A benchmark study - How industrial engineering undergraduate programs are addressing healthcare needs

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Authors
Mustaquim, Tasmia
Boudreaux, Paige
Nahmens, Isabelina
Harvey, Craig
Ikuma, Laura
Advisors
Issue Date
2019-12
Type
Article
Keywords
Healthcare industry , Industrial engineering , Healthcare and engineering education , Industrial engineering curricula
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Mustaquim, T., Boudreaux, P., Nahmens, I., Harvey, C., & Ikuma, L. (2019). A benchmark study- how Industrial Engineering undergraduate programs are addressing healthcare needs. Journal of Management & Engineering Integration, 12(2), 59-66. https://doi.org/10.62704/10057/24259
Abstract

While healthcare in the U.S. has made great strides at improvement, the delivery system still needs major changes, as evidenced by increasing costs (4-10% per year) and ongoing problems with patient safety. Healthcare improvement requires skills in quality, information technology, safety, human factors, and project management, which are all topics taught in the Industrial Engineering (IE) curriculum. However, for IE to accurately address healthcare's needs, curricula need to be enhanced with healthcare applications and reinforced with hands-on experience. As the influence of IE in healthcare grows, it is important to assess if academia is keeping up with this change. This study benchmarked IE undergraduate programs in the U.S. to evaluate their emphasis on healthcare, including courses, certificate programs and concentration areas or tracks. In addition, this study reviews an approach taken by the Louisiana State University IE program through a "Partnership to Prepare Undergraduates in Industrial Engineering for Careers in Healthcare" with the W. M. Keck Foundation as an example of integrating healthcare into IE curriculum. Lessons learned from this study are discussed and used to propose guidelines to integrate healthcare topics in IE curricula. Findings from this research will contribute to a better understanding of the availability of IE programs with a healthcare focus and formally develop as an academic path for undergraduate students.

Table of Contents
Description
Published in SOAR: Shocker Open Access Repository by Wichita State University Libraries Technical Services, November 2022.
Publisher
Association for Industry, Engineering and Management Systems (AIEMS)
Journal
Book Title
Series
Journal of Management & Engineering Integration
v.12 no.2
PubMed ID
ISSN
1939-7984
EISSN