Healthcare leaders across the industry strive to improve patient care, foster positive environments for their staff, and make strategic decisions that drive organizational success. In “Healthcare Leadership Principles,” get a firsthand look at the core systems, theories, and concepts essential to becoming a strong healthcare leader. This course will equip you with the foundational skills to apply leadership, teamwork, and communication, empowering you to navigate the complexities of healthcare leadership with confidence. Included in the course is an immersive, extended-reality simulation, where you will make critical decisions to help a team of mountain climbers to the top of a summit. The interactive exercise will allow you to practice the leadership skills learned throughout the course and reflect on the challenges and successes you encountered through the experience. You will also learn to discuss the important role of policy and advocacy and their impact on healthcare. By learning essential leadership skills, you’ll be able to develop your own leadership style and advance your career in healthcare management.



Healthcare Leadership Principles
This course is part of Leadership for Healthcare Professionals Specialization


Instructors: Barbara R. Medvec, DNP, RN, MSA, MSN, NEA-BC
Access provided by Coursera Learning Team
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Learn to articulate foundational leadership theories and concepts
Apply effective communication skills that distinguish you as an effective professional healthcare leader
Recognize the important role of policy advocacy for healthcare organizations
Utilize effective advocacy techniques at the leadership level to make and affect positive change
Details to know

Add to your LinkedIn profile
10 assignments
April 2025
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate


Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review

There are 4 modules in this course
Welcome to the Healthcare Leadership Principles course, the first course of the Leadership for Healthcare Professionals specialization! This Module, you will learn the foundational principles of leadership, answering the major question of what is and is not leadership. You will also start learning how to self-assess your leadership style.
What's included
5 videos8 readings3 assignments1 app item2 discussion prompts
Welcome to Module 2! In this Module, you will learn the many facets of communication styles that can play an important role in exhibiting leadership. You will develop your skills in addressing effective communication in leadership and consider effective interprofessional communication best practices.
What's included
4 videos6 readings2 assignments2 discussion prompts
Welcome to Module 3! In this Module, you will learn about affecting change in healthcare. To this end, you will learn about the foundational concepts related to change, such as the theory of change, policy, and advocacy.
What's included
7 videos4 readings3 assignments1 app item
Welcome to our last Module of the course, Module 4! In this Module, you will learn how to use diverse advocacy methods and techniques to affect positive change in healthcare and in healthcare policy. To this end, you will learn more about using discrete strategies to create and sustain your executive/leadership presence. You will also develop an awareness of advocacy in healthcare teams and the ethics of influencing policy.
What's included
9 videos6 readings2 assignments1 app item2 discussion prompts
Offered by
Why people choose Coursera for their career




Recommended if you're interested in Health
University of Michigan
University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The State University of New York

Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy