I. Background and Overview of Program
The Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations (SM in Clinical Service Operations or MCSO) degree program provides physicians, clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, industry professionals, administrators and health care executives with the operations management training they need to lead teams, optimize efficiency, and improve patient experience. Designed with working professionals in mind, the MCSO is an intensive, 37-credit virtual program that can be completed in just nine months full time or over 2 years part time. The program includes 3 pathways, which enable the MCSO to cohort students. The pathways include Clinical Operations, Industry Leadership and Executive Leadership. Each pathway has 1 course per semester that is focused on this cohort’s experience In addition to traditional didactic learning, the program incorporates innovative case studies, simulations, and a comprehensive capstone experience in clinical operations.
With the rapid pace of change in modern health care, the importance of formal training in operational aspects of health care has never been more critical. Health care organizations require high performing teams, working together seamlessly to deliver care. Multidisciplinary service lines are now considered standard and clinical operations experts work in a complex environment. The genesis of this transformation has been new platforms that underpin “the DNA” of every health care operation, including the electronic medical record, real-time accounting systems, just-in-time delivery of materials, a highly specialized workforce, and artificial-intelligence-driven technology at the bedside. The simultaneous demands of innovation and evolution of clinical research require clinical operations leaders to have the academic mastery and practical experience to drive clinical operations forward. Further, as patients and families increasingly focus on value, efficiency, and supportive care services, our leaders must implement and refine patient-centered programs. The MCSO program provides learners with the clinical operations skillsets and knowledge that are essential to lead health care organizations in the United States and internationally.
The rationale for this degree is to fill gaps in operational management by training individuals in operational functions that will equip them to lead in this rapidly changing arena. What sets this program apart is the ability to merge the most essential didactic education with clinical operations case studies, simulation, and hands-on experience through an intensive capstone where the learnings from the program can be applied. The intensiveness of this program over 9 months is a unique feature that will provide an opportunity for participation of the working physician, nurse, advanced practice clinician, allied health professional, or administrator. Furthermore, this program will have a special appeal for clinicians and allied health professionals who have already dedicated many years to traditional education.
A. Goals and Objectives
The MCSO program seeks to:
1. Train students in operations management
2. Integrate experiential training with advanced theory by actively engaging all members of the healthcare professions, thus reflecting the workplace experience
3. Provide education and practical skills that emphasize the team nature of care delivery
4. Emphasize the operational skills essential to these care-delivery teams.
Upon completing the MCSO degree, learners should be able to:
1. Improve overall clinical operations, manage operational workflows, optimize supply chains, and facilitate hospital and system-wide innovation in an effort to provide high-value care and an outstanding patient-centered experience.
2. Build collaborative teams of multi-disciplinary stakeholders including physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and administrators who are well-equipped to work within a hospital’s corporate functions.
3. Evaluate productivity and financial measures; manage operational, organizational, and capital budgets; assess physician and staff compensation and understand regulatory compliance and audits.
4. Understand the essentials of developing and managing service lines, which organize care around the patient; understand the principles for developing a learning organization that is responsive to change.
5. Besides the pedagogic rationale for MCSO, the proposed degree program also aims to address a “talent deficit” in training in the operational aspects of health care. This training is lacking in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where healthcare is rapidly expanding, often due to the privatization of hospitals. These parts of the world are reorganizing themselves into American-oriented delivery organizations by making major investments in technology, efficiency measures, and multidisciplinary delivery models. Existing programs, either in the US or outside, have not been sufficiently nimble to address this demand.
II. New Online Modality
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MCSO program transitioned to an online delivery modality in 2020, and will continue as such in the 2024 – 2025 academic year. This transition enabled us to critically assess each course’s teaching and evaluation methods and how these would translate to an online environment. For the 2024 – 2025 academic year, each course followed roughly the same pattern to transition the course from residential to online delivery. We created a guide entitled “The 7 Step Approach for Course Migration to Online Learning” to facilitate this process:
1. MCSO leadership team meets annually with the course directors to evaluate the online teaching experience and the overall curriculum. There are also several faculty retreats throughout the year to share best practices and provide real time feedback to calibrate the program
2. Course directors define a course outline and curriculum map. These contain specific information about content, hours spent on the content, and the distinction between synchronous and asynchronous delivery.
3. With the specific content identified, a production plan is developed. Production needs included video recording, integration of interactive questions, and video production. The course directors continue to evolve the program to utilize best practices in online learning and student engagement, particularly with the larger classes to meet the needs of adult learners.
4. Course directors complete a final syllabus and worked with PGME to create the course Canvas sites. The sites support the learning objectives of the course and make the content accessible in a fully online learning modality
5. Course directors develop a plan for student assessment and evaluation.
For the 2024 – 2025 academic year, we plan to follow this process again and work closely with the course directors to fine tune their courses. We plan to build on the course materials we have already developed and further define learning objectives and teaching tools.
Critical Elements of Curriculum Design
As the program transitioned to online instruction, the foundational principles of the residential program’s original design were maintained:
• Innovative evidence-based curricular content for operational leaders that is the same as the in-residence MCSO degree
• Opportunity to work with and learn from HMS faculty and assignment of an HMS advisor for the Capstone
• Opportunities for experiential learning and skills-based training
• Offerings that support learners' development of a network, both within their institution and HMS
• Course offerings that are academically rigorous and comprise a holistic perspective of clinical service operations
Course Workload Distribution
With consideration to HMS policies around credit hour distribution, we recommend the following range of weekly course hours based on course credits (inclusive of synchronous and asynchronous material with an approximate 1:3 ratio:
These hours are consistent with the hours we would expect students in the residential program to devote to in person class time and assignments outside of class.
