Health and Medical Management
Health and Medical Management (MHMM)
The German healthcare system is the largest branch of our economy, almost every ninth person is employed here. The market volume is estimated at approx. 400 billion euros/year (trend is rising). And not only doctors work in this field: The interfaces between medicine and other specialist disciplines offer a wide range of fields of work. There is a high demand for qualified specialists. The Master’s degree in Health and Medical Management closes this qualification gap with a concept that is unique to date: purely medical content for competent cooperation and communication for academic employees in the healthcare sector. Competencies are developed and expanded in a targeted manner for interdisciplinary tasks in the health and medical sectors.
- Degree
- Master in Health and Medical Management
- Duration of studies in semester
- 4
- Start of degree program
- Winter semester
- Study location
- Nuremberg
- Number of students
- 50-150
- Subject group
- Medicine, Health sciences, Economic Sciences, Law
- Special ways to study
- Professional development program
- Teaching language
- completely in German
- Admission Requirements
- Individual Qualification assessment
What is the degree program about?
The distance learning degree program for working professionals “Master in Health and Medical Management” (MHMM) provides university graduates who do not have a background in medicine with fundamental knowledge of the field. The content is taught clearly and in a way that promotes dialog and collaboration between medical specialists and other professional groups in healthcare. MHMM includes content from the medicine degree program. Its content was chosen after detailed consultation with a focus group of potential participants to ensure that the program provides professionals in the healthcare industry without previous training in medicine with the knowledge that they need. The aim is not for graduates to be able to take on medical tasks themselves, but to be able to understand them. Students gain an understanding of principles and related contexts, and learn how to evaluate different alternatives with respect to their advantages and disadvantages. This enables them to discuss topics with medical specialists on equal footing. The degree program does not train ‘second class doctors’ but people who are able to communicate more effectively with doctors in order to increase the overall efficiency of the healthcare system.
Another aspect also plays a role (which cannot be quantified at present): the shortage of physicians in the healthcare system is becoming increasingly apparent, and medical faculties in particular complain that a not inconsiderable proportion of their graduates do not end up in patient care after graduation, but find employment elsewhere in the healthcare system. The medical know-how is in great demand there, but not the practical application of the knowledge on patients. The MHMM degree program may be able to help reduce the reorientation of human medicine graduates to positions outside of direct patient care.
A major barrier to communication and understanding between medical professionals and non-medical professionals is the jargon commonly used in the field: Medicine historically uses a language full of technical terms mostly of Latin or Greek origin. The use of these terms without the context of a detailed explanation or at least a German, general-language translation would make it massively more difficult for non-medical professionals to enter the knowledge domain of medicine, which is new to them. The top priority in the design of the present teaching texts must therefore be linguistic comprehensibility. This is achieved by the predominant use of German terms. In addition, a large number of definitions of terms will be required, which will probably not be able to be fully included in the planned scope of the thematically delimited texts.
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We have designed the MHMM program to familiarize you with the relevant content of medicine. “We” are the Faculty of Medicine and the Chair of Health Management of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Furthermore, the unit S-OUTREACH of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, through which all sovereign matters are handled (e. g. contracts, payments, preparation of certificates), as well as the Health Economics Research Center (HERZ), which is responsible for organizational matters, are involved in the degree program.
The distance learning program is designed for a total of two years, i. e. four semesters; each of the first three semesters consists of two modules, and the fourth semester is reserved for writing the master’s thesis. Formally, each module is backed by a thick folder of 10 texts, each with a common content focus. In each of the first three semesters you will therefore receive 2 x 10 texts to work through. Each text usually comprises between 45 and 60 text pages plus some supplementary pages. At the end of the text, you will be asked control questions which you can use to check your knowledge. These questions can be answered from the text and sample solutions are provided on the internet. If you would like to delve deeper into the topic, you can refer to the basic and more in-depth literature listed at the end of the text. The basic literature usually covers the contents of several texts, so it may be worthwhile to purchase them (selectively). The in-depth literature is particularly relevant for you if you want to deal more specifically with the issues addressed (e. g., in the context of the master’s thesis).
The texts are designed in such a way that you work through one text per week if possible. Our accompanying information and motivational e-mails are also scheduled in this way. However, it is up to you whether you actually work through more than one weekly package in one week or whether you take a two-week vacation. You will receive 20 texts from us per half-year, which are to be worked on during this period. This gives you enough flexibility to successfully complete the distance learning course according to your individual workload. In addition to the texts, you will be provided with further materials (usually on the Internet) for each topic. These are, for example, further control questions in multiple choice format, supplementary information, video clips, mp3 files or interesting internet links that you should take a look at. Concerning the examinations, we only refer to the examination regulations, which you can find on our homepage. You will also receive further information on this by e-mail during your studies.
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The target group are primarily “health managers”. This term is used very broadly here and includes not only economists, but also many other professional groups who work in the healthcare sector. In general, this refers to the employees of a healthcare company who perform tasks within the company on the basis of academic, non-medical training, i. H. do not provide any direct patient-related services. As a result, the course imparts teaching content that, as a rule, cannot be based on any direct previous medical experience of the course participant, although of course everyone has already acquired rudimentary knowledge of medicine in the course of their life.
The initial academic training, which is also required for admission, should qualify the participating healthcare manager to grasp connections, relationships and causality chains described at a certain level of abstraction, so that topic-related explanations do not require comprehensive illustrations and auxiliary constructions. The respective horizon of observation of the health manager is shaped by his field of activity, which can essentially be assigned to the following areas:
- Hospitals or other inpatient facilities,
- Medical care center (MVZ) and other outpatient care facilities,
- Health insurance and interest groups of health insurance companies,
- Associations of service providers (e.g. KVn, chambers),
- Pharmaceutical Industry,
- Medical technology industry,
- Consulting company,
- Lawyers, tax consultants and auditors,
- scientific institutions.
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- Admission requirements (first semester)
- Individual Qualification assessment
- Application deadline winter semester
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31.07.
- Content-related admission requirements
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- An undergraduate degree obtained through a degree program with a standard duration of at least eight semesters or consisting of at least 240 ECTS credits, or equivalent
- At least two years of relevant work experience in healthcare at a private or public company, at an association or in administration
More information on the MHMM degree program is available at www.mhmm.de (German).
- Degree Program Fees
- One-off payment: €6,400 or payment in installments: 4 x €1,650
Do you need help or more information?
Our Student Advice and Career Service (IBZ) is the central point of contact for all questions about studying and starting a degree programme. Our Student Service Centres and subject advisors support you in planning your studies.