Health Care Club co-presidents, Heather Langerman and Andrea Readhimer, both Daytime MBA ’15, shared their views on the club’s most important event, the Annual Health Care Conference and how leading the Health Care Club strengthened their MBA experience.
1. How did you determine the theme for this year’s Health Care Conference?
Heather Langerman: We consulted with faculty, HSM staff and corporate sponsors for relevant subjects along with polling students on where their interests lie. We also looked at what other schools have done and tried to do something different. Through this process, we tried to strike a balance of global vs. U.S. trends because a significant portion of Fuqua students are international.
Andrea Readhimer: With healthcare being so broad, our team identified a theme that was focused enough to provide a cohesive structure to the conference but broad enough to be relevant to multiple sectors within the industry.
2. What aspect of the Health Care Conference resonated most with you?
AR: How payers and providers are improving quality of care by using data and analytics to help physicians make better decisions.
3. What is up next for Fuqua’s HCC?
HL: We are getting the first year students ready for their summer internships. As for events, we are coordinating town hall meetings, where David Ridley and a speaker will hold a Q&A in a more intimate setting hoping to initiate a productive dialogue.
AR: Fine-tuning key roles for the newly instituted HSM Fellowship. Right now there is an overlap and coordination between the HCC and HSM Fellowship, but it will be an iterative process to figure out the different roles, long-term. Right now the HSM Fellowship is viewed as the strategy arm of the HSM student voice while the HCC is more involved with the tactical execution of that strategy.
4. What is the most fulfilling part of being co-presidents of the HCC?
HL: For me it’s watching our goals come to fruition.
• Getting to know first year students and making their experience fulfilling.
• Looking to build connections around the Duke/Durham community and continuing to strengthen them.
AR: On a macro level, I’m thrilled that I could attend the HSM program with no previous health care experience plus co-lead the HCC. On a micro level, I’m learning how to strike that balance between being a leader, while managing my peers and developing a collaborative team.
5. What role did HSM play in your decision to attend Fuqua?
HL: I initially looked at public health programs but felt that an MBA would have the greatest impact in the health care space. Fuqua was my first choice because of their strong sense of community and the opportunities within Duke Hospital.
AR: The robust HSM program was definitely my deciding factor.
6. What do you see as the greatest opportunity and challenge in health care?
HL: I’m interested in health care more from a public health perspective, and tend to look at the whole person and how health care delivery can impact one’s entire life. Health care doesn’t just happen at the doctor’s office, but at work and home.
7. What are your plans post Fuqua?
HL: I’m moving to Columbus, Ohio to work for Cardinal Health in their corporate strategy department. I interned there and am looking forward to going back to the Midwest.
AR: I’m going to be part of the Commercial Leadership Development Program for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson.
8. What’s the most important thing you learned from HSM while at Fuqua?
HL: The experiential learning opportunities helped me apply what I learned in real life. I did a Client Consulting Practicum with a hospital in rural Georgia and worked with Duke Home Care and Hospice where I shadowed clinicians and made home visits.
AR: As someone with little previous industry experience, the HSM program has helped me come away with a much stronger grasp of the industry’s complexities, a deeper understanding of the drivers of the widely publicized “healthcare crisis,” and an excitement for the vast career opportunities.