Description

This advanced course offers an in-depth exploration of the complexities of leadership and management in challenging health environments. Participants will engage with cutting-edge topics and develop skills to overcome obstacles, drive innovation, and excel in public health leadership, building on core concepts from our foundational Leadership and Management in Health (LMIH) course.

The course expands on key areas in the first course such as team building, communication, conflict management, and personal leadership development. This course will continue to guide participants to define and reflect on their leadership values and approaches. New topics include effective partnership models, governance, and innovation, with numerous practice-based opportunities through case studies, self-reflection, and insights from global health experts. Participants will complete a final project in which they define their own leadership model, tailored for practical application to their jobs and workplace settings.

Note: If you participated in our Leadership and Management in Health (LMIH) course, this new advanced course dives deeper into strategic applications, emphasizing advanced tools, cultural responsiveness, and practical approaches to real-world challenges. You will go beyond, individual skill-building, and immediate team-level impact and build skills for broader organizational and systemic impact, equipping you to lead in complex, multi-stakeholder, and culturally diverse settings. While the foundational course lays the groundwork for effective leadership, this course encourages you to think systemically, innovate, and adapt their leadership styles to address evolving challenges.

You do not need to have taken LMIH before this course.

You can also download the course syllabus.

You are required to take a Course Policy Quiz to ensure you understand policies and grading for this course.

Instructors

Anwar Parvez Sayed, DrGH, MPH  is a global health leader with over 15 years of experience in public health practice focusing on Global Health Security, infectious disease prevention and management, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), HIV/ AIDS, and tuberculosis (TB) control. As Senior Technical Advisor with the University of Washington’s I-TECH, he supports health system strengthening and capacity-building initiatives globally. Dr. Anwar has led and supported public health programs in India, the Eastern Mediterranean region, Africa, and the United States, focusing on equitable healthcare delivery and sustainable health systems.

Dr. Anwar’s contributions include implementing differentiated service delivery models that reached over 500,000 people living with HIV, co-authoring eight national HIV technical and operational guidelines in India, and managing WHO’s AMR interventions in the Eastern Mediterranean region. As a national-level trainer, he has designed and delivered numerous training programs, including e-learning initiatives, benefiting thousands of healthcare professionals. His work emphasizes human resource development, infectious disease prevention and response, program management, operational innovation, and advancing equity in global health practice.

Rama Murali, MA, MPH, is a seasoned public health professional with over 20 years of experience in leadership, program development, planning, implementation, and management, with a strong focus on health equity and behavioral science. Her work has supported diverse populations, including people living with HIV/AIDS, older adults with disabilities, family caregivers, adolescent girls, and women. Rama holds a Master of Public Health in International Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Master of Arts in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, combining her expertise in public health and psychology to create impactful programs, both globally and at a local level.

Throughout her career, Rama has driven innovation and strengthened health systems at national and municipal levels across various countries. She has held pivotal roles such as Director of Workforce Development CAI, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Associate Director of Global Learning and Training at Partners in Health. Rama's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish CARE Cubed, the first grassroots organization for family caregivers in India, exemplifying her ability to mobilize communities and resources. Her achievements reflect a career committed to improving health equity and empowering marginalized populations through innovative, evidence-based solutions.

Richard Wilkinson, MA, MPH, is a dedicated leader in creating healthier, more productive workplaces by developing skilled managers. His professional journey has spanned HR and organizational development roles in municipal government, global health, and higher education, where he has trained managers and facilitated teambuilding and planning retreats on four continents. He authored The Manager’s Everyday Toolbox, now in its 8th edition, to support the pivotal role managers play in fulfilling an organization’s mission and creating cohesive, energized teams.

With master’s degrees in public administration from the University of Southern California and Organizational Systems Renewal from Antioch University Seattle, Richard has brought his expertise to diverse industries. He served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Organizational Effectiveness & Development at the University of Washington Tacoma, where he retired in 2019. Since then, he has continued teaching MBA students at the Milgard School of Business, where he was named Executive in Residence in 2021.

His contributions have earned him accolades like the Lisbeth Claus Trailblazer Award from the HR Roundtable/Global HR Consortium and recognition in Marvin Weisbord's Productive Workplaces and Lynn Gaertner-Johnston's Business Writing with Heart. Beyond his professional work, Richard is a published poet, author of Near Afar, available through Amazon or Finishing Line Press. He embodies a passion for connecting people and fostering meaningful change.