Capstone Considerations
The capstone project remains a key element of the MCSO program, even in a remote learning environment. In the online program, the capstone is supported by a tripartite collaboration between the student, their home institution mentor, and an HMS-based advisor. The combination of the local mentor, the HMS advisor, and program director form the students’ capstone advisory group. This group evaluates for progressive achievement of the key competences required for an MCSO student. The capstone is entered and tracked in Canvas, which allows for bidirectional feedback and the opportunity to document changes. Students complete capstone milestones and peer reviews as well as 2 drafts and 1 final Capstone paper. They receive feedback on all drafts and incorporate feedback into the final capstone paper. The paper is assessed by the capstone advisory group and an outside reviewer. Students requiring support with writing are assigned to the HMS Writing Center.
The student, and his/her local and HMS advisor meet via videoconferencing periodically throughout the academic year in alignment with the project milestones.
Expectations:
MCSO student
Home institution mentor
HMS advisor
• Identify a mentor at local institution
• Complete project work at home institution
• Submit all documentation during the MCSO program
• Attend meetings with the local mentor and with HMS advisor as outlined
• Commit to responsibility for oversight via online attestation
• Provide feedback to the student and communicate with MCSO leadership if the project requires remediation.
• Meet with the student at least once a month or as dictated by project needs
• Commit to responsibility for oversight via online attestation
• Communicate with student at least monthly – can be asynchronous
Pathway Leader
• Meet with student and local mentor every two months
• Commit to review the capstone drafts and provide feedback
• Oversight of all capstones for the pathway
• Monitor the progression of students through capstone milestones
• Meet as part of students’ capstone advisory groups to review capstone drafts and final paper
B. Program Outline/Courses
The program is organized as follows:
1. An introductory course entitled “Fundamental Skills for Academic Success” to begin the program in September. The primary objective of this course is to prepare students for work in the Master’s program and set expectations for managing time, academic integrity, and tips for success in the program. This course also begins the process of establishing our community with student-derived shared goals, values and behavioral expectations.
2. In the Fall term, a course in Clinical Operations Management Workflows is offered to prepare students for real world management scenarios related to patient care, quality control, people management, and general operations to introduce core concepts to the cohort.
3. Financial Planning and Management in Healthcare Organizations is offered in the Fall term to provide the fundamentals of healthcare finances including accounting, business planning, revenue cycle management, and budgeting in healthcare organizations. For those students who have significant experience with financial management, an advanced course is offered.
4. Clinical Operations pathway students will be introduced to foundational data analysis with a course in Quantitative Science and Clinical Research in the Fall semester. This course uses a variety of data analysis methods to help students make data-driven decisions.
5. Innovation in the Context of Stakeholder Perspectives is offered in the fall for the Industry pathway students to gain foundational skills in industry leadership
6. Core Executive Leadership Topics for the Executive Leadership pathway is offered in the fall to provide a context for the skillsets that executives need to lead clinical service initiatives.
7. In the January term, students in the clinical operations and executive leadership pathway will take a course in Effective Healthcare Management, which focuses on the management of space and people in healthcare organizations. Students will learn to apply the skills of resource management to the success of clinical operations.
8. Also in the January term, students will apply their data analysis skills to a course in Supply Chain Management. They will learn how to use data effectively to analyze supply chain management and navigate and manage resources.
9. Value Based Healthcare and Population Management is offered in the January term for students in the Industry Pathway and the Executive Leadership Pathway.
10. Students will take a course in Leadership and Teamwork in coordination with the MMSCI, MHQS and MedEd programs This course examines different aspects of
working with, managing, and leading a team. Students will learn skills and techniques that are needed to manage a talented group of people effectively, pilot successful collaborations within and outside a group, navigate the complexities of the institution, and manage the inevitable conflicts that arise in a high-stakes environment.
11. In the Spring, a course in Healthcare Service Line Planning and Operations is offered. This course provides insight into the role of service line providers in the management of operations and strategic planning. The course will also explore how service lines are developing in systems and in other countries as a preferred model of patientcentered, high quality care.
12. To help students understand the role of technology in healthcare operations, a course in Integrating New Technology into Healthcare Delivery takes place in the Spring. This course provides a context for the importance of implementing new technologies into operations workflows.
13. Creating a Learning Organization in Healthcare Settings is offered in the Spring to give students in the clinical operations pathway, the opportunity to understand how education plays a role in medical organizations. An educational mission not only enables members to grow within the organization but also poises the institution to be a leader in growing into new advances within the medical field.
14. To provide more advanced training on the core skills required by clinical operations leaders, Clinical Service Operations Skillsets is taught in the Spring semester to take a deeper dive into concepts covered during the Fall. This course aims to provide students with concrete tools they can apply in multiple operational settings.
15. A course in Industry Leadership Skillsets is introduced in the Spring term for students in the Industry Pathway
16. C-Suite and Healthcare Executive Leadership is introduced in the Spring for students in the Executive Leadership pathway. It readies learners to assume senior leadership roles in the health care industry by preparing students to understand their personal leadership style, lead teams, think more strategically, and balance innovation with risk – all within the unique regulatory and cultural environment of health care.
17. Over the course of both Fall and Spring semester, the students will participate in a seminar series. The series will include approximately 10-12 lectures across multiple disciplines. The lectures will give students insights as to how the leaders in the field forged their career paths and how their current role integrates with clinical operations. The seminar series is also an opportunity for the students to ask questions of the panelists and engage in networking opportunities. Furthermore, the seminar series will provide a time for students to engage in journal clubs and share capstone progress.
