Career-Bound after the Capstone Experience
M.H.A. capstone experience prepares students for their careers
Transitioning from the classroom to the corporate world can be difficult for students. Students in the Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) program, however, get an up-close view of the corporate world they are about to enter. As part of the M.H.A. capstone experience, students undertake a semester-long group project in which they take on real-world challenges proposed by companies in the health care field.
The Projects
According to Mike Meacham, associate professor of health policy and administration, “The projects this semester were very compelling, and the students showed a lot of intellectual strength and knowledge of the field.” This year’s projects included:
- Washington Hospital Center Transplant Outreach Clinics
- Dominique LaRochelle, Adhish Rajkarnikar, and Grant Simmons worked with the largest private hospital in the Washington, D.C., area to create a series of satellite clinics that will serve parts of Maryland with transplant referrals.
- A Cost Study: Calculation and Analysis of the Daily Cost of Caring for Pennsylvanians in Personal Care/Assisted Living
- Dan Amorino, Devon Trolley, and Paola Acosta (an M.S. student) recalibrated and administered a cost-analysis survey to over 250 long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania, in order to increase reimbursement rates for those facilities.
- Susquehanna Health Cardiovascular Service Line
- Kimberly Lechien, Susan Zhang, and Candine Roberts researched ways to increase market share for one area of the Susquehanna Health System by analyzing and explaining market trends, and then recommending a course of action based on their findings.
- Discharge Planning Process for Mother Baby Unit and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Using Six Sigma methodology, Sharanya Bhaskaran, William A. Burmeister, and Briene Simmons attempted to improve the patient discharge process at the Virtua Health System in New Jersey. Students in this project received Six Sigma certification as part of the project.
Selecting Projects
The proposals for class projects were solicited from companies, and those that were accepted exposed students to a variety of experiences, including quantitative analysis, conflict management, and on-site interviewing. After forming groups based on a common interest, students spent the semester solving a challenge and adapting to difficulties they would face if they were employed professionals. To achieve their goal, they communicated with their clients, others in the industry, and their professor, trying to implement textbook knowledge into their problem-solving strategies. The experience culminated when students present their solutions to their clients and their class, giving them a chance to receive feedback about their semester of work.
Choosing their projects prompted students with a chance for personal and professional development. Kimberly Lechien selected her project because she wanted experience in an area to which she hadn’t had much exposure—market share and analyzing market trends. Candine Roberts, on the other hand, had previous experience with a service line, and wanted to refine her skills. Dominique LaRochelle selected her project because she wanted to work closely with an urban hospital, to see how the urban hospital dynamic differed from a rural hospital dynamic.
Learning the Industry's Ropes
The students learned to find ways to overcome significant obstacles they’ve encountered. As Dan Amorino noted, “We noticed that the industry timelines didn’t quite match up with our class timeline. Some requests we made had to go through an approval process we didn’t account for, and this slowed us down. We had to make some changes to our strategy to accommodate for this.” Another difficulty the groups faced was the physical distance. Adish Rajkarnikar noted, “It can be hard to develop trust with your clients without a lot of face-to-face communication.” But in the process of finding ways to get around these roadblocks, the students garnered an adeptness that will give them an advantage as they begin applying for jobs.
Grant Simmons noted, “We’re not only learning a great deal, but this is giving us a great opportunity to network with people in the industry.” Candine Roberts stressed the positive impact her clients have had on her: “They really do make an effort to turn this into a learning opportunity for us.”
The class gives students a chance to work with several alumni this year: Marcy Dwzill ’85 RC PK, Joel Sheingold ’07 MHA, and Russ McDaid ’90 BRCAB ’95 MHA.
On-Site Work
M.H.A. students presenting their solutions to clients.
The class gave students a chance to work directly with companies in the health care industry and learn about the profession from professionals. Each group had a different experience, based on the work required for their project and on how close students were to their clients’ site. For example, clients located closer to Penn State were able to offer more on-site experience to students.
Sharanya Bhaskaran’s group spent two days at Virtua Health in Marlton, New Jersey, where they received yellow-belt certification in Six Sigma methodology. Six Sigma is a business management strategy used by many industries, and it requires rigorous standardized training to become a “master” of the strategy; Bhaskaran’s group received the first level of training.
They also had the chance to interview employees about the group’s project, which focused on ways to improve the hospital’s discharge process for new mothers and babies. They spoke with nurses, technicians, nurse directors, and other employees from the both clinical and administrative sides to understand how the discharge process was currently set up. The on-site work allowed students to solicit employees’ opinions and better understand terminology. The group worked closely with Marcy Dzwill, Six Sigma Black Belt at Virtua Health and Penn State alumna.
“Real life situations gave them a taste of what it would be like to work in a hospital,” said Dzwill, “and they could develop tools to work in that environment. By the end, they were already beginning to identify future problems.”
Other groups in the class met with key leaders on site, such as medical directors and vice presidents. Students learned about different challenges of managing the health care system, such as how to successfully organize both independent and hospital-employed doctors, as well as specialist and generalist doctors, under one health care system. Students communicated with a variety of individuals to compile unbiased viewpoints, assuring that all voices in the health care system were heard by the health care administrators.
“Students were forced to do critical thinking, which they excelled with,” said Ernie Lemoi, vice president of the heart and vascular institute at Susquehanna Health. “They asked all the right questions to get their project done efficiently.”
Student Proficiency
The students, however, were not the only ones who benefitted from the capstone experience. Joel Sheingold, transplant administrator at the Washington Hospital Center, explained that because they were not employees, students had an advantage that benefitted the companies.
“If our company, because of its size, is like a cruise ship—large, slowly lumbering along—then the students were like a motorboat, and they were able to zip around and do a lot of work in a short time frame, which might have been difficult for us to do,” said Sheingold. “The students surprised and impressed our staff with their analysis and research.”
Sheingold also mentioned that the class was a “learning experience” for him. A recent M.H.A. grad, Sheingold was a student in the capstone class in 2007. Because of his positive experience with the capstone project, he took extra steps with this year’s capstone class, and tried to make himself accessible and pass on information that the students would need to know. Now, he is interested in establishing a long-term relationship with the M.H.A. capstone class, to give students a unique, unmatched learning experience.
Final Presentations
Clients discussing the proposals with students.
At the end of their projects, students presented their proposed solutions to clients.Two of the four groups traveled to present at their clients’ work sites, and two groups presented at Penn State. Some students implemented cutting-edge data analysis tools in their presentations, including geographic informational systems (GIS), which intrigued clients.
Having the chance to present their solutions directly to clients, according to student Dominique LaRochelle, was the most beneficial part of the class. “We had to present to CEOs, CFOs, vice presidents, and a gamut of other professionals,” said LaRochelle. “Getting their feedback was probably the most rewarding aspect of the class.”
“The class provided great experience by allowing us to practice concepts and theories and to interact with industry experts and people who’ve been in the field for quite some time,” said Sharanya Bhaskaran.
With the experience students received from this project, they'll be much more prepared when it comes time to work in the field.
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Editors: For additional information, please contact the College of Health and Human Development Office of College Relations at 814-865-3831 or healthhd@psu.edu.