Student Support

If you have any questions, please reach out to edgh@uw.edu. Our dedicated and knowledgeable staff are ready to assist you promptly.

Course Announcements for System Issues

If you experience broken links or system-wide problems (e.g., videos not playing), please check the course Announcements first. The eDGH support team will post updates and fixes there.

Course Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Evaluate advanced leadership and management theories and their applications in global health contexts;
  • Design strategies to address complex organizational challenges, leveraging innovation and creativity;
  • Demonstrate effective communication, team-building, and conflict management skills to enhance team performance;
  • Develop inclusive and culturally responsive leadership practices for diverse global health settings;
  • Analyze resource management strategies to improve financial sustainability and organizational accountability;
  • Construct collaborative governance models to foster impactful partnerships and governance frameworks; and
  • Implement trauma-informed and situational leadership approaches to support team resilience and professional development.

Target Audience

This advanced course is designed for experienced healthcare professionals and public health specialists with a strong background in management and leadership, who are looking to deepen their expertise in navigating complexity and driving innovation within global health settings. 

Ideal candidates have prior experience managing people and resources within organizations and are eager to enhance their leadership abilities to address evolving public health challenges. This course is tailored for those aspiring to leadership roles in complex local, regional, national, and global health environments. Participants should be ready for self-reflection, case study analysis, and applying advanced leadership and management concepts to real-world scenarios.

Participants will include healthcare workers, early to mid-career clinical and public health managers, and program directors from diverse countries around the world.

Format

This is a self-paced, online modular course divided into 10 weeks. It will be delivered entirely online. 

Participants are expected to review the pre-recorded weekly lectures, complete assigned readings and activities, and participate in discussion via the discussion forums. Most participants will also meet with a local study group that is led by a site facilitator. This is meant to increase opportunities for discussion about the relevance of the material to the local setting.

If you have any questions, please look at the course FAQ. If your question isn't answered there, please email edgh@uw.edu. 

Materials

All reading materials for this course are provided, in PDF form, or by linking to online sources.

Grading

To be successful in the course you will need to complete all of the learning activities listed.

Activity Percentage
Discussion Forums (2 points each, 5 total) 10%
Quizzes (3 points each, 10 total) 30%
Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Part 1 (10 points) 10%
Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Part 2 (10 points) 10%
Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Final Submission (15 points) 15%
Presentation of a Personal Leadership Journey to on-site group (25 points) 25%
Total 100%

Submitting Assignments

All assignments for this course will be submitted electronically through Moodle. Assignments must be submitted by the given deadline.

Viewing Grades in Moodle

Points you receive for graded activities will be posted to the Moodle Grade Book. 

Quizzes will be graded upon submission. Grades are posted by the end of the day Monday after an assignment is due. If you submit your assignment late (after the due date), please allow at least 24 hours for your grade to be updated. We do not update late submission grades over the weekend.  Participants have access to their course for a defined period, which includes a four-week period after the course ends. During this time, scores on graded activities can be viewed and downloaded from within the course platform. After access ends, grades are no longer available and cannot be retrieved.

Please note:

  • eDGH does not retain or provide grade reports after course access ends.
  • eDGH does not issue academic transcripts.
  • Certificates of completion serve as the official record of participation and include CEUs (Continuing Education Units) earned.

We recommend downloading your grades during the course or shortly after it ends if you wish to retain a personal copy.

Assignments

Discussion Forums

Your participation in the discussion forums is critical for maximizing your learning experiences in this course. Please refer to the information on posting to discussion forums to read about expectations for posting.

Quizzes

Quizzes will open when the module opens. You will have 2 attempts on each quiz. The learning management system will record your highest score.

Individual Learning Plan (ILP)

The emphasis of this course is on the ability to think critically and to understand, interpret, and apply new learning and skills to the workplace. Most learning activities in the course are not expected to be turned in to the instructor or local site facilitator. They are intended to provide insights and learning that will be incorporated into the ILP. You will be required to submit parts of the ILP twice during the course (modules 3 and 7) and the entire ILP at the end (module 10). The ILP will be turned in to your local site facilitator (if there is one). You can download the ILP here.

Presentation

The Personal Leadership Journey assignment must also be posted at the end of the course.

