VCU stands among many truly prestigious Health Administration programs in America. So how do we differentiate ourselves and attract students?

It’s a question I’ve been asking since stepping into the role of interim chair this summer. And I believe the answer is that outstanding healthcare leadership education doesn’t merely come from teaching and textbooks. Instead, it is a faculty and an alumni network who work hard to create a supportive environment for students, to constructively challenge and guide them to success, and aspire to see them someday pay it forward. 

And this is where VCU Health Administration thrives.
 
Our new MHA and executive education (MSHA) cohorts arrived in Richmond in late August, entering a field where ever-rising healthcare costs and hospital financial performance — my own interest in the field — is on the forefront of everyone’s minds. 

To rein in costs requires a deviation from traditional leadership and thinking, and doing things differently than before. We emphasize this on Day One — the need to become a modern, forward-thinking, non-traditional healthcare leader. They must focus on prevention, closing the gaps between the haves and have-nots, and recognize that while a hospital is a building, healthcare is a partnership with education, with government, and with the community. 

Incoming students must focus on prevention, closing the gaps between the haves and have-nots, and recognize that while a hospital is a building, healthcare is a partnership with education, with government, and with the community. 

As a program, we don’t have all the answers, but we have the tools our students can use to discover them and the support systems and prestigious alumni networks it will take to succeed. This is why we have an open-door policy in our offices — to encourage fresh ideas, to be a sounding board to students and peers, and to encourage better communication. An open door policy here will keep healthcare’s doors open out there.

Another hallmark of an exceptional healthcare leadership program is to be cognizant of our own challenges. As a program, we are working to uncover more opportunities for interprofessional education with students and faculty from other health professions. We also want to increase the diversity of our faculty, and have two positions we hope to announce soon. 
 
On the horizon, we are actively preparing (read: paperwork!) for our Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) site visit this spring for program accreditation. I have no doubt we will be reaccredited on this seven-year cycle, and it will be for the reasons I have outlined here. 

I’ve spent the last few fast-paced weeks mostly focused on the day-to-day of managing the program and preparing for the semester. As I progress, I am always sure to ask myself, and I hope my peers at VCU and elsewhere do the same: How is the work I am doing today impacting student learning tomorrow? Where are we giving them opportunities to grow? Because it is the success of our students, the ideas they dream up, and the change they are able to make that will continue to position VCU as a top healthcare leadership program in America. 

 

Saleema A. Karim, Ph.D.
Interim Chair
Associate Professor