"Ten years ago, I made the decision to continue the rest of my career in the healthcare sector. I was fascinated by the complexity of the challenges to solve in a sector that had direct impact on improving people`s lives. Telfer’s Masters in Health Administration accelerated my understanding of our healthcare system and provided me with vocabulary and concepts to better assess issues and challenges that I would face as a leader in this sector.
In particular, I remember discussions with our professors about the impacts of governance models, how management is different in the public sector, and the challenges of making decisions when facing ethical dilemmas. The courses on epidemiology, risk management, strategic change management and quality in healthcare helped me gain a better appreciation for the importance of evidence-based decision making. In healthcare, leaders can only make effective decisions if they can understand the evidence presented to them and can successfully engage with others in defining the problem and coming up with the best possible solutions. On several occasions since completing the program, I have returned to my notes or textbook to refresh my understandings of concepts we learned and apply them to my work in my organizations.
What likely had the most profound impact on me was my residency. I was very fortunate to join an organization that was going through a merger and learning about how the senior management team was navigating the process. My preceptor was an amazing woman and leader who inspired me to discover my own leadership style, and how to be prepared for effective negotiations. Frankly, being a leader is often about negotiating with others to arrive at mutually agreeable solutions rather than telling others what to do. I learned that this approach will lead to more sustainable solutions and better relationships. I was also able to work on a unique project that would not normally be assigned to me in my current work. As they say, the residency is the keystone to this program where you can apply everything you have learned from the program into a safe learning opportunity within an organization. My residency had a profound impact on discovering which parts of healthcare I wanted to work on.
To be honest, it was a challenging two years of work managing my full time job, family and education. I’m so thankful for the support I received from my family to complete this program.
As a bonus through this program, I also met new lifelong friends who I continue to meet with regularly. We exchange our thoughts on the healthcare system and support each other through our career progressions.”
