Around the School
Around the School
Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management More Than Lifelong Learning
I
t almost sounds like the opening of a joke — what do a nurse, a dentist, a psychologist and a physician have in common? But the punch line is no laughing matter and it may hold insights into some of today’s most relevant health care industry issues. What do these four health care professionals have in common? A need for business training. Once a month over a six-month period, the nurse, dentist, psychologist and physician along with 19 colleagues from private practice and top hospitals attended the same Rice University Executive Education course, learned core business skills they could immediately apply at work, and walked away with a Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management and a network of new connections.
Licensed to learn
Participant Dr. Karin Price accepts her graduate certificate from program co-director, Dr. Stephen Spann. business.rice.edu
The nurse, Shannon McCord, has more letters after her name than in it: MS, RN, CPNP, CNS, WOCN. But they all mean the same thing to her — taking care of children. With 25 years of pediatric nursing experience and two children of her own, her job is more than work. It’s a life’s mission. Approaching 20 years at Texas Children’s Hospital, Shannon was recently named Director of Patient Care Services for their new West Campus.
The dentist, Nielo Chow, worked as an associate in private practice before she decided to strike out on her own. “I was thinking about my own business way back in dental school. I came upon the certificate program at Rice as I was looking for something that would help me transition from a clinician to a business owner.” Before she put together a business plan for a wellness center, she wanted to be certain to draw from sound principles. The psychologist, Karin Price, intended to go to law school as an undergrad at Cornell. “I wanted to be an advocate for children. But then I took some classes in human development, and I realized I could be involved at an individual level rather than a policy level. That’s when my focus changed.” As a clinical psychologist and clinic chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, she focuses on both the art and business sides of providing psychological services. The physician, Jayshri Chasmawala, was born knowing what she wanted to do. “When I was eight, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. At the hospital, nobody talked to us. We didn’t understand. That’s when I decided to be a doctor who explained things and talked to people.” A physician of osteopathic medicine with a master of public health, she opened Pure Health Family Practice Clinic in Dallas three years ago.
Why it’s relevant Somewhere after their degrees and amidst the actual work, Shannon, Nielo, Karin and Jayshri realized the
Shannon McCord, participant and new director of patient care services for Texas Children’s West Campus, oversees construction of the new facility (far left). Participants at the farewell dinner: Dr. Nielo Chow, Dr. Jayshri Chasmawala, Dr. Nandita Gupta with her daughter Sukul, and Dr. Cedela Abdulla.
importance of non-clinical skills to their jobs. And they took action. Despite being at different places in their careers and personal lives, they were at the same place when assessing their professional development. They wanted to expand their skills in order to perform better in the workplace. While facilitating the successful opening of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, Shannon explained, “In leadership positions within health care management, daily responsibilities include financial management, strategic planning, marketing, and leading and developing others. All of these topics were included in the program. Providing didactic business content to nursing and medical school curricula, at least at an introductory level, is crucial.” Nielo added, “As a scientific-minded person, I approached my career practically. But at the same time I had this nagging feeling that working as a clinician wouldn’t be fulfilling. When I gave in to my desire to provide others more coordinated and personal care in the form of a wellness center, I found this course to help me build a strong foundation, allowing for an expanded way of thinking.” Over the past year Karin experienced tremendous change in the Psychology Section
at Baylor College of Medicine. With new leaders in place, including her appointment as clinic chief, she needed a way to bring a business lens to the department. “Business — strategy, marketing, finance, negotiations — is not taught in graduate school for psychology students; nor, from what I gathered from my classmates at Rice, is it taught in medical school. Yet, leaders in the health care field must bring these skills to the table every day.” After opening her private practice Jayshri admitted, “I was struggling. I didn’t have a concept of business.” She contemplated taking a class on general management and learned about the certificate course from her brother, Dipesh Shroff ’09, who had just graduated from the Rice MBA program. Once she made the commitment to enroll, Jayshri had to arrange the commute from Dallas and from her practice. “In each month’s class, I’d learn more about achieving the type of practice I want while continuing to increase my profits.”
ent connections that result. During the certificate program, beyond learning leadership and negotiations, strategy, financial analysis, and balancing management alongside clinical skills, the participants share their experiences and weave together the universal threads of friendship and network. On hand to raise that discussion to a higher level are the Jones School faculty who teach the modules. Their deep insights into the business aspects of the curriculum as it relates to health care bring an expansive viewpoint that helps participants find the relevance of applying certain business principles to their jobs and ultimately their patient outcomes. The Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management answers a pressing need for the introduction of business skills to the administrators, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in the trenches, particularly those leaders contributing to the national dialogue on health care.
Assets and liabilities One of the greatest benefits of putting highly-qualified practicing professionals from the same industry in the same room is the inher-
about the Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management, visit business.rice.edu/healthcare Jones Journal FALL 2010 5