18. Also, across the course of the Fall and Spring semesters is the Capstone project. The experience will be an intensive hands-on experience at the student’s home institution and is targeted to allow students to apply the tools, strategies, and methods from their didactic courses to develop a solution to an evidence-based operational problem seen in healthcare delivery. The student will report on key milestones and will receive feedback from capstone mentor, the HMS advisor, MCSO Program Directors, and other students.
19. Elective course opportunities at HMS and other Harvard schools may be available with the permission of the Program Directors.
III. Degree(s) Offered
MCSO will be offered by HMS as a 37-credit Master of Academic Discipline degree, over one academic year for full time students and two academic years for part time students. Students graduating after May 2025 will receive the degree, Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations.
IV. Prerequisites for Admission
Admitted candidates will be required to have one of the following: A terminal degree (e.g., MD, DDS, DNP, Pharm-D, RN, MBA, MPH, MHA, MSW, MBBS, MSN) and experience in operational roles or clinical experience, OR Candidates without a terminal degree will be individuals working in an academic medical center and/or a health system, or healthcare industry, who possess a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 8 + years of experience in an operational context in healthcare. 10 years of experience in a senior management role is required for the Executive Leadership pathway.
The admissions process will also evaluate academic, clinical, or operational achievements, including professional accomplishments in clinical service operations. The applicant will be expected to discuss his/her career, plans for future directions after completion of the program in a personal statement, and formally indicate a commitment to devote sufficient time to master the program content. There will be a formal admissions committee comprised of the Program Director, Program co-director, pathway leaders, and alumni.
In addition to the requirements listed above, a language proficiency test is required for applicants for whom English was not the medium of instruction for their undergraduate or graduate degree. The master’s programs accept TOEFL iBT, TOEFL Essentials, IELTS Academic, or the Duolingo English Test. To be considered for admission, applicants must meet the following minimum test score requirements:
TOEFL iBT: 103
TOEFL Essentials: 11
IELTS Academic: 7.5
Duolingo English Test: 125
Instructions to submit official test scores:
TOEFL iBT and TOEFL Essentials:
Code 3151: Harvard Medical School Graduate Education Master’s Programs
IELTS Academic:
Contact the test center where you took the IELTS test to request that your scores be sent via EDelivery to:
Account Name: Harvard Medical School Graduate Education Master's Programs
Address: Graduate Education Master's Programs
25 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115
United States
Duolingo English Test:
Search for “Harvard Medical School” and select the appropriate program.
V. Academic Residence Requirements
The MCSO program has received a residency waiver for 2022-2023. This waiver allows didactic coursework and mentored research to take place outside of HMS. However, it is expected that students will attend synchronous classes via Zoom. Furthermore, students are required to identify a mentor at their home capstone site who will oversee the project and be in communication with the student and the student’s capstone committee. Instruction will be provided via 11 courses across two semesters for full time students and 11 courses across four semesters for part time students. Each track will complete a total of 37 credits.
VI. Course of Study
1. Concentrations offered
a. Clinical Operations Pathway
b. Industry Leadership Pathway
c. Executive Leadership Pathway
2. Curriculum by term
a. The program begins in September 2024 and ends in May of 2025.
3. Full time and Part time options
a. Full time students will complete 37 credits over the course of one academic year, with 15 credits completed in the Fall, 6 credits in January, and 15 credits in Spring
b. Part time students will complete 7 to 8 credits in the Fall semester, 4 credits in January, and 5 to 6 credits in the Spring of the first year. For the second year, the credit breakdown is 8, 2, 8 to 10 for Fall, January, and Spring.
4. Summary of Changes for AY 2024 – 2025 o N/A
5. Summary of Changes from Residential to Online Delivery
• Additional asynchronous material has been introduced to support student learning and reduce cognitive load in the online synchronous environment. Materials include pre-recorded videos, discussion boards, interactive modules, and group work.
• Additional student touchpoints have been incorporated into the program, including additional 1:1 meeting(s) with the program director and course directors, as well as office hour offerings. The HMS capstone advisor also closely monitors the students’ project and provides feedback throughout the duration of the project. These touchpoints were increased in the online program to allow for more opportunities to connect with students and monitor their progress in the program.
• The capstone project was re-designed to support completion at the students’ home institutions, rather than an HMS affiliated hospital. This allows for greater flexibility in projects and opportunities to continue the work after graduation from HMS. New milestones and role agreements were introduced for the online program so that the project could be closely monitored and evaluated as it developed.
• Online delivery has expanded the number of students the MCSO program has been able to enroll, and the new pathways represent the diversity of interests and experiences within clinical service operations with which our students enter the program. New courses have been introduced to address the various skillsets an MCSO student seeks to pursue within the program.
