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Health Care Navigation

96%
Employment Rate
of surveyed alumni within 9 months of graduation
12:1
Ratio
Of students to faculty
100%
OF INCOMING FIRST-YEARS & TRANSFERS
Receive scholarships or grants

Be the bridge between providers and patients

Explore the many ways you can help simplify the complex world of health care

The world of health care is always changing and can feel like a foreign language to patients, businesses, and community health organizations. The health care navigation program at Mount Mercy University provides students with the specialized knowledge to streamline the process of assisting patients in finding the care and resources they need.

As a health care navigation student, you will explore the complexity of the health care system through the lenses of patient care, medical terminology, health care law and regulations, finance, cultural and spiritual perspectives, and more.

As a health care navigation graduate, you will make a difference in patients’ lives as you help them through their hardest times, skillfully guiding them with your critical thinking towards their best outcome.

Karla Torres, Health Care Navigation major

One of my goals is to build a health care navigation agency where we can have different navigators with different roles—not just navigating people but also educating.

Marco Delgado '22

Marco Delgado '22

Nursing & Health Care Navigation

When Marco’s mother-in-law Sharon was diagnosed with cancer, his family asked if he would quit his job to be her full-time caregiver. The rest is history.

Read more
Karla Torres '19

Karla Torres '19

Health Care Navigation

In her junior year of nursing school, Karla Torres was able to change her major without extending her graduation date. And with a great internship, she was able to use her skills to assist a refugee resettlement program.

Read more
Nursing & Health Student Handbook

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Curriculum

Gain an advantage when finding careers.

Our professional health care faculty are well-connected and recognized as the best in their field. Leaders from local hospitals and agencies also serve as professors—bringing their real-world experience into the classroom.

Classes include:

  • Essentials and Practice in Health Care Navigation
  • Organization of Health Care Services
  • Spiritual and Cultural Perspectives in Health Care Management
  • Quality Patient/Resident Care
  • Medical Terminology
  • Health Care Law, Regulations and Compliance
  • Students should enjoy learning clinical concepts of health care and develop critical thinking skills in patient education.

What courses will I take?

Health Care Navigation Major 

Required:
BC 202Accounting: Information for Decisions 14
HS 200Organization of Health Care Services3
HS 205Essentials and Practice in Health Care Navigation3
HS 300Principles of Leadership for Health Care Navigation and Administration3
HS 309Analysis and Application of Health Insurance3
HS 320Health Care Law, Regulations and Compliance3
HS 415Health Care Informatics3
HS 430Financial Issues in Health Care Organizations3
HS 450Internship in Health Care3
NU 113Medical Terminology1
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 Hours41
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 200Organization of Health Care Services3
HS 205Essentials and Practice in Health Care Navigation3
HS 300Principles of Leadership for Health Care Navigation and Administration3
HS 309Analysis and Application of Health Insurance3
HS 320Health Care Law, Regulations and Compliance3
HS 415Health Care Informatics3
NU 113Medical Terminology1
Total Hours19

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
FallHoursWinterHoursSpringHours
Portal3CO 1013Writing Competency4
Fine Arts Domain3 SO 122 or PS 1013
Literature Domain3 BI 1234
Historical Roots Domain3 Holistic Health Domain3
Elective3  
 15 3 14
Sophomore
FallHoursWinterHoursSpringHours
PL 2693Elective3BA 2033
MA 1353 BN 2043
SW 2453 BA 2503
SO 122 or PS 1013 Elective3
Elective3 Elective3
 15 3 15
Junior
FallHoursWinterHoursSpringHours
HS 2003Religious Studies Domain3Internship3
HS 2013 HS 3003
HS 2053 HS 3203
BC 2024 Elective3
  PO 326 or 3533
 13 3 15
Senior
FallHoursWinterHoursSpringHours
HS 3093HS 4303Global Awareness Domain3
BN 3043 HS 4153
HS 3053 Internship3
Elective3 ME 4501
  Elective2
 12 3 12
Total Hours: 123

Note: Elective courses could be used for a second major, a minor, a course of interest, internship or study abroad experience.

Note: See the Curriculum section for more information on Portal, Competency, Domain, and Capstone courses.

*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.

Careers in health care navigation

Health care is everywhere, and skilled guides are needed more than ever

The world of health care now reaches far beyond the walls of the hospital, as do career opportunities in health care. Health care organizations like nursing homes, medical offices, outpatient facilities, non-profit public health organizations, and more are in search of talented communicators and leaders.

Health care navigation is designed to be a flexible program that will help you find a career in a corner of health care that suits your specific interests and skills. Your unique insight and expertise will be useful in careers like:

  • Patient navigator 
  • Financial counselor 
  • Patient advocate 
  • Volunteer coordinator 
  • Health and wellness coordinator

Why should I choose MMU?

Building relationships, building your future

Local health care leaders bring their expertise to you in the classroom as they teach up-to-date courses in health care navigation. As you learn to be the bridge between patients and the help they need, you will also be building relationships with members of the local health care community.

Hands-on learning expands your understanding of the health care landscape through field trips to health centers, free clinics, homeless shelters, and other community organizations working as health resources in our community. Guest speakers from these organizations also come to the classroom to share their knowledge and meet students.

Our program is designed to meet local health care needs

Health care navigation is an excellent way to find a career in the ever-expanding world of health services without needing clinical skills. Your expertise is in personalizing care to help patients find the resources, get the appointments, and understand information that is essential to the best possible health care experience.

Graduates of our health care programs can be found working at:

  • University of Iowa Health Care
  • Mercy Iowa City
  • Mercy Medical Center
  • UnityPoint Health
  • Waypoint
  • VA Health System
  • Jones Regional Medical Center

What are the next steps?

Build off previous experiences by transferring up to 75 credits form an Iowa community college or up to 93 credits form a regionally accredited 4-year university.

Veterans may also earn credit for military training via the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES). 

Mount Mercy offers competitive tuition and generous scholarships.

We also encourage all students to apply for federal, state, and other kinds of financial assistance.

Learn more about:

We make it easy by accepting applications year-round! No deadline, no fee, no pressure.

  1. Create your application
  2. Apply under standard admissions criteria or go "test optional"
  3. Request official transcripts from all institutions previously attended. Mail to:

 Mount Mercy University Admissions
 1330 Elmhurst Drive NE
 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402

For more detailed instructions on how to apply, see our Admissions page.

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