Health Beyond Medicine
With rapid changes in technology and a growing population, non-clinical health professionals, including health managers, digital health specialists, and policy experts are in demand. York’s Health Studies program prepares students for careers in these rewarding fields while emphasizing an approach to health that focuses on broader societal issues.
Careers in health policy research and consulting, business management, and information analysis are among Toronto’s Top Jobs. - (Toronto Star).
For more information on York’s Health Studies degrees (Health Studies or Health Policy, Management & Digital Health), visit the Health Policy & Management website.
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Degree Options
Health Policy, Management & Digital Health
Specialized Honours Bachelor of Health Studies (BHS)
Students in the Specialized Honours BHS in Health Policy, Management & Digital Health are exposed to a wide- ranging suite of health policy, health management, and digital health courses. Health Policy provides a strong interdisciplinary theoretical foundation drawing from political science, political economy, law, sociology, gender studies, and ethics to critically assess social, cultural and health systems and contribute to policy research, development and implementation at all levels of society and within health systems. Health Management provides a systems approach to understanding the organization and delivery of healthcare as well as how to approach problem solving and decision making to improve quality, safety, effectiveness, and equity in health systems. Digital Health provides a theory and application-based education in information management, digital health solutions, interoperable health information systems, and current debates in health informatics/digital health to support leading edge health systems.
Health Studies
Honours Bachelor of Health Studies (BHS)
In addition to taking courses in management, digital health, and policy, students study the breadth and depth of health and health care through a wide variety of issues and social contexts (e.g. social status and disability, homelessness), including case studies in health care in the community. Societal factors that determine why some people stay healthy and others become ill are also examined such as income, stress, early life, social exclusion, work conditions, unemployment, social support, mental health, addiction, food and transportation. Health Studies offers students the flexibility to attain a double major or do a minor in other Faculty of Health or York programs. The program also provides students with the flexibility to take additional prerequisites for postgraduate study in a professional program (e.g. medicine, law) or graduate school.
Certificate: Our Cross-Disciplinary Certificate in Digital Health provides students with the opportunity to acquire specialized knowledge and skills in this growing area.
Pathway to Medical & Professional Schools: A Health Studies degree provides an excellent comprehensive education plus the prerequisite courses required for medical or other professional schools.
Courses
All students, whether in the Specialized Honours option (Policy, Management & Digital Health) or the Honours Health Studies option, take the same core courses, including:
- Foundations of Health Studies
- Health Policy: Power & Politics
- Social Determinants of Health
- Health Care Ethics
- Statistical Methods in Health Studies
- Health Management I
- Health Informatics I
- Applied Research Approaches in Health Studies
4th Year Field Placement Course
Students enrolled in the Specialized Honours in Health Policy, Management & Digital Health have an opportunity in 4th year to get hands on, real-world experience through a 9.0 credit field placement in a variety of health care settings in which students are mentored and supported by fieldwork-supervisors (HLST 4990 Health Studies Practicum).
Careers in Health Policy, Health Management and Digital Health
With an aging and growing population and workforce, new technologies and restructured health care systems, Health Studies graduates are in demand in a variety of fields such as in health care, not-for-profit organizations, research, government and the private sector. Below are just some of the many career opportunities.
- Health Care Analyst
- Health Systems Planner
- Quality & Performance Analyst
- Process Improvement Specialist
- Health Manager (finance, HR, systems)
- Project Manager
- Clinic Administrator
- Health Policy Researcher
- Data Analyst
- Health Finance Analyst
- Health Information Specialist
- Systems Designer
- Systems Integration Specialist
- Software Developer
- Health Human Resources Specialist*
- Health Policy Advisor/Analyst
- Community Health Worker
- Health Care Consultant
- Health Writer/Communications Professional
- Physician*
- Nurse*
- Lawyer*
- Social Worker*
- Teacher*
*with further postgraduate training
Health Studies Alumni
Health Studies alumni are working in health care, government, non-profit organizations, business, research and more.
Alexander Christy
Program and Operations Coordinator, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
Kajal Patel
Clinical Application Analyst, University Health Network
Shirley Li
Enterprise Analytics Analyst, Scarborough Health Network
Shayandeep Das
Data and Research Analyst, Toronto Grace Health Centre
Sabrina Sahi
Medical student,
Ross University
School of Medicine