Connecting Classroom to the Field in the Healthcare Industry – Story of a Student from Peru

Connecting Classroom to the Field in the Healthcare Industry – Story of a Student from Peru

Betty Granados and Garvita Thareja

As a young girl in Peru, my family was fortunate to have access to affordable and equitable healthcare. It was only until I immigrated to the United States that I realized that this access to healthcare in my home country was atypical, and was only made possible to us through my father’s work in the United States. My father provided for our health insurance by sending money to our family in Peru. After arriving in the United States, the illusion that healthcare was equitable, accessible, or affordable for everyone quickly dissipated. I found myself lost due to navigating in-network versus out-of-network providers, being unable to see a physician when I was sick, and paying for expensive prescriptions and out-of-pocket expenses.

Although the healthcare system can be challenging for many, I realized through working as a case manager with the homeless that this population is especially susceptible to the disparities and inequities of the healthcare system. For example, patients in this population are often not aware of public health insurance plans like Medicaid, Medicare, and the Veterans Health Administration or how to apply for these programs. For example, when I would try to connect them with a physician, many of them didn’t have Medicaid or have money to pay out of pocket for healthcare services even though they would qualify for one of these programs.

All these events revealed to me that certain populations, such as the homeless population, have disadvantages in navigating the healthcare system in the U.S. I decided to pursue a Master of Health Administration (MHA) degree so I could be in a better position to help vulnerable populations navigate the healthcare system and develop leadership principles to guide organizations and professionals with similar values.

The MHA program offered me the opportunity to develop these principles through a workstudy teaching assistant role. In this role, I had the opportunity to teach a population health class, which gave me insight into what is taught to students in academia about population health and the didactic methods used to educate the future leaders of our healthcare industries. Overall, this exposure helped me in refining my professional skills and learning technologies that I can utilize in my career. These extracurricular activities made me a skilled person who now has options to work in the field of practice, academia, as well as research.

The personal values and career aspirations that inspired me to write this essay are in strong alignment with Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) values. MSU Denver states under their vision and values “We are problem solvers”, which is one of the skills I have learned throughout my professional and academic journey. The MHA program at MSU Denver has enabled me to achieve strategic goals for myself and my organization, and taught me about the healthcare industry and how my contributions can make a difference. Coming to the U.S. from Peru gave me another perspective on health disparities that I was able to explore during my education and my work-study role. The roles I took part in polished my skills and allowed me to learn new skills to make my dreams come true in the healthcare administration field.