Full time curriculum map
Part time curriculum map
Full Time Course Breakdown
Fall Term (September – December)
• CSO742: Fundamental Skills for Academic Success (1)
• CSO 701: Clinical Operations Management and Workflows (4)
• CSO 703: Financial Planning and Management in Healthcare Organizations (4)
• CSO 713: Advanced Financial Management in Healthcare Organizations (4)
• CSO 750A: Capstone and Practicum I (3)
• CSO 711A: Seminar Series I: Real World Experience in Managing Healthcare Organizations (1)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO 707: Quantitative Science and Clinical Research in Healthcare Service Operations (3)
• (Industry Pathway) CSO 705: Innovation in the Context of Stakeholder Perspectives (4)
• (Executive Pathway) CSO 709: Core Executive Leadership Topics (4)
January Term
• CI 740: Leadership and Teamwork (2)
• (Clinical Ops & Executive Pathway) CSO 770: Effective Healthcare Resource Management (2)
• (Clinical Ops & Industry Pathway) CSO 771: Supply Chain Management (2)
• (Industry & Executive Pathway) CSO 714: Value Based Healthcare and Population Management (2)
Spring Term (February – May)
• CSO 706: Healthcare Service Line Planning and Operations (4)
• CSO 708: Integrating Technology into Healthcare Delivery (2)
• CSO 750B: Capstone and Practicum II (3)
• CSO 711B: Seminar Series II: Real World Experiences in Managing Healthcare Organizations (1)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO 704: Creating a Learning Organization in Healthcare Settings (2)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO 702: Clinical Service Operations Skillsets (3)
• (Industry Pathway) CSO 712: Healthcare Industry Leadership Skillsets (4)
• (Executive Pathway) CSO 710: C-Suite and Healthcare Executive Leadership Skillsets (4)
Part Time Course Breakdown Year I Courses
Fall 1 Term (September – December)
• CSO742: Fundamental Skills for Academic Success (1)
• CSO701: Clinical Operations Management and Workflows (4)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO707: Quantitative Science and Clinical Research in Healthcare Service Operations (3)
• (Industry Pathway) CSO 705: Industry Innovation in the Context of Stakeholder Perspective (4)
• (Executive Pathway) CSO 709: Core Executive Leadership Topics (4)
January 1 Term
• CI740: Leadership and Teamwork (2)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO 770: Effective Healthcare Resource Management (2)
• (Industry & Executive Pathway) CSO 714: Value Based Healthcare Population Management (2)
Spring 1 Term (February – May)
• CSO708: Integrating Technology into Healthcare Delivery (2)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO702: Clinical Service Operations Skillsets (3)
• (Industry Pathway) CSO 712: Healthcare Industry Leadership Skillsets (4)
• (Executive Pathway) CSO 710: C-Suite and Healthcare Executive Leadership Skillsets (4)
Year II Courses
Fall 2 Term (September – December)
• CSO750A: Capstone and Practicum I (3)
• CSO711A: Seminar Series I: Real World Experience in Managing Healthcare Organizations (1)
• CSO703: Financial Planning and Management in Healthcare Organizations (4)
• CSO 713: Advanced Financial Management in Healthcare Organizations (4)
January 2 Term
• (Executive Leadership Pathway) CSO770: Effective Healthcare Resource Management (2)
• (Clinical Ops & Industry Pathway) CSO771: Supply Chain Management (2)
Spring 2 Term (February – May)
• CSO711B: Seminar Series II: Real World Experiences in Managing Healthcare Organizations (1)
• CSO750B: Capstone and Practicum II (3)
• CSO706: Healthcare Service Line Planning and Operations (4)
• (Clinical Ops Pathway) CSO704: Creating a Learning Organization in Healthcare Settings (2)
C. Course descriptions
CI 742: Fundamental Skills for Academic Success (1 Credit)
Course directors: Kevin Tucker, MD, Chief of Renal Medicine, Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospital, Director, Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations, Mara Bloom, JD, MS. Vice President, Cancer Services Massachusetts General Hospital, Director, Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations
This course shares an overview of key skill sets with students to support their experience in graduate school. We will review how having a growth mindset is essential for graduate school and professional life. Students will analyze and discuss key challenges in professionalism (communication, respect, biases, academic honesty, etc.). Building on organizational behavior and coaching principles, this course will also examine key aspects of leadership and teamwork essential skills like perspective taking, contribution to group dynamics, and best practices when working in groups.
The class will discuss project management as a graduate student and relationship building with a key focus on mentor-mentee relationships. Finally, students will evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in regard to professionalism, teamwork, and leadership, and develop a strategy to enhance their academic and professional performance.
CSO701: Clinical Operations Management and Workflows (4 Credits)
Course
directors: Rachel Wasserstrom
The aim of this course is to break down key components of clinical healthcare operations management and quality across inpatient, ambulatory, and procedural areas. The course will prepare students for real world management scenarios related to patient care, quality control, and people management and general operations. Students will learn about various aspects of managing healthcare organizations including efficiency, quality and safety, and process improvement. The course will illuminate the importance of patient access and timeliness of care and will cover modern strategies for capacity management and throughput strategies to optimize patient care delivery. Students will learn about the significance of the EMR in today’s healthcare delivery system and will obtain real world strategies for tracking performance including understanding operational metrics and productivity. The course will also cover the basics of healthcare disaster planning and crisis management. A core component of the program will be a deep dive into performance improvement, operations redesign and change management using case studies and working in teams.
Course components will include live sessions, interactive modules, reading reflections, case studies and online discussion forums.
Key learning objectives will include:
• Understand the fundamental roles of clinical operations workflows across ambulatory, inpatient, and procedural areas
• Understand principles of capacity management, throughput, and patient flow, as well as the connection to patient satisfaction and revenue implications
• Explore performance improvement strategies for high quality, efficient operations
• Delve into the role of the clinical operations expert in daily operations and disaster planning Learn how the regulatory environment shapes clinical operations, decision making and patient care delivery
CSO703: Financial Planning and Management in Healthcare Organizations (4 Credits)
Course Directors: John Szum, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, CRICO and, Joe Dionisio
This course will provide the basics of healthcare finances including accounting, business planning, revenue cycle management, and budgeting. The course will provide clinical operations leaders with a broad overview of healthcare reimbursement, policy, and delivery in the US and abroad. The course will provide the student with insights on how to develop and manage healthcare operations, capital, and research budgets, as well as departmental budgets. Students will gain understanding of reimbursement and payer mix and will learn strategies for managing costs and optimizing revenue. Additionally, the course will prepare students for how to exercise leadership during budget processes or business planning, and how to track and monitor financial performance.
