Master of Health Administration Competencies

The Competency Model of the Master in Health Administration at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences consists of twenty-two competencies distributed across five domains. It is the result of an extensive consideration of the competency models used by highly-ranked CAHME-Accredited programs.

Domain I – Leadership, Professionalism, and Ethics

  • Demonstrate ethics, sound professional practices, social accountability, community stewardship, and a commitment to life-long learning.
  • Assess individual strengths and weaknesses (including the impact that you have on others) and engage in continual professional development and self-reflection.
  • Articulate how leaders energize stakeholders with a compelling vision that fosters and sustains shared commitment to organizational goals.
  • Participate in and lead team activities that demonstrate collaborative group effort and effective group processes, including the ability to hold team members accountable individually and collectively.

Domain 2 – Communications and Relationships

  • Speak and write in a clear, logical, and grammatically correct manner in formal and informal situations and to prepare cogent business presentations.
  • Establish, build, and sustain professional contacts for the purpose of building networks of people with similar goals and that support similar interests.
  • Work effectively and respect the differences in others’ culture, race, gender, age, and experience.
  • Listen effectively and empathetically in order to understand and identify with others’ interests, concern, and needs.

Domain 3 – Management and Strategy

  • Consider the business, demographic, cultural, political, and regulatory implications of decisions and develop strategies that continually improve the long-term success and viability of the organization.
  • Articulate and evaluate best human resource practices.
  • Understand and evaluate the formal and informal decision-making structures and power relationships in an organization; the ability to identify key decision-makers and the individuals who can influence them.
  • Understand and value the potential in and understand the use of administrative and clinical information technology and decision-support tools in process and performance improvement. 
  • Understand the principles of transformational management, and to assess the organizational dynamics of healthcare organizations relative to their commitment to a transformational culture.

Domain 4 – Measurement and Analysis

  • Understand and explain financial and accounting information, prepare and manage budgets, and make sound long-term investment decisions.
  • Assess multiple dimensions of financial performance to measure and improve the long-term financial viability of provider organizations.
  • Evaluate clinical and organization performance using statistical and operations management techniques and procedures.
  • Apply general and health economic concepts to the analysis of pricing, service demand, and risk.
  • Demonstrate analytical thinking and logical approached to problem solving.
  • Understand the process by which the health and disease status of a community, including relevant determinants are gathered, analyzed and interpreted; appreciate the limitations of this process as well as issues of causation; demonstrate the process by which healthcare organizations use such data to shape their strategic vision.

Domain 5 – Knowledge of the Healthcare Environment

  • Interpret and analyze laws and regulations that impact health practitioners, organizations, and the public.
  • Assess the effect of health policy on providers, payers, and populations.
  • Assess the different types of provider organization, the clinical professions, and their influence on the quality and cost of care.