Interprofessional Spotlights

Year:
2nd

School/Program:
School of Public Health – Master of Healthcare Administration

Why did you choose the U and your program?
I chose the University of Minnesota’s MHA program because of its innovative approach to solving healthcare challenges and the extensive professional network it offers. The program’s focus on collaboration and real-world applications has significantly improved my personal and career development.

What is something you wished you knew before you started your program?
I wish I had known how important it is to get involved in extracurricular activities from the start. In the beginning, the workload felt overwhelming, and I was hesitant to pursue other interests, but I quickly realized that with good time management, it's absolutely possible to engage in experiences outside of class. Joining organizations and taking on leadership roles have been some of the most rewarding parts of the program.

What resource or service has been essential to your academic success?
The Center for Health Interprofessional Programs has been critical to my success. Through their interprofessional opportunities, especially my involvement with the CLARION board, I’ve learned the importance of diverse perspectives in healthcare. These experiences have improved my ability to work in collaborative environments, which is essential in healthcare administration.

What are your career goals after finishing your degree?
After completing my program, I plan to pursue an administrative fellowship to further develop the skills I’ve gained. I believe a fellowship will be key to achieving my long-term goal of driving meaningful improvements in patient care at whichever organization I have the opportunity to join.

What is your favorite place on campus and why?
Mayo D325. It's not the fanciest classroom, but we had all our first-year classes there, so it feels like home.

Year: 
Senior 

School/Program: 
Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a Minor in Sociology 

Why did you choose the U and your program? 
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities stood out to me for its location in a bustling metropolis; I thoroughly appreciate all the opportunities the Twin Cities has to offer. I chose to attend the U's BSN program so that I could enjoy both the benefits of a Big Ten school and a small, selective major. Overall, the combination of my major and minor areas of study satisfy my dedication to being a lifelong student of humanity, both physiologically and sociologically. 

What is something you wished you knew before you started your program? 
Before beginning the BSN program, I wish I better understood how to prioritize my most crucial academic tasks. I've learned throughout these past years that, within the health sciences, there will always be more studying to be done. Knowing when to stop and save unfinished work for the next day is an invaluable skill that has helped me maintain healthy study habits. 

What resource or service has been essential to your academic success? 
One learning tool which has been extremely advantageous to me during my time in nursing school is Quizlet. Quizlet has provided me with entertaining and easily digestible ways to study course content. Making Quizlets throughout the semester pays off tremendously when exams come around and their electronic permanency allows for easy self-review sessions. 

What are your career goals after finishing your degree? 
After completing my BSN, I aim to work within various sectors of the nursing profession so that I may acquire a multi-faceted, well-rounded healthcare knowledge base. A few nursing specialties that most interest me include perioperative nursing, public health nursing, and emergency nursing. Following a few years as an RN, I aim to attend graduate school pursuing either a DNP or a PhD in Sociology, whichever path feels right to me at the time. In all of my future professions, I will bring social justice to the center of my work, My sociological and nursing educations have better prepared me to understand how interlocking oppressive systems impact human health and well-being, and it is my mission to treat all people with respect and dignity, in both small and more ambitious ways, in spite of those systems. 

What is your favorite place on campus and why? 
My favorite place on campus is the mid-street walkway near the East Bank light rail station. Although it is located in the heart of the campus, the trees lining the path give the illusion of a natural enclosure. While waiting for the train or killing time between classes, I love sitting on the benches, enjoying the fresh air, and soaking up some UV rays.

Title/Position: 
Student Engagement Coordinator at CHIP

What activities at CHIP do you support?
I support all things CHIP! I spend a lot of my time, and really enjoy, supporting our student groups in an advising capacity. I also love the process of planning and facilitating staple CHIP events like the Health Professional Student Leadership Conference and CLARION Case Competitions. 

What drew you to the University of Minnesota? 
I was initially drawn to the University of Minnesota as a health professional student myself. I received my Master of Social Work degree in May 2021, and I chose the University of Minnesota because the social work program has a Community Practice concentration. I knew that I wanted to practice macro social work, so having a Community Practice concentration was important to me. While I was a student, I interned at CHIP and the UMN Women's Center, and I learned that I really like working in higher education.

What is something you wish you knew before starting your career? 
How to set boundaries to maintain a good work-life balance. It's definitely a skill that I've had to develop! 

What drew you to CHIP/How did you hear about CHIP/Why did you want to become engaged with CHIP? 
As I mentioned, I was lucky to intern at CHIP when I was an MSW student. As the MSW Intern, I worked entirely with the Interprofessional Student-Parent Community, so I didn't have much contact with all the other co-curricular programming that CHIP supports. After graduation, I worked in long term care; I was on the regional social work team and supported the social services department at various skilled nursing facilities throughout the Twin Cities metro area. My time in long-term care gave me a deep appreciation for interprofessional collaboration. Every day, I worked closely with nurses, dieticians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and doctors. Having the opportunity to learn so much about all those other healthcare disciplines made me a much better social worker, so I was extremely happy when I got the opportunity to come back to CHIP and provide interprofessional education opportunities to students before they enter the field as clinicians. 

What is something you are looking forward to this upcoming year? 
Work wise - I'm excited to write the CLARION case! I've been on the case writing team for the past couple of years and it's a really fun, unique, collaborative, and interprofessional process. In my personal life, I've signed up for a sprint triathlon, so I'm looking forward to my race!

Tell us about PHASA.
The Public Health Advocacy Student Alliance (PHASA) student organization strives to provide students from all Health Science programs with opportunities to develop advocacy skills, practice advocacy in the community, and expand their interdisciplinary professional network. PHASA accomplishes these goals through educational training sessions, expert panels with diverse providers and community members, and hands-on volunteering events. PHASA does not take definitive positions on advocacy topics because the board wants all students to feel welcome to come and learn how to advocate for what they or their communities care about most.

What was your favorite event or activity in this group this year? 
Two of the pillars of PHASA’s mission are to provide educational training about civic engagement and to provide hands-on advocacy opportunities within the community. Two events focused on providing information and an opportunity to address the climate crisis. PHASA welcomed Mags Ball, MPH from Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate to share how their coalition engages with community members, businesses, and legislators to advance policies that address climate change. Mags and the PHASA board shared tangible steps for students to take to participate in this advocacy issue. PHASA then hosted an opportunity to volunteer at Urban Roots in St. Paul, a non-profit aimed at “growing healthy communities.” Students completed tasks for the non-profit while building connections with each other and the team at Urban Roots. This series of events was a great way for students to connect with peers in different disciplines and with members of our community!

What is one thing you’re proud of or that your group accomplished so far this year? 
The PHASA board prioritized creating a welcoming environment to facilitate interprofessional networking and collaboration. Throughout the year, attendees at PHASA events represented a wide range of health science departments including dentistry, pharmacy, public health, medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and health administration – among others. We believe interprofessional training leads to more collaborative patient care and we are proud of the work PHASA is doing in contributing to that culture.

What’s one interesting thing that most people don’t know about your group? 
One thing that people likely don’t know about PHASA is that we just won a Tony Diggs excellence award for excellence in career readiness! We are proud of being recognized for this because we have worked hard to host events where students can practice interprofessional problem-solving through an advocacy lens, allowing students to create an interdisciplinary peer-peer network that we hope will be carried forward post-training, providing students with contacts of colleagues that they can reach out to for advice or support within another discipline.

How do students get involved in your group? 
Students from all graduate Health Science programs are welcome and encouraged to attend PHASA events. There are no membership requirements. Events will be advertised through CHIP monthly email updates and the PHASA email chain (sign up here)!