Key learning objectives include:
• Discuss key concepts of healthcare finances that are relevant to a clinical operations leader including: budgeting, business planning, and financial forecasting
• Describe key financial vocabulary and concepts, including, but not limited to direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable costs, contribution margin analysis, and break-even analysis
• Discuss the major aspects of reimbursement, contracts and global payments
• Define case mix and length of stay and their impact on revenue
CSO713: Advanced Financial Planning Management (4 Credits)
Course Directors: Debra Sloan, Senior Vice President, Treasury, Mass General Brigham, Mary Shaughnessy, Retired – Previously Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Southshore Health
Building upon clinical operations leaders’ experience and knowledge in healthcare financial management, this course will teach students how to assess and synthesize key metrics to develop a holistic view of an organization’s financial position. Students will learn how to use that information to establish appropriate financial performance targets and apply strategies that healthcare systems have utilized to maintain and improve operating performance, including approaches to revenue growth & diversification as well as operating expense management and efficiency initiatives such as population health management, active asset management and process improvement via automation. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how patient care revenue is generated and what the payment sources are. Students will learn how to apply principles of healthcare business planning and will explore approaches to generate clinical program growth by enhancing case mix and developing service lines.
The course will illustrate how external factors, including health reform, regulatory changes and a pandemic can impact healthcare finances. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to develop and manage healthcare operating, capital and research budgets on a departmental and system level and develop business plans and financial forecasts that reflect sound assumptions and an appropriate return on investment. The course will also prepare students to exercise leadership during budget and business planning processes and to track and monitor financial performance.
Key learning objectives will include: By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Analyze and apply key concepts of healthcare finance that are relevant to a clinical operations leader including: budgeting, business planning, and financial forecasting.
• Apply key financial concepts and metrics, including but not limited to: direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable costs, contribution margin analysis, break-even analysis and return on investment.
• Analyze the financial impact of patient care revenue components, including case mix and length of stay, on operating performance.
• Interpret key financial metrics to establish appropriate capital spending capacity and develop operating cash flows to assess return on investment for capital projects.
• Develop a sound business plan.
CSO707: Quantitative Science and Clinical Research in Healthcare Service Operations (3 credits)
Course Directors: Inga Lennes, MD, MPH, MBA, Senior Vice President, MGPO Service Excellence and Practice Improvement, and Lara Henshaw-Archer, MBA, PMP, Executive Director of Ambulatory Operations and Services, Massachusetts General Hospital
A core skill set for clinical operations leaders is understanding and using data to make decisions. This course will provide exposure to the use of quantitative data for analysis, program development, quality monitoring and improvement, and real-world decision-making related to the patient experience and provider performance. The course will also provide the clinical operations leader with valuable insights on clinical research and grants management. Specifically, students will learn how to interpret clinical research data to help guide business planning and program development decision-making. We will explore how grants and clinical research are utilized to enhance clinical programming and the patient experience. The course will provide an overview of grants and research management, as successful integration of clinical and observational research can be extremely impactful.
The course materials will consist of articles, case studies, discussion forums, interactive modules, and live and recorded lectures
Key learning objectives will include:
• Understand how clinical data and research data is used as part of clinical operations
• Learn models for clinical research integration into clinical setting, including the role of grants
• Develop analytical skills for interpreting data and applying to decision making
CSO 705 Industry Innovation in the Context of Stakeholder Perspectives (4 credits)
Course Director: Stanley Shaw, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Executive Education
Innovative solutions in health care are being introduced at an accelerating pace, including new pharmaceutical therapeutic modalities, digital health solutions or care delivery/financing models. This course will systematically explore the ways that health care innovations have multiple potential audiences or stakeholders across the health care ecosystem such as patients, providers, health systems or payers. Each of these stakeholders has their own concept of that innovation’s value. Program sessions will discuss the potential impact of emerging technologies (such as precision medicine, digital solutions or AI) in the context of these sometimes-competing stakeholder perspectives, enabling students to more clearly identify business opportunities and challenges, and shape a strategy to achieve broad, sustainable adoption of innovations. Course components will include reading of preparatory materials, interactive lectures and small group application exercises.
Key learning objectives will include:
• Gain empathy for perspectives, pain points and concepts of value for key health care stakeholders
• Integrate insights into the forces and enabling technologies shaping the future of health care to frame business opportunities and challenges
• Apply insights into health care culture and real-world workflows to inform development and adoption of innovations
CSO 709: Core Executive Leadership Topics (4 credits)
Course Director: Michael Gillespie, Senior Vice President, Clinical Services, Boston Children’s Hospital
Healthcare organizations are large and complex systems, involving both internal and external collaborative networks. This course will provide students with an understanding of the specific leadership topics most relevant to executives in hospitals and health systems. Students will learn about topics focusing on both internal and external stakeholders and will gain the fundamentals that they will build upon in the second semester class on Executive Leadership Skillsets. Course components will include live (virtual) sessions, interactive modules, readings, and online discussion forums.
Key learning objectives will include:
• Understand the importance of leading healthcare organizations well.
• Learn the core topics needed to function at an executive level within healthcare, focusing on both internal and external relationships.
• Critically assess case examples, exploring real-world situations that required expertise in each of the various topics discussed.
• Strengthen writing and analytical skills through short answer and reflection assignments.
• Strengthen oral presentation skills through final presentations.
