March 28, 2024

What is the Residency Portion of HCM Training Programs?

Many graduate level health care management and administration programs that offer online or hybrid learning require what is called a “residency.” These are on-campus sessions where students complete a large chunk of their curricular requirements over the span of a few days.

What are the Degree Options for Health Care Management?

There is a range of graduate health care management degree options offering residency opportunities. Some of these include:

  • Healthcare Master of Business Administration
  • Master of Health Care Administration
  • Master of Health Care Management
  • Master of Health Care Informatics
  • Master of Science or Arts in Health Care Management
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Health Care Management

What is a Residency?

Residencies can involve a wide range of curricular elements. In some cases these time periods are used to guide students through the ways in which to conduct, analyze and use research. Some programs use the residency periods to provide traditional classroom learning, completing entire courses in the span of a week. Some residencies will be full of experiential learning opportunities, such as seminars, workshops, lectures, opportunities to shadow professionals in the field and group work with peers. One of the most important aspects of the residency period is the ability for students to collaborate with instructors and peers to get to know one another. Many graduate programs require a residency at the beginning of the program to begin with face-to-face interactions. This is very important in programs that use a cohort model.

Why Do I Need to Complete Residencies?

The past ten years has seen a tremendous increase in the numbers of programs moving towards online learning systems for this type of graduate degree. This is in large part due to the flexibility needed by busy working professionals who want to advance in this industry. This change has led to less interaction between faculty and students as well as between student peers. To address this need, programs began incorporating one ore more residencies to provide the face-to-face time that was missing in completely online programs. By completing residencies, students have the opportunity to get the hands on training they need in areas such as research.

How Long Are Residencies?

The number of residencies and length vary from program to program. Some schools will require several weekend residencies throughout the graduate training program. Others will require one or two longer residencies (one to two weeks) where students stay on campus throughout the entire residency. The frequency also varies depending upon the program, with as few as one and as many as ten.

Residencies are an important part of many graduate training programs in health care management. They offer students the opportunity to meet their peers and instructors in person. Students must consider the number of residencies and the length when choosing their ideal graduate program.