Health Care Navigation

This area of study is designed to meet the demand in the health care industry for professionals with education and training in health care navigation to provide each consumer, provider, and system of health care the highest level of benefit and coordination in the areas of community resources, clinical care, and health insurance. This is a vital role for an individual with a desire for a non-clinical health care service career who, through coursework and experiential learning at Mount Mercy University, develops expertise in navigating all areas of the continuum of health care service and delivery. Additionally, a MMU nursing graduate with a minor in Health Navigation enters the work force with a greater capability for case management, care coordination and nursing leadership roles.   A broad background in the liberal arts and sciences provides the foundation for students who wish to develop a better understanding of a very complex system that encompasses a work force of millions. This major will provide the foundation for non-clinical work in advocacy, supervision, management, and policy development.

See the Graduate section of this Catalog for more information on Graduate programs offered at Mount Mercy. Juniors and seniors may be eligible to take up to 13 graduate-level credits through the MMU Plus program.

Health Care Navigation Major 

Required:
BC 202	Accounting: Information for Decisions 1	4
HS 200	Organization of Health Care Services	3
HS 205	Essentials and Practice in Health Care Navigation	3
HS 300	Principles of Leadership for Health Care Navigation and Administration	3
HS 309	Analysis and Application of Health Insurance	3
HS 320	Health Care Law, Regulations and Compliance	3
HS 415	Health Care Informatics	3
HS 430	Financial Issues in Health Care Organizations	3
HS 450	Internship in Health Care	3
NU 113	Medical Terminology	1
Choose Four of the Following:		12
BN 304	Human Resource Management
EC 251	Macroeconomics Principles
HS 201	Quality Patient/Resident Care
HS 220	Health Literacy
HS 305	Spiritual and Cultural Perspectives in Health Care Management
HS 399	Special Topics: Health Care
PO 326	Politics and Public Policy
PO 353	Politics and Economic Policy in the United States
SO 343	Global Health
SW 225	Aging In America
SW 245	Basic Helping Skills
SW 300	Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Total Hours		41

¹

 Or BC 265 Principles Of Accounting I and BC 266 Principles Of Accounting II. Both BC 265 Principles Of Accounting I and BC 266 Principles Of Accounting II are required prerequisites for the MBA program. 

Academic Requirements

All Health Care Navigation majors must achieve a minimum grade of C in all major HS (Health Services) required courses and prerequisite courses. This applies to equivalent courses transferred from other institutions.  Additionally, Health Care Navigation majors must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0.

Healthcare Navigation Minor

Required:
HS 200	Organization of Health Care Services	3
HS 205	Essentials and Practice in Health Care Navigation	3
HS 300	Principles of Leadership for Health Care Navigation and Administration	3
HS 309	Analysis and Application of Health Insurance	3
HS 320	Health Care Law, Regulations and Compliance	3
HS 415	Health Care Informatics	3
NU 113	Medical Terminology	1
Total Hours		19

Academic Requirements 

All Health Care Navigation minors must achieve a minimum grade of C in all minor HS (Health Services) courses. This applies to equivalent courses transferred from other institutions.

The following is the typical sequence of courses required for the major*:

Freshman
Fall	Hours	Winter	Hours	Spring	Hours
Writing Competency	4	CO 101	3	Historical Roots	3
Expressive Arts: Fine Arts	3			Expressive Arts: Lit	3
PS 101 or SO 122	3			Ultimate Questions: Religion	3
MA 135	3			SO 122 or PS 101	3
				Elective	3
	13		3		15
Sophomore
Fall	Hours	Winter	Hours	Spring	Hours
HS 200	3	Elective	3	HS 320	3
HS 205	3			Ultimate Questions: Philosophy	3
BI 123 (or Natural World Domain)	4			HC Navigation Restricted Elective	3
NU 113	1			Elective	3
Global Awareness Domain	3			Elective	3
	14		3		15
Junior
Fall	Hours	Winter	Hours	Spring	Hours
BC 202 or 2651	4	HS 430	3	HS 415	3
HS 300	3			BC 266 (or Elective)1	3
SO 240 (or Holistic Health Domain)	3			HC Navigation Restricted Elective	3
EC 251 (or HC Nav Restricted Elective)	3			Elective	3
				Elective	3
	13		3		15
Senior
Fall	Hours	Winter	Hours	Spring	Hours
HS 450	3	Elective	3	BA 435	3
HS 309	3			ME 450	1
HC Navigation Restricted Elective	3			Elective	3
Elective	3			Elective	3
Elective	3			Elective	3
	15		3		13
Total Hours: 125

Note: Elective courses should be used for a second major, minor, course of interest, or study abroad experience. For complementary majors/minors, please see: Health Care Administration, Public Health, and Sociology.

¹

Students interested in pursuing an MBA in the future should replace BC 202 with BC 265 AND BC 266.

 

*Disclaimer

The course offerings, requirements, and policies of Mount Mercy University are under continual examination and revision. This Catalog presents the offerings, requirements, and policies in effect at the time of publication and in no way guarantees that the offerings, requirements, and policies will not change.

This plan of study represents a typical sequence of courses required for this major. It may not be applicable to every student. Students should contact a department faculty member to be sure of appropriate course sequence.