• Practice effective collaboration and team functioning during discussions and interactions in all class activities
CSO770: Effective Healthcare Resource Management (2 credits)
Course Director: Susan Dempsey, MBA, Vice President, Clinical Services, Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospital
This course will focus on space and people management, which are critical resources for healthcare operations leaders. This is an essential module, which will go into depth into space, facilities and capital planning processes, as well as providing an overview of human resources management from hiring staff, developing a workforce, and retaining talent. Students will learn directly from industry experts who have significant real-world experience in the specialty areas covered in the course. Course components will include live Zoom sessions, instructional video, readings, and online discussion forums.
Key learning objectives include:
• Describe best practices for strategic human resources management as a core strategy of institutional success.
• Identify the signs of caregiver burnout and appreciate the impact that burnout has on the workforce; appreciate strategies, solutions, and resources available to support employee wellbeing.
• Summarize and give examples of the operational and financial implications of developing, supporting, and maintaining a major hospital facility.
• Appraise and defend the key role of facility support departments in the operations of a hospital.
• Enumerate and value the future external and internal risk that challenge an organization’s financial stability and delivery of its mission.
CSO771: Supply Chain Management (2 Credits)
Course Director: Susan Dempsey, MBA, Vice President, Clinical Services, Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospital
A major role for any clinical operations leader is supply chain management. Access to supplies is critical to patient care, and leaders need to have a deep understanding of the upstream and downstream processes, as well as the importance of vendor relationships, including the opportunity to co-develop innovations through research or beta testing. Clinical operations leaders also need to respect boundaries with vendors and be mindful of conflicts of interest rules. Managing supply cost is a major focus and understanding strategies for reducing costs or better managing inventory are critical. Forecasting and budgeting is a key skill set and ensuring that students understand the core components of supply and equipment contracts is important. There is also significant innovation in tracking and monitoring high-cost supplies and pharmaceuticals. The course will also cover using data and metrics for supply chain management and how to deal with shortages that have become more frequent over the past several years. Key learning objectives:
• Discuss basic principles of Supply Chain Management
• Explain the dimensions of Clinical Operations that are impacted by Supply Chain
• Evaluate the successfulness of supply chain optimization methods in various scenarios
• Summarize the role of vendors and ethics associated with managing supplies
CI740 Leadership and Teamwork (2 credits)
Course Director: Ajay Singh, MBBS, FRCP, MBA, Senior Associate Dean for Postgraduate Medical Education and Johanna Gutlerner, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education
This course examines different aspects of working with, managing, and leading a team. Lectures will discuss the skills and techniques that are needed to manage a talented group of people effectively, pilot successful collaborations within and outside a group, navigate the complexities of the institution, and manage the inevitable conflicts that arise in a high-stakes environment.
Key learning objectives include:
• Describe the theoretical foundations of teamwork, teaming, and adaptive leadership.
• Identify key dynamics that contribute to highly functional teams and dysfunctional teams
• Discuss leadership problem-solving strategies in quality, education, operations, and research
• Infer best leadership practices from real-world leaders in healthcare and education
• Analyze the success of conflict-resolution strategies and tactics in different contexts
• Practice teamwork and collaborative decision-making
• Analyze and propose leadership strategies for solving real-world situations
CSO706: Healthcare Service Line Planning and Operations (4 Credits)
Course Director: Susan Chapman Moss, MBA, Managing Director, BAYADA Home Health Care and Cynthia Kavanagh, Executive Director, Strategic Planning and Intelligence, Mass General Brigham
The service line trend has evolved over the past 20 years and service lines are currently being used in both community hospitals and academic medical centers to organize care delivery for the patient, improve quality, reduce costs, and drive top line margin and market share. Despite this trend, the organization and governance of healthcare organizations are not always well aligned with the development of service lines, and clinical operations leaders need insight in how to advance change and work towards models of care that best support the patient and organizational goals. Typical service lines may be disease focused like cancer, heart disease, neurosciences, digestive diseases, and behavioral health, or focused on different populations like women’s health, children’s health, or geriatrics, or may be more procedural or location-based including transplant, dialysis, critical care/ICU, perioperative services, or emergency medicine. A key driver for the establishment of service lines is the need for a complex set of clinical services that span ambulatory, procedural, and inpatient settings, as well as require high degrees of multidisciplinary management and integration of clinical research. Physician alignment is necessary in all service line models and there are novel approaches to organizing physicians in service lines. Service lines are often a vehicle for program development, capital investment, and can be leveraged for philanthropy and naming gifts. Clinical operations leaders and service line leaders play a critical leadership role in the day-to-day management and strategic planning of these operations. This course will provide context of how service lines fit into the overall framework of a hospital and will cover all aspects of service line leadership and management including governance, financial planning, accounting, quality control, operations, capital planning, business development, and patient centered care. The course will explore how service lines are developing in systems and in other countries as a preferred model of patient-centered, high quality care. Course components will include: pre-recorded didactics, live sessions, pre-readings, online discussion forums, group work and a service line planning project that will be tied to the elements of each weeks’ learnings.
Key learning objectives include:
• Be able to explain the organization and principles of a service line
• Understand planning and finances associated with service lines
• Explore models for service line management and physician alignment
• Learn how service lines can grow market share and enhance patient satisfaction
CSO708: Integrating New Technology into Healthcare Delivery (2 credits)
Course Director: Aaron Gerber, President, Diversified Businesses, Senior Vice President Mass General Brigham
Technological advances in healthcare are moving at a rapid pace. Emerging digital health solutions are critical strategic enablers that allows data to be transformed, enterprise wide and locally, into rich insights that enable improved care outcomes, exceptional patient experience, workflow efficiencies, and greater system cohesion and operational alignment. The convergence of big data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT) has served as a disruptive force across industries and is now propelling innovation in healthcare. The implementation of these technologies in healthcare is introducing new methods for care delivery and challenging the status quo across the spectrum of hospital operations, from back-end administrative functions to front-line patient care.
