Operations Management

Module Description

This module offers participants a foundational understanding of core theoretical concepts, principles, and processes in operations management within the context of healthcare organizations.

Participants will engage in critical thinking and analysis to challenge, critique, and evaluate ideas and concepts pertinent to healthcare operations.

Through rigorous examination and synthesis of key principles, participants will develop the skills and competencies necessary to optimize operational efficiency, enhance service delivery, and improve patient outcomes within their healthcare organizations.

By applying theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios, participants will gain practical insights and strategies to drive continuous improvement and innovation in healthcare operations.

Entry Requirements

Candidates who apply for this course must possess one of the following: 

• a Level 6 degree in a related field; 

 OR  

• a Level 5 diploma or higher diploma and 5 years’ work experience in a supervisory or managerial role. 

Preference is given to applicants having a Level 6 degree in a discipline related to the healthcare industry and a minimum of 3 years’ work experience in management within the sector.  

Target Audience

The programme is mainly targeted at:  

• Nurses and Midwives; 
• Nursing Managers; 
• Ward Managers; 
• Clinic /Department Managers; 
• Physiotherapists; 
• Social Workers;
• Doctors; 
• Professionals allied to medicine, such as paramedics; 
• Staff within the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries; 
• General Managers without clinical qualifications. 

Module / Unit Instruction

The proposed structure comprises a blended approach promoting the building of a community of practice via peer-to-peer learning.

The structure uses primarily two dimensions of teaching-learning modes:

• Face-to-face sessions: 28 hours.
• Online Learning Activities: 17 hours

Face to Face sessions

Face-to-face sessions include lectures, tutorials, discussions, presentations and workshop activities promoting peer-to-peer learning.

Online Learning Activities

Online learning activities incorporate tutorials and asynchronous discussions. These may consist of active interaction, participation and contributions in fora discussions, sharing resources and self-reflection exercises.

Learners also contribute to the building of the community of practice by providing feedback to their peers as critical friends, enhancing the learner’s critical engagement throughout the study period.

The tutor provides continual support during both teaching -learning modes by providing information, readings and tasks relevant to the module in question.

The tutor provides continuous formative feedback as an on-going guidance during the student’s learning experience in preparation for their summative assessment.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment of each module consists of two assignments, each carrying a weighting as below:

a) One Formative assignment carries 20% of total module mark achieved. b) One Summative assignment carries 80% of total module mark achieved.

For successful completion of a study module the student is required to achieve a minimum of 41% pass mark in both the formative and the summative assignment.

The overall grade achieved for each module is calculated as the sum of: · 20% of the mark achieved for formative assignment; and · 80% of the mark achieved for the summative assignment.

All assignment tasks of both formative and summative assessment aim to provide the learner an opportunity to produce evidence of his/her competences aligned to the learning outcomes of each individual Module.

Assessment

a) Formative assessment tasks are provided in the form of structured online discussions that support learners in their development throughout all of the modules studied.

Such discussions are facilitated and monitored by lecturer who provides students with constructive feedback to help them improve and prepare for summative assignment and dissertation.

For successful completion of a study module the student is required to achieve a minimum of 41% pass mark in the formative assignment.

Formative assessment tasks will contribute to the student’s final mark to acknowledge their work and give chance to improve.

This method allows students to also contribute to the building of the community of practice by providing feedback to their peers as critical friends, enhancing the learner’s critical engagement throughout the study period.

b) Summative assessment is done via one assignment at the end of each module. The mode of assessment varies and may include in-class assignments, and home-based written assignments.

The recommended assessment tool for this module is an essay title or case studies based on relevant real-life scenarios.

Word count range: 3000 ± 10% For successful completion of a study module the student is required to achieve a minimum of 41% pass mark in summative assignment.