Optional Learning Activities

In each module, we have included optional learning activities. These contain additional resources, case studies, self-assessments, learning activities, and downloadable resources. Completing these optional activities is for your own enrichment and will not count toward your grade.

Note: there is no final exam.

Certificate of Completion

Active participation is required in order to receive a Certificate of Completion for the course. To receive a Certificate of Completion from the University of Washington, USA, you must pass the course, which means getting a final score of 70% or higher on all graded activities. Certificates will be distributed digitally after completion requirements have been verified. 

If you are a site participant, you must earn a qualifying score and attend 3 of the site meetings your site will hold. Attendance at more, if offered, is encouraged but not required to meet the site participation requirement. After the course, site participant certificates will be sent to site coordinators for distribution.

Late Work Policy

We will NOT accept assignments submitted by email or posted in discussion forums. Additionally, no assignments will be accepted after the course has ended. 

Commitment to Academic Integrity

Commit to Integrity

As a participant in this course you are expected to maintain high degrees of professionalism, commitment to active learning and participation in this class and also integrity in your behavior in and out of the classroom.

Definitions

"Plagiarism is defined as the use of the words, ideas, diagrams, etc., of publicly available work without appropriately acknowledging the sources of these materials. This definition constitutes plagiarism whether it is intentional or unintentional and whether it is the work of another or your own, previously published work. Plagiarism is a very serious offense that the University of Washington's eDGH Program does not tolerate."

Enforcement

Corroborated reports of plagiarism, cheating, or other misconduct will result in no credit on that assignment and may result in suspension from the course and ban from participation in future courses.

Library Resources

The University of Washington offers a comprehensive collection of resources for continuing education participants, providing access to valuable research materials, academic databases, and global health tools. These resources can help expand knowledge, support research, and facilitate lifelong learning.

  • Unpaywall: A free, legal browser extension that helps you find open-access versions of research articles. If an article is behind a paywall, Unpaywall searches for an openly available copy in institutional repositories or preprint servers.
  • PubMed Central (PMC): A free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences literature from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). PMC provides unrestricted access to millions of peer-reviewed articles.
  • PubMed: A widely used search engine for scientific and medical research. To access free articles, use the "Free full text" filter on the left-hand side of the search results page.
  • Global Health Toolkit: A UW curated collection of global health resources. Articles and tools without a lock icon are freely accessible to the public, making it a valuable reference for global health professionals and researchers.

Use of AI Tools in This Course

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Bard) can be useful for tasks such as clarifying complex concepts or refining your writing for better readability. You are welcome to use AI in these ways to support your learning.

However, using AI to generate or significantly revise responses for course assignments, activities, or discussion posts is not permitted and constitutes academic misconduct. Copying and pasting AI-generated content or feeding assignment prompts into AI tools is not allowed. These practices undermine your learning, as this course is designed to help you develop your own skills and express your own ideas.

Grammar, spelling, and phrasing will not be graded in this course; the focus is on the clarity and depth of your ideas rather than perfect language.

Keep in mind that AI-generated content can contain factual inaccuracies or misinterpretations, particularly in complex scientific discussions. Always verify information before using it. If you have any questions about the appropriate use of AI in this course, please reach out for clarification.

Watch this video for more information and resources.

Disability Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to the teaching team. As per the policy and practice of the University of Washington, we are committed to creating inclusive and accessible learning environments in accordance with federal and state law.

If you require accommodations for a disability or have specific accessibility needs, please contact edgh@uw.edu to discuss your requirements.

We are dedicated to working with you to ensure that you have equal access to all aspects of the course and to providing reasonable accommodations as needed. We value your feedback on the accessibility of this class. If you encounter any barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please reach out to us.

Religious Accommodations

eDGH uses the UW's policy on religious accommodations for participants who need to make special arrangements in meeting course deadlines due to reasons of faith or conscience or for religious activities. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course by contacting edgh@uw.edu. 

Copyright Statement

All content associated with this course is copyrighted. This includes the syllabus, assignments, reading lists, and lectures, as well as any material generated by your fellow students. Within the constraints of "fair use", you may copy these materials for your personal use in support of your education. For example, you may download materials to your computer for study, but you may not copy the materials and distribute or upload to a website. Such "fair use" by you does not include further distribution by any means of copying, performance or presentation beyond the circle of your close acquaintances, student colleagues in this class and your family. If you have any questions regarding any use violates the creator's copyright interests, please feel free to email edgh@uw.edu.