Key learning objectives include:
• Recognize the role of recent technologies and their implementation on clinical operations
• Recognize the role of big data, registries, and artificial intelligence in the operations of a clinical unit
• Explore how telemedicine and digital health are changing healthcare delivery
• Describe the potential impact of genomic and personalized medicine on the future of healthcare operations
CSO704: Creating a Learning Organization in Healthcare Settings (2 credits):
Course Director: Tony Weiss, M.D., M.B.A., M.Sc., C.P.E., F.A.P.A., Chief Medical Officer, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Given the rapid pace of change in healthcare not only must individuals be continuous learners, but also organizations must continually “learn” to adapt, change, and grow. As our healthcare organizations become vehicles for population health management across regional networks, this type of learning is necessary now more than ever before. This is enhanced further with the advent of system wide EMRs, digital and tele-health, access to big data, and personalized medicine approaches. There are some new risks associated with rapid change and organizations need to learn how to preserve the fundamentals of patient care. Furthermore, patient and family expectations for providers and teams are shifting, and some care is shifting into the home or virtual setting. This course will explore the facets of creating a learning organization within health care.
Beyond the adaptation and learning that all health care organizations must undergo to stay relevant and competitive in today’s environment, Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) have an additional role in training the next generation of clinicians. The course will also explore the teaching mission in the healthcare setting, including the operational integration of students and post-graduate trainees and financing of graduate medical education. Course components will
include live virtual synchronous sessions, asynchronous videos, readings, and online discussion forums.
Key learning objectives include:
• Understand the meaning of a learning health system and strategies for continuous learning processes
• Recognize the utility of data from EHRs (Electronic Health Record) in business planning, forecasting, and practice improvement
• Describe the role and impact of graduate medical education and teaching on a clinical unit
CSO702: Clinical Service Operations Skillsets (3 Credits):
Course Director: Elizabeth Souza, Senior Administrative Director, Massachusetts General Hospital and Erika Rosato, DNP, MHA, RN, Director of Ambulatory Oncology Clinical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital
This course is designed to provide in depth training on the core skill sets required by clinical operations leaders that will be required in all levels of clinical operations from running a small unit or department, to a hospital service line, to managing an entire hospital. This course will delve into the special skills required by healthcare organization leaders from collaboration, , consensus building, delegation, change management, decision-making, and strategic communications to strategic planning, systems planning, and use of creativity. A key skill set will be to teach students how to navigate in an increasingly complex environment with a shifting regulatory landscape and ambiguity. Through case studies focused on the clinical operations setting, our aim will be to develop a tool kit for leaders that they can draw upon in their future careers as operational leaders.
Key learning objectives include:
• Understanding core skillsets for operational leaders including change management, consensus building, decision making and strategic planning
• Use role plays and scenarios to practice skills and communications
• Learn how to leverage skills in a multi-disciplinary team environment
CSO 712: Healthcare Industry Leadership Skillsets (4 credits)
Course Directors: Stanley Shaw, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Executive Education
This course will help prepare learners to assume more senior leadership roles in the health care industry. Utilizing real-world examples from industry sectors such as digital health and biopharma, sessions will prepare students to understand their personal leadership style, lead teams, think more strategically, and balance innovation with risk – all within the unique regulatory and cultural environment of health care. In several sessions, students will have the opportunity to hear directly from senior industry leaders as they relate the lessons learned from their leadership challenges.
Course components will include reading of preparatory materials, interactive lectures, case-based learning and small group discussions.
Key learning objectives will include:
• Understand key principles of self-leadership, team leadership, functional leadership and enterprise leadership
• Understand the ecosystem for company creation and leadership in different contexts
• Apply frameworks to strengthen their ability to think strategically and foster innovation
• Synthesize lessons learned from the experiences of senior industry leaders
CSO 710: C-Suite and Healthcare Executive Leadership Skillsets
Course Directors: Ted James, MD, MHCM, FACS, Co-Director, Beth Israel Deaconess BreastCare Center, Tony James, Senior Vice President, Clinical M&A, Strategic Partnerships and Network Development, Massachusetts General Hospital (4 credits)
Health care leaders are facing a period of profound change and emerging challenges within a dynamic health care landscape. This course centers on the critical skills necessary for successful executive leadership of health care organizations. Designed for senior leaders in healthcare, the course builds upon the skills and knowledge that each student has acquired throughout their careers in healthcare. The course also builds upon the Fall course “Core Executive Leadership Topics”.
Leading complex organizations requires an in-depth understanding of the components of the organization. Learners in this course will gain a high-level perspective of a broad range of topics relevant to common discussions made at strategic meetings in the C-suite. The content has been developed to strengthen skillsets of strategic leadership, innovation, and collaboration to prepare health care systems to succeed in the future of care delivery, including integration, financial management, governance, and quality improvement.
Course components will include Harvard Business School and other real life case studies, live sessions with top leaders in various health organizations, readings, and online discussion forums and complementary readings.
Key learning objectives will include:
• Strengthen your ability to develop effective strategies to lead a health care organization through transformational change.
