UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education Announces New Online Lean Healthcare Specialization Offering

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 7, 2017) - The rise in both demand and the cost of healthcare delivery are contributing to the growing need for lean healthcare-focused offerings. The University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) announced today a new online Lean Healthcare Specialization Program. Lean thinking has been increasingly embraced in healthcare environments because of its emphasis on rapid and continuous results in improving access and the patient experience through decreasing and controlling costs, reducing errors and increasing employee service and productivity. Consequently, there is now a growing demand for healthcare practitioners who can more effectively apply lean to create and manage change and sustain improvement.

The fully online Lean Healthcare Specialization will serve as a means of acquiring, applying and demonstrating competency in the application of lean principles and practices. Designed for professionals at all levels of a healthcare organization who wish to advance their careers or enhance their current credentials, the specialization will focus on the knowledge and practical skills required to design, deploy and mature a robust lean capability to successfully lead change in the way healthcare services need to be managed and delivered in the 21st century.

"Leaders in today's organizations are turning to lean to ensure their competitive edge, but there still exists a shortage of lean practitioners who can successfully apply the universal philosophies and practices to their unique circumstances in today's complex and changing healthcare environment." said Nokteh Taheri, Ed.D., Program Manager at UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education. "Through the Lean Healthcare Specialization at UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education, participants will build the skill base needed to sustain performance improvement."

Lean Healthcare Specialization participants will learn new applications of lean concepts, such as agile project development, PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act), and Scrum methodology, and will be exposed to the continuing expansion of lean in the age of big data and information. Examples and case studies from healthcare settings will be used, and course exercises, as well as the final capstone experience, will require application of the concepts to the participant's own organization.

The four required courses offered include:

• "Lean Concepts and Enablers in Healthcare" - Offered this Fall quarter with the course starting on Oct. 16, participants will gain an understanding of the fundamental concepts of lean, followed by a deeper dive into the mindsets, behaviors and other cultural enablers of lean. The focus will be on equipping the participant with the perspective and engagement strategies required to successfully influence staff, managers, and executives in healthcare settings to commit to and support lean initiatives
• "Core Lean Tools and Improvement Principles in Healthcare" - This course will focus on the concepts and tools required to make products, services, information and transactions flow in response to customer demand. Participants will learn how to select project areas of focus, along with the appropriate tools to establish and maintain improved flow.
• "New Lean Tools and Evolving Applications for Healthcare Organizations" - This course will explore how lean principles are being embedded in latest technologies and management concepts including Agile Project Management, the Internet of Things, and Products as a Service. Classical lean concepts of waste and value will be revisited to address big data and the information age.
• "Capstone Experience: Healthcare Lean Capstone" - Participants will be required to identify, plan and execute a meaningful kaizen event using the tools and methods learned during the specialization, as well as execute the event in a real healthcare organization in their local area.

For more information about the Lean Healthcare Specialization or to register for the "Lean Concepts and Enablers in Healthcare" course, please visit here or call (949) 824-9427.

About UCI Division of Continuing Education: The University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) provides lifelong learning opportunities to thousands of students worldwide each year - fulfilling the school's 60-year curriculum platform to connect degree programs to the world of work and achievement after graduation. The Division offers a broad range of certificate programs, specialized studies, and sequential courses to local, regional and global markets through online, on-campus and on-site delivery. A leader in the open education movement, the Division offers free Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and content through the UCI Open initiative. For more information about UCI Division of Continuing Education, visit here.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities, it's Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $4.8 billion annually to the local economy.