Health Systems Management (HSM)
Are you ready to help meet accelerating changes in health care through better nursing management across multiple settings and specialties? Do you want to build on your existing nursing experience and advance your career? It’s time to consider earning a Vanderbilt MSN degree in Health Systems Management through our e-Learning program.
What Will You Do as a Health Systems Manager?
A variety of managerial and supervisory roles within health care delivery organizations will be open to you. As a Health Systems Manager, you will be prepared to become a nursing leader in a hospital or long-term care facility, to manage a nursing team, or to make budgetary and organizational decisions at an executive level. This highly interactive program will engage and challenge you to understand current health care system problems, to anticipate and manage change and to evaluate new evidence and emerging techniques that enhance management performance.
Where Will You Practice?
Both during your Vanderbilt e-Learning experience through a practicum in your home area and upon graduation and certification, a variety of clinical and business settings will be available to you:
- Nurse-Managed Clinics
- Managed Care Firms
- Community-Based Clinics
- Ambulatory Care Centers
- Hospitals
- Data Management Firms
- Practice Management Organizations
- Corporate Organizations
How Will Vanderbilt Prepare You?
Vanderbilt School of Nursing is a world leader in producing top nursing executives in the health care field. Through this e-Learning program, you will be prepared to manage the delivery of nursing and health care services across multiple settings and specialty areas. You will gain the breadth of management knowledge and skills needed to perform effectively and assume leadership positions in health care delivery organizations.
You will learn to:
- Define, implement and maintain standards for quality patient care
- Develop, manage and evaluate work teams
- Maintain fiscal accountability
- Implement processes and programs to achieve financial targets
- Implement processes and programs to achieve continual improvement in care delivery
- Develop, performance counsel and evaluate assigned staff
- Mentor staff to boost individual and team performance and competency
- Collaborate effectively across disciplines and healthcare settings to enhance integration of services and care delivery
- Facilitate clear communication of expectations and accountabilities to assigned staff
- Demonstrate collaborative problem solving abilities
- Implement and manage change
- Engage support from supervisors, subordinates and peers in meeting organizational goals
- Balance strategic, financial, operational, quality and interpersonal responsibilities
- Participate in research
Meet the Program Director
Bonnie Ann Pilon, DSN, RN-BC, FAAN
Dr. Bonnie Pilon, HSM Program Director and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Practice, oversees the daily operations of all Vanderbilt School of Nursing practice sites. She earned her DSN from the University of Alabama, her MN from the University of Florida and BSN from Barry College. She also holds certifications in Nursing Administration, Advanced from the American Nurses’ Association and is a Certified Case Management Administrator from The Center for Case Management, Inc. Dr. Pilon has served as a chief nursing officer and health care consultant. She has numerous publications and research awards. She is a founding member of the National Certification Board for Case Management Administrators, a member of the American Academy of Nursing and chairperson of the National Nursing Centers Consortium Board.
Credentials and Certification
Following graduation from the HSM program you will be eligible to sit for examination for national board certification. Visit Credentialing and Certification for specific information.
Dual Degree: MSN/MBA
The MSN/MBA degree, offered through Vanderbilt School of Nursing and Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, is uniquely designed to prepare graduates for leadership roles in various health care settings. In addition to advanced practice in health systems management, opportunities are provided for advanced practice in financial management, marketing, accounting, economics, organizational studies, management and policy. Admission through a separate application process is required to both the School of Nursing and to the Owen Graduate School of Management. The program requires five semesters of full-time study for students with a BSN.