• Gain exposure to a variety of evidence-based methods for aligning various stakeholders to a shared vision
• Engage in high-level discussions about models for driving performance and establishing a culture of excellence
• Analyze issues commonly faced in C-suite level meetings and describe the key components of each of them
CSO711 A&B: Seminar Series: Real World Experience in Managing Health Care Organizations (2 Credits)
Course Directors: J. Kevin Tucker, MD, Vice President of Education, Mass General Brigham and Mara Bloom, JD, MS, Vice President, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital
The seminar series will include three distinct interactive learning formats: 1) lectures; 2) journal clubs; and 3) peer capstone feedback sessions.
The lecture series will include approximately 12 lectures by healthcare leaders across multiple disciplines. Industry executives from related fields will also be invited to share their perspectives. These lectures will include background on their career path, key leadership qualities, teambuilding, communication, and other skill sets and will explore their personal and organizational strategies for work-life balance, resiliency, and burnout.
In the journal club sessions, students will be asked to present and critique a peer-reviewed paper from a clinical operations perspective.
Key learning objectives will include:
• Describe the career paths of clinical operations leaders and the skillsets they have employed in advancing their careers
• Interpret and present clinical operations research findings from a peer-reviewed journal to fellow learners in a journal-club format
• Analyze and critique progress of peers’ capstone projects using a structured framework
CSO750: Clinical Operations Practicum and Capstone Project (6 Credits Total Over Fall/Spring Semester):
Course Directors: J. Kevin Tucker, MD, Vice President of Education, Mass General Brigham and Mara Bloom, JD, MS, Vice President, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Ann Prestipino, Senior Vice President, MGH, Executive Pathway Director, Stanley Shaw, MD, PhD, Associate Dean of Executive Education HMS, Industry Pathway Director, Leon Sanchez, Capstone Director
The capstone experience is a required component of the Master’s program. The experience will be an intensive hands-on experience to be completed at the students’ home hospital or organization to allow students to apply the tools, strategies, and methods from their didactic courses to develop a solution to an evidence-based operational problem seen in healthcare delivery. Students will identify a mentor from their own organization and will be assigned an HMS advisor. At the beginning of the capstone (i.e., over the fall term), the mentor and student will identify a topic and specific problem to address or investigate. Ideally, this will be an issue that is germane to both the student and mentor’s work and organization. They will perform evidence-based research into the issue, the impact on care, and best practices if they exist. They will then analyze and describe the current system of care surrounding the problem within the mentor’s organization, and design an intervention. They will construct an implementation plan along with measures, and a method for assessing and displaying outcomes. Finally, they will share early findings from implementation. Examples could include the understanding and updating of budgetary or business planning processes, the creation of system solutions to solve
workflow, implementing innovation or new service, performance improvement, supply chain management, human resources management, or clinical research integration.
Key objective of the capstone includes:
• Participate in operations based clinical project at an affiliate hospital
• Receive mentorship from the affiliate site capstone mentor
• Explore team dynamics, patient experience, clinical operations, regulatory requirements, and strategic and financial perspectives
• Complete a capstone report which is presented at the affiliate site and to the Capstone committee
D. Mentorship and Assessment of the Capstone
Though each student’s project and experience may vary, the program leadership will provide quality assurance centrally by clearly defining the structure within which students should work and key milestones Home site mentors will receive guidelines on the appropriate scope for the project which will focus on some aspect of clinical operations, the support and access needed to data and stakeholders for student analysis of the current state, and clear milestones that the students must pass as their project work evolves over the year.
E. Expectations for students by term or year
Students will be formally evaluated in each course, through participation, online quizzes and homework, team projects and written work. Attendance is required for all course meetings.
Students will complete capstone projects at their home institutions. We anticipate some of the work will be within the institutional centers and/or clinical service lines, and others will be in clinical departments. Students will meet with the Capstone Directors at least twice during each academic year.
A written capstone report, in the form of an analytic report, detailed slide presentation, or manuscript draft, must be submitted to the student’s Capstone committee, and an oral presentation for defense of the capstone is required.
Students are expected to abide by the policies, including attendance and academic integrity, of each school in which courses are taken.
F. Assessment
Students receive a final grade for each didactic course they take. This will be a satisfactory/unsatisfactory rating for all courses in the MCSO program. Satisfactory is
defined as a numeric score of 80 or better. In addition, students are evaluated throughout each course through regular homework assignments, online quizzes, class participation, and team-based projects that are presented orally and in written form.
Students must meet regularly (three times over the one-year period) with their Capstone committees and submit progress reports on each occasion. The Capstone committee will be comprised of the primary capstone site mentor, HMS advisor, and the MCSO program directors. The Capstone committee will generate a final report that will be reviewed, and which makes recommendations for graduation.
G. Length of Time to Degree
Students are expected to complete the MCSO degree program in one academic year if enrolled in the full-time option, and in two academic years, if part-time.
H. Requirements for graduation
1Completion of the 37-credit curriculum and a Capstone project are required (in the form of an analytic report, with a successful oral presentation). A degree will not be granted to a student who is not in good standing or against whom a disciplinary charge is pending. In addition, a student’s term bill must be paid in full before he/she is awarded the degree.
VII. Advising
Each student will benefit from ongoing advice from his or her capstone mentor and the HMS advisor who will have expertise in knowledge in the subject matter of the Capstone. Capstone Advisors will spend at least 10 hours supporting the students and providing input on drafts. Students will meet with the MCSO Program Directors at least twice during the academic year for career guidance and support. The Program Directors will also have office hours and will be accessible to the students.
VIII. Financial Aid
Program applicants are encouraged to apply for external grants and fellowships whenever possible.
MCSO has limited scholarship resources available through discretionary resources. Application for program scholarship support is made directly to the program director.
IX. Internship Information
Does not allow internships