What are you seeing in your students?
Welcome back to school! I hope you are enjoying the start of the academic year and the promise of educating the next generation of leaders. As is the custom for faculty involved in recruitment, retention, and employment post-graduation, we need to determine the composite make-up of the entering classes and how best to prepare matriculating students for the changing healthcare employment landscape. A typical exercise is to have students identify their long-term employment interests by organization type/industry and geographic preference post-graduation. The exercise serves to prepare faculty to plan site visits, guest lectures, and simulation exercises. I discovered the following about my entering cohort:
- 52% of the students want to live in an urban area
- Geographic preference post-graduation was Midwest locations (56%) followed by the West Coast (22%)
- 43% were willing to work until an assignment was completed regardless of the time it took to complete the project
- 64% would travel in the context of their employment
- 52% reported that they were interested in healthcare to improve life in a systematic manner (52%); help people and the community (15%); and make a positive impact on something larger than themselves (11%).
The response that perked my interest was the response that the students entered the field because it was lucrative and secure (7%). While these responders were clearly in the minority, it did make me think about Jerry Glandon’s blog about Mylan. Who are our students and what type of people do we admit and send out into the world of work? Do they want to do good and contribute? If faculty recognize that students are entering the field for motives that we question, is there anything we can do to alter their perspective or should this be of concern?
When we asked students to prioritize their place of employment, the order was as follows: hospitals (31%), consulting (15%); quality/patient safety (14%); entrepreneurial ventures (7%); and insurance (tie 5%), and practice management (tie 5%). The reaction from senior executives who reviewed the survey results asked why students did not rank ambulatory care, home care, association management, information technology, or any of the other areas in their top 5. The CEOs wanted to better understand why the rank order of student employment interest had remained the same with hospitals being a preferred employer for the 10-years that we have conducted the survey. So, the question is are you seeing the same thing and can we change this in our preparation of students?
An update on the AUPHA history project
Special thanks goes to our icon members in the field who are helping us assemble facts around the book’s development. We had a long conversation with Steve Loebs, former chairman of The Ohio State University health management program and former AUPHA board chairman. Steve was in a serious car accident in Maine where he broke 17 ribs and spent 5-weeks in Maine Medical Center. He is recuperating nicely and sends his regards to everyone. He gave permission for us to publish his home address should you want to send him a note at: 25 Monument Lane, Brunswick, Lane 04011. Steve’s ability to remember AUPHA history is remarkable and matched only by Gary Filerman, John Griffith, Lee Seidel, and Janet Porter. We are fortunate to have them involved in the project.
Steve’s aha moment came during his Maine Medical Center hospitalization in the early summer when he received care from the superb professionals at the hospital and studied how they went about caring for their patients. He remarked that if he had his accident earlier in his career, he may not have gone directly into a faculty role and instead spent time serving as an administrator managing operations and process improvement. His experience at Maine Medical Center reinforced the importance of teaching and training our students so they appreciate the importance of patient care, system management, community engagement, and values. He thanks Maine Medical Center for his superb care.
Farewell and thank you to Kristi Donovan
AUPHA bids farewell to Kristi Donovan. Kristi has been an AUPHA stalwart for 7-years serving as our Senior Director of Professional Affairs. She has been critical to the success of our Faculty Forums, curriculum development, and network website. Kristi has a professional opportunity with another association where she will be able to work-from-home and spend more time with her family. We will certainly miss the professionalism and service she provided to AUPHA members. We have been fortunate to have her leadership and we wish her well in her future leadership roles. Congratulations, Kristi, and thank you for all you have done to make AUPHA a strong and vibrant organization.
Enjoy the start of the school year!