Operational Excellence

College

College of Population Health

Degree

Master of Science

Format

Online

Duration

2 Years

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Contact Information

Program

Name: Mary Reich Cooper, MD, JD
Position: Program Director
Contact Number(s):

Program

Name: Shane Flickinger, MHA, FACHE, CLSSBB
Position: Associate Program Director

Program

Name: Michael Anderson, MSIS, CSSMBB
Position: Assistant Program Director

Contact Admissions

Contact Number(s):
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Information Sessions

Curriculum

Courses

Advanced Practice Certificates (APCs)

APC in Operational Excellence
  • OPX 520: Change Management
  • OPX 530: Applied Leadership Strategies for Effective Change**
  • OPX 532: Project Management Essentials
APC in Operational Excellence Education
  • OPX 520: Change Management
  • OPX 532: Project Management Essentials
  • OPX 516: Teaching Operational Excellence

Graduate Certificate

  • OPX 530: Applied Leadership Strategies for Effective Change**
  • HQS 500: Introduction to Healthcare Quality & Safety*
  • OPX 520: Change Management
  • OPX 532: Project Management Essentials
  • OPX 525: Executing Lean Improvements

Master's Degree

  • OPX 530: Applied Leadership Strategies for Effective Change**
  • HQS 500: Introduction to Healthcare Quality & Safety*
  • OPX 520: Change Management
  • OPX 532: Project Management Essentials
  • OPX 525: Executing Lean Improvements
  • HQS 512: Business Case for Quality
  • OPX 535: Strategic Execution
  • OPX 531: Evaluating Healthcare Organizations
  • Elective #1 (Program Director approval needed)
  • Elective #2 (Program Director approval needed)
  • OPX 650: Capstone

The Capstone is designed by the student and is tailored to their career trajectory.

*Waived in the in Operational Excellence program for members of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) who hold the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) credential.

**Waived for members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

There is a maximum number of credits that can be waived or substituted. Students must claim applicable waivers at time of admission. See Student Handbook for more details.

Additional Elective Options

 
  • HQS 504: High Reliability
  • HQS 508: Quality in Post Acute Care Settings
  • OPX 540: Baldrige
  • OPX 550: Fundamentals of Six Sigma DMAIC

For course descriptions, please view the Jefferson College of Population Health Course Descriptions page.

Program Outcomes

The OpX program prepares leaders to be effective agents of change within their organizations by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to facilitate and lead system and process-level improvements.  Graduates will be able to:

Graduate Certificate
  • Apply the foundational concepts of quality and safety measurement, improvement, and analysis
  • Utilize project management tools and framework to design and implement improvement projects
  • Distinguish the various evaluation methods used to externally and internally assess a healthcare organization’s performance
  • Identify and evaluate appropriate healthcare situations to utilize operational excellence tools
Master’s Degree (above plus)
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of various performance improvement evaluation approaches as well as improvement interventions
  • Integrate quality, safety, and transformation/change management tools to promote quality, safety, and process efficiency
  • Design and implement operational excellence tools and strategies at a system level
  • Develop systematic approaches to drive broad-impacting improvements across a healthcare organization