ProfDip in Leading Digital Health Transformation (Springboard+ applicants)
Champion digital health transformation, support your development, and supercharge your ability to drive meaningful change for the future of healthcare.
Professional Diploma
9 months
Online - Part-time
30 ECTS
22 September
About
Digital solutions to healthcare problems are being developed at a rapid pace, and you are already using digital tools to support care delivery daily.
With the Professional Diploma in Leading Digital Health Transformation from RCSI Graduate School of Healthcare Management you will develop the knowledge, strategies and best practices to design future solutions that solve everyday problems, and enable and support the implementation of digital technologies in patient care across your healthcare organisation.
This is not a technical programme, but is however powered by leaders in technology, including Microsoft. Explore how to deliver better care through data analytics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, remote diagnostics, 3D printing and virtual care. Gain the knowledge and language needed to engage with technology experts and impact your care setting.
The programme is delivered part-time over nine months, through a blend of online content and activities and live interactive sessions, offering a collaborative and supported student experience. All webinars last for one hour, workshops run for 2.5-3 hours and live sessions are recorded.
This course is a Level 9 award on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications.
Gain a deeper understanding of the evolving digital environment
Evaluate how key technologies support digital transformation in healthcare
Explore how to develop a patient-centered strategic vision
Suitable for
This course is suitable for clinicians, interdisciplinary health and social care professionals, healthcare managers and administrators as well as those working in the wider healthcare sector who wish to knowledgeably influence and enable transformation in their organisations and across the wider healthcare system.
What you will learn
Develop self-awareness and interpersonal skills to lead and adapt in the dynamic digital healthcare environment
Understand digital technologies and assess their value for healthcare transformation and framework development
Learn to create patient-centric digital transformation strategies and critically evaluate models for your context
What our students say
Testimonial
"The knowledge transfer is professional, exciting and of high-quality...I believe I can drive the change we require to have a successful transformation within my current organisation and any other organisations"
"The course had huge benefits for me in developing not just leadership skills but also a growth mindset and the emotional intelligence that helps to lead teams and collaborate with other agencies and organisations."
Faculty highlight
Biography
Dr Anjali Raj Westwood
Dr Anjali Westwood is a Fellow of the HEA. She teaches a range of subjects spanning healthcare and business with a focus on leadership and strategy. Anjali is an ex-entrepreneur in the healthcare technology industry and has a special interest in digital health.
Find out more
Explore Leading Digital Health Transformation
Dr Kristina Brown, Lecturer in Management and Organisations at RCSI's Graduate School of Healthcare Management, discusses the advantages of the programme.
Course information
This programme will provide you with the skills and knowledge to:
- Develop your capacity to understand how the application of digital technologies can transform health delivery in terms of operational efficiencies (organisational performance), efficacy (improved patient outcomes) and enhanced societal wellbeing.
- Develop a critical understanding of current opportunities and challenges presented by the development of digital/data informed decision making for improving patient-centred and personalised healthcare.
- Apply skills of assessing the future health needs of society and associate this appropriately with the trajectory of digital technologies as enablers of data-informed decision-making and real-life application across healthcare.
- Develop competence in understanding and operating effectively in the digital health environment in terms of mindset, individual capabilities, organisational culture and ethics. Later includes critical appraisal of data sharing and the principles of shared standards in data governance in respect of digital health initiatives.
- Demonstrate the ability to challenge assumptions and question processes in the development of effective policies, procedures and strategy.
- Develop as a digital leader with the mindset, skills, insight, confidence and awareness necessary to lead, influence and collaborate with and develop others enabling the implementation of data and technology enabled digital healthcare initiatives.
- Develop a digitally-oriented mindset which enables you to critically assess and reflect on the evolving digital healthcare environment with the capacity to evaluate your own strengths and areas for development and implement learning in practice.
