Course coordinator profile: Dr Nasim Salehi

If you are a health professional considering a Master of Healthcare Leadership, then you are ready to take the next step in your career.

Perhaps you are a nurse with years of experience and want to progress into a management role, or you may be an allied health professional wanting to manage a healthcare centre or intersectional practice. Once you have decided to do a Master of Healthcare Leadership, the next step is deciding which course to do.

From considering whether the core and elective course units are relevant to your career, to the academic professionals who will be teaching and guiding you — choosing the right course is so important.

Introducing Dr Nasim Salehi: Course Coordinator for the Master of Healthcare Leadership at SCU Online. Dr Salehi has worked in the healthcare field since 2004, and has a diverse range of professional experience, specifically in health services management, public health and health promotion. 

The nature of healthcare means it is always changing, so it’s vital for healthcare leaders to have a broad and interdisciplinary perspective to adapt to new technology, services and systems. To be an effective healthcare leader today, you must be a critical, innovative and progressive thinker. Dr Salehi says that the Master of Healthcare Leadership at SCU enables students to “plan for innovative, evidence-based practices by critically analysing affecting factors in this rapidly changing healthcare environment.”

In both her research and employed positions, Dr Salehi has been responsible for providing contemporary models of care, and looking at health and wellbeing more comprehensively. She has highlighted the interconnectedness between different aspects of health, such as physical, psychological, social and environmental health, to reduce disparities, particularly in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the community. 

Students will not just learn how to be effective, strategic, and socially responsible leaders, but also how to be an “emotional and socially competent leader.” From a clinical leadership stance, you’ll learn how to identify strengths and get the best out of your team, reflective practice and constructive feedback, and how to inspire greatness in your colleagues.

Health management courses teach you how to critically evaluate and translate the latest healthcare leadership research/theories into clinical practice. Dr Salehi has participated in a diverse scope of multidisciplinary research projects, and a key focus of her work is implementing theoretical research into practical areas of health, community and social care systems. The combination of Dr Salehi’s theoretical research and managerial experience means she has been responsible for identifying challenges in the healthcare system, and addressing these challenges by developing new hospital strategies and policies.

Dr Salehi has been involved in several projects to improve patient care by developing and implementing new procedures and strategies. Throughout her career, she has developed expertise in ensuring the quality delivery of services and at the same time, increasing cost-efficiency of services. She comments that the Master of Healthcare Leadership “interconnects research, clinical, management and leadership skills that helps students link the theories they learn to real world issues and their workplace.” Students will be able to “interconnect clinical accountability and governance frameworks for service evaluation and improvement”.

Dr Salehi has contributed to an interesting range of academic research. Her most recent publications include: 

• The relationship between living environment, well-being and lifestyle behaviours in young women in Shiraz, Iran (2017)

• Measuring the burden of treatment for chronic disease: implications of the scoping review of the literature (2017)

• Life Satisfaction and its Determinants Among Young Iranian Women (2016)

• The Role of Social Capital in Shaping the Well-being and Lifestyle Behaviours of Young Iranian Women (2016)

• Perceived control and self-efficacy, subjective well-being and lifestyle behaviours in young Iranian women (2016)

Find out more about becoming a leader in healthcare by studying a Master of Healthcare Leadership.