY Lehman College) (Health Services Administration, n.d.)	College #3 (Berkeley College) (Health Services, n.d.)	Degree Plan: My Empire State College	What did I learn?
Management of Healthcare Delivery Systems	The U.S. Health Care Delivery System	Health Policy and Politics	Healthcare Policy	In this course, I learned about health policy and its impact on the managers within healthcare organizations. I believe that this course was the right course for my degree because it gave me an in-depth understanding of global healthcare policies and how they influence medical organizations. I also learned about the broad perspective of healthcare policy systems established in the US, including the information about nurses’ roles and duties in the legislative procedures. Furthermore, I gained an understanding of patient care delivery services that exist and how they are tailored to accessibility, equity, and affordability standards in organizations.
Principles of Accounting	Principles of Accounting I	Financial Accounting I	Introductory Accounting	Introductory Accounting was a helpful course where I acquired basic knowledge of collecting, recording, tracking, reporting, and explaining financial information. I believe that for a manager who wants to advance in a career, it is essential to know the principles of accounting to monitor financial data. I acquired knowledge of balance sheets and income statement analysis. The concepts of financial assets, including cash, short-term investments, and the concepts of liabilities that consist of accounts and salaries payable, helped me a lot in understanding the financial side of organizations. I learned that financial data helps to make the right decisions.
Multicultural Issues in Healthcare	Growth and Development	Human Relations	Learning Styles	The Learning Styles course was relevant to my degree because it helped me to understand the in-depth processes of managing people, which is crucial for any profession. The review of modern and traditional theories of reflection, the social and emotional nature of learning, and biological aspects of development helped me understand how to motivate myself and other people and adjust learning curves. I learned the significance of life-long education and self-reflection that might help to define or change my path. I also noted that emotional intelligence is becoming more crucial for managers who want to address issues in communication, education, changing environments proactively. This course helped me to become more aware of people as being continuously developing creatures.
Foundations in Healthcare Management	Management of Health Organizations	Management of Healthcare Delivery Services	Health Care Management	The course of Health Care Management was a right for my degree as managers in the healthcare industry should always investigate the efficiency of services and provide financial resources for organizations. During the course, we studied the healthcare industry, its principal stakeholders, including clients, hospitals, doctors, insurers, and others, to gain a better perspective of managing their expectations. I learned how to assess the impact of public programs, and other factors, shifts, and challenges presented in healthcare. We also discussed the pharmaceutical industry, the supply of medicines provided by the partners that are too dependent on market shifts. I gained knowledge of the international healthcare markets and how they are different from the US industry, which showed me different approaches to healthcare management.

General Education Requirements

The general learning curve of my degree has individual requirements that I must meet and obtain my bachelor’s degree. The minimum General Education credits requirement is 30 credits for a Bachelor’s in Science (SUNY General Education Requirements, n.d.). All the courses that I took to meet the required criteria of the college give my degree breadth due to the diversity of topics and broad context that these courses discuss.

The following are general education studies included in my degree plan: Math For The Inquiring Mind met the general learning requirement for Mathematics, Basic Introduction to American History met the requirement for American History. Furthermore, Introduction to Communication helped to fulfill the requirement for Basic Communication; Advanced Spanish for Health Care Professionals fulfilled the need for Foreign Language, and Art of Film and Television fulfilled the requirement for The Arts.

Western Civilization requirement was satisfied with the Western Civilization & Human Development course; Other World Civilizations requirement was satisfied with the African History course. Natural Sciences requirement was met with The Human Body (Psychology) course that included methods to assess psychological issues. Introduction to Sociology course met the demand for the Social Sciences course because it discussed knowledge of significant concepts of sociology. Finally, Urban Community met the general learning requirements for Humanities.

Educational Planning

I have included various courses in my degree plan to gain broad and profound knowledge in business management and economics in healthcare. The classes I took that focused on business were the following: Management Principles, Diversity in Workplace, Women in Business: Managing, Self-management and Self-marketing, and Organizational Behavior. The courses that were aimed to study human services and health administration were the following: US Health Systems, Grief and Loss, Health Care Management, Healthcare Policy. Other courses were Math For The Inquiring Mind, Educational Planning: Adv I, and Learning Styles.

Conclusion

My degree planning and courses that I included in my curriculum helped me to expand my knowledge and skills in business and economics to meet the requirements of the SUNY Empire State College. The courses that I studied provided me with a broad view of management and a deep foundation to obtain a bachelor’s degree. In the reflective essay, I have outlined my learning curve, courses that I took, and areas of study, which contribute to my degree’s requirements. Overall, the framework and analysis of the educational plan that I provided in the essay meet the needs of the college and ensure the opportunity to get a managing position in the future.

References

BS in Healthcare Management. (n.d.). Web.

Business, Management and Economics guidelines for students matriculated effective Jan. 1, 2004. (n.d.). Web.

Health Services Administration, B.S. (54 Credit Major) (n.d.). Web.

Health Services Management Bachelor of Business Administration degree (B.B.A.). (n.d.). Web.

SUNY General Education Requirements. (n.d.). Web.