- Reflect on how to build the conditions for, and implementation of effective strategic collaboration (across the wider healthcare eco system) in support of data and technology enabled healthcare improvements (e.g. stakeholder buy-in, organisational efficiency, improved patient outcomes and well-being).
|
Name |
ECTS* |
Description |
|
The Digital Leader – Leading Self, Others and the Organisation |
10 |
Healthcare professionals and managers need the self-awareness to navigate and adapt to the demands of a dynamic, complex and rapidly evolving digital healthcare environment. In parallel, they need to develop their interpersonal and relational skills to guide others towards accepting and embracing new ways of thinking, working and collaborating to improve healthcare delivery. The aim of this module is to enable you to develop a broad understanding of the evolving digital environment and the challenges and opportunities it presents for transforming healthcare delivery. |
|
Harnessing the Transformational Value of Digital Health |
10 |
Professionals charged with leading digital transformation in healthcare require a solid understanding of what these technologies can achieve, the extent to which their organisations are ready to adapt so they can meet the challenges ahead, as well as an understanding of how to put in place these new systems and processes. The aim of this module is to provide you with a solid understanding of digital technologies and approaches for assessing their potential value for transforming healthcare as well as how to develop a digital transformation framework. |
|
Building and sustaining Strategic Collaboration to achieve Transformation: Patients, People and Partnerships |
10 |
In order to develop and implement a long term and sustainable approach to digital healthcare transformation, healthcare professionals need to place the patient at the heart of their strategy, which involves articulation of a clear strategic vision, which is value based, appropriate, coherent, comprehensive and adaptive. The aim of this module is to provide you with a clear understanding of the challenges and current thematic debates in delivering patient-centric approach to digital transformation, and enable you to develop an ability to critically evaluate and apply appropriate models for your particular context. |
*ECTS: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a tool of the European Higher Education Area for making studies and courses more transparent. It helps students to move between countries and to have their academic qualifications and study periods abroad recognised (EC, 2020).
Orientation: 22 September-3 October 2025
Module 1: 6 October-12 December 2025
Module 2: 5 January-13 March 2026
Module 3: 16 March-22 May 2026.
A full timetable is available below.
Assessment on this programme is continuous.
We are proud to be a recognised University of the National University of Ireland (NUI). All RCSI programmes are accredited by the NUI.
Recognition by ministries and bodies in all jurisdictions must be determined by the individual applicants.
We are pleased to confirm that a number of our recent graduates who are domiciled in the United Arab Emirates and in the Kingdom of Bahrain have successfully had their certificates recognised by the Ministry of Education in their respective countries.
Admissions
To apply for the Professional Diploma in Leading Digital Health Transformation, you must:
- Hold a bachelor degree. (If you don’t hold a bachelor degree, see the recognition of prior learning pathway outlined below).
- Be working in the healthcare industry.
- Meet the English language requirements: IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent score on another standardised test (certified proof should be uploaded with your application; see below for exemptions).
Springboard+ applicants must also meet the eligibility requirements set out on the Springboard+ website.
Exemptions may apply for:
- Applicants who have completed their school or undergraduate studies (three or more years) through English in a country where English is the majority native language.
- Applicants who have completed their school or undergraduate studies (three or more years) in an English speaking institution in a country where English is not the majority native language and where an IELTS score of 5 or more was a requirement for admissions to the programme.
- Applicants who have been working in a country (three years or more) where English is the majority native language or for an employer where English language is the official language.
- Graduates of an RCSI Undergraduate, Masters or Professional Diploma programme in Dublin and Bahrain.
Please note: Certified proof must be uploaded as part of your application.
This programme is offered at a highly subsidised rate as part of the government-funded Springboard+ initiative, which supports access to upskilling and reskilling opportunities in areas of national skills need.
Thanks to this funding, eligible participants can avail of significantly reduced fees for a limited number of places on this programme.
This is a special rate made possible through collaboration between our institution and the Higher Education Authority (HEA), and reflects our shared commitment to widening access to high-quality education and professional development.
The fees shown here apply only to this Springboard+ funded offering. Standard programme fees apply outside of this funding scheme.
See the Springboard eligibility criteria here.
- FREE for eligible jobseekers receiving DEASP payments
- FREE for returners to work, and carers
- Subsidised (student pays €373) for eligible individuals in employment or self-employment, and for the formerly self-employed.
Please note:
- Due to the limited number of places available, early application is recommended.
- RCSI accepts no obligation to refund any fee, or part thereof, in respect of a student who chooses to withdraw from a programme.
- All NUI parchments are issued in Latin; you will be required to pay an additional fee of €50 to NUI if you wish to have a parchment published in English.
- Fees are subject to review annually.
How to apply
Eligible Springboard+ applicants can apply for this programme using the link below.