College of Liberal Arts, Class of 2017
Where is she now?
Earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at Boston University School of Public Health.
Which PHSRC resources, activities, courses, and staff contributed to your experience and how?
I participated in the 'Global Health in Thailand: Humans, Elephants, & Disease' program In January 2017. This program led me to change my career path and go into the field of public health. This program allowed me to observe various perspectives needed to enact changes, as well as see health disparities and inequities with healthcare delivery first hand. After witnessing the challenges globally, it made me want to learn more about the U.S. healthcare system. After speaking with Tricia Todd and taking health management courses at the UMN, I learned that the only way to change our system was through strong leadership and policies.
This desire for change led me to continue my education at Boston University School of Public Health, where I received my MPH in Healthcare Management. Through this program, I acquired skills to improve healthcare delivery, analyze health economics and policies, and actually apply them in hospital settings. I now work at Massachusetts General Hospital as a Project Manager, overseeing funding and initiatives to reduce physician burnout. Today I apply the skills learned from the UMN and BUSPH by helping each department identify inefficiencies and pain-point areas in physicians, to prevent this epidemic from growing but take these local challenges to a national policy level.
What are you most excited about as you start your health professional career
I'm most excited and nervous to see how healthcare evolves over time, especially with the increase in technology and focus on artificial intelligence; the aging population and investments in long-term care delivery; and how mergers and acquisitions of healthcare institutions will promote an ACO approach to care.
What piece of advice would you give to someone exploring or preparing a health profession?
My biggest advice for those that are unsure what to do in the healthcare field is to have conversations with every person you encounter. The industry is so big, so don't limit yourself to something because it's what you know. Also, I would tell someone to feel that they're not tied to one sector of healthcare for the rest of their life. For example, being apart of the Committee on Physician Well-Being and hearing complaints about the system from doctors has made me reconsider going to medical school, even though I hear about their day-to-day struggles.
Do you have any favorite pop culture or academic media to learn about your profession?
To learn more about healthcare news, I like to read "Modern Healthcare" or "Health IT Strategist" to get a better understanding of current policy and business changes in the field.