PHOENIX, Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A doctoral program in organizational leadership that will train health care administrators to better steer through the choppy waters of the coming flood of health issues facing baby boomers and the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act has been launched at Grand Canyon University.

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GCU has created an emphasis in Health Care Administration in its Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership, a program designed to develop a student's ability to generate and apply new knowledge to build organizations that enable those inside to reach their full potential. The addition brings to seven the number of emphases currently offered for the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership in GCU's College of Doctoral Studies. The first group of learners started on Thursday, Sept. 5.

"Nothing's changing faster than the health care profession, and if you can navigate an organization through that, you – and it – will be fine," said Dr. Wayne Schmidt, content chair in the College of Doctoral Studies.

The curriculum is designed for health care leaders wanting to advance their leadership skills and knowledge of health care policies, oversight and governance, and move up the career ladder to advanced roles in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations and public health agencies.

The part-time program, which will take an average of three years to complete, purposefully has a flexible curriculum that will enable it to adapt to changes in the industry, Schmidt said. A student will be required to start with four eight-week core courses in research, leadership and ethics before embarking on the first of the specific health care courses.

Anne McNamara, Dean and Professor of Nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, who has served on numerous health care boards, has seen the need for such an emphasis.

"The need for leadership will only get greater as the health care landscape unfolds," McNamara said.

Added Schmidt, "We have to develop sustainable models of health care. Hospitals, doctors' offices, policymakers, insurers and medical groups have to do things differently than they did five years ago. They have to adapt to the changing health care environment because it's changing by the minute."

Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional in seven colleges: the Ken Blanchard College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Theology, the College of Fine Arts and Production, and the College of Doctoral Studies. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs.  The University's curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit www.gcu.edu.

SOURCE Grand Canyon University

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