The Low-Down

So I went back to school! Grad school that is. I am working on a MSA in Healthcare Management. Working Full-time and being a full-time student is NO JOKE! Add to that, being a wife and musician. Therefore, I haven't done as much with music as I'd planned.

Let me just tell you....I LOVE SCHOOL! I think I love learning so much more than I ever have. While my undergrad degree is in Music, I chose a Master's in Healthcare Management because....

Applying to Grad School is a lot like applying to a job. You MUST have relevant background or work experience in the field.

When thinking of which post-graduate programs to jump into, I considered the following: LMFT (Family & Marriage Therapist), & Law School, Social Work.

I feel like I want to make a difference in the world.

But pre-reqs for programs I had no experience in would mean it would take more than 2 years to complete a graduate program in those areas. When I finally looked at Healthcare Management, I had the experience.

My mom told me when I was a wee high schooler, that I needed to have a back-up career plan in case my musical dreams didn't come true or provide financially on a full-time basis. So in high school I enrolled in vocational courses in healthcare, graduating high school with experience as a Nurse Assistant & Front Office Medical Administrator. Anyway, turns out that my plan B became my Plan A. And ya know what? I LOVE IT!

I talk too much in class LOL!

I had an AMAZING internship from January- March of this year working in the Surgical Department of a local hospital. I learned sooooo much, not just in how the operating rooms work, but the culture of the staff, the dynamic and often tumultous relationships between Surgeons and Staff; the Director of Surgical Services took me under his wings to mentor me. He showed me the good, the bad, and the ugly. I was in operating rooms watching live surgeries! It was an administrative/management level internship.

Afterall, Nurses, Sugical Techs, and Docs go to school to do clinical stuff. But they don't learn how to run statistical reports, analysis; don't know how to run the business of healthcare, compliance, and total quality management. That's where I step in along with running payroll. Praise be to God, a job position was created where I would fit right in. So I'm in the process of being selected as THE primary candidate of filling that spot.

Do you know how rare it is for someone like me, who is NOT a doc, nurse, or tech, to step right into a surgery department as a Coordinator???? RARE!!!!! I knew risking my full-time job for this internship would pay off. Praise be to God!