An often-mentioned benefit of online master of healthcare administration (MHA) programs is the fact you can complete the program while maintaining a job. What some may not realize is that the best MHA programs online allow students to put what they learn immediately into action on the job. That’s a big advantage of online courses.

Rather than having to put their careers on hold for two years, working professionals with their sights set on earning a promotion into the ranks of management at their current job can help their case by putting graduate-level skills to use right away. That’s especially true in an industry-connected MHA program like the one offered online by Boston College’s Woods College of Advancing Studies.

Online Convenience

The best MHA programs online offer students the chance to schedule coursework around their busy professional and personal work schedules. That’s an advantage students in the past did not have, and one that an increasing number of college students are taking. About one in three college students take at least one class online, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.  About 16% of all college students are now enrolled in exclusively online degree programs.

Advantages of an Online MHA Program

The online MHA program from Boston College offers students the knowledge and skills needed to take on leadership roles at a wide variety of healthcare operations, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and doctors’ clinics. The program features a competency-based model with input from leaders in the healthcare industry. Graduates leave the program with the skills that healthcare employers need right now.

The latest theories are taught with a focus on applying them to real-world situations. Students also receive an executive coach to guide them through the program and give them support in achieving career goals. One of those goals for most students is to immediately put what they have learned into action.

Applying Skills Learned

Since students often take online courses while also working a job, it’s possible to immediately put what they learn into practice. The curriculum for these programs offers a host of new skills and extensive knowledge for those who want to become leaders in healthcare. For example, the courses in the Boston College MHA program will sharpen a student’s skill in many areas, including:

  • Quality improvement. The theory and application of quality improvement methods, tools, and strategies designed to make an organization more efficient and effective.
  • Regulations. The social and economic implications of federal and state healthcare policies that impact access to healthcare, quality, cost, and modes of delivery.
  • Technology. An exploration of how innovation in technology has impacted healthcare organization planning, operations, and management.
  • Data analytics. The increasing role of data analysis in all phases of medical operations
  • Financial management. The latest approaches to managing the complex finances of a healthcare operation.
  • Strategic planning and marketing. This includes how digital marketing is changing the marketing landscape for medical operations.

Any one of these areas could give a student a boost in their career within their current job. Taken together, the 46-credit course gives students a chance to continually improve their skills on the job.

That’s one of the chief benefits of the best MHA programs online. Students don’t have to wait to put what they learn into action. That can give them an edge on the competition for attaining the top jobs in healthcare management.