Learning Outside the Classroom
The MHA student experience is uniquely enriched with hands-on learning opportunities outside the classroom that allow students to develop problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.
Exposure to the Field
Students engage with healthcare organizations and executives from day one. They visit Twin Cities healthcare organizations during their first semester where they meet with top leadership and learn about the role of hospitals and health systems in health services delivery.
Summer Residency Experience
The summer residency between the first and second years of coursework allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to a real-life problem in a healthcare organization. Students receive support from on-site executive-level preceptors and clerkship project advisors, most of whom are alumni of the program.
Problem-Solving and Innovation
Students learn and apply The Minnesota Problem Solving Method, a rigorous, practical method of solving problems combined with human centered design theory. Throughout the experience, students interact with top-level executives in a variety of healthcare organizations. For their capstone experience, students then serve as consultants where they apply the problem solving method to real projects at organizations such as UnitedHealth Group, Mayo Clinic, Target Corporation, Allina Health, University of Minnesota Medical Center, and HealthPartners.
Case Competitions
Students are active in national case competitions where they apply knowledge and skills developed in the classroom to a specific problem or issue. In 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022, Minnesota placed first in the UAB Health Administration Case Competition.
Compassionate Student Leadership
Students are active in the Community Stewardship Initiative (CSI), a student-driven service organization committed to civic engagement through volunteer work at health organizations, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and food shelters. Many students also hold leadership positions at the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, a free clinic where patients receive health care regardless of background.
Leadership Accelerator Program
The Minnesota MHA Program seeks to develop distinctive leaders with character, competence, and authenticity in the field of healthcare administration. The purpose of the Accelerator Program is to provide enhanced leadership and professional development offerings by creating a comprehensive program for our residential and executive students.
A core component of each student’s first semester is a one credit course known as the Twin Cities Learning Lab. In this course, students visit healthcare organizations throughout the metropolitan area. This course allows students to engage with healthcare leaders and to begin to better understand the healthcare ecosystem. Additionally, students are encouraged to engage in extracurricular activities that complement their classroom learning.
Margit Hermann, Phillips Neighborhood Clinic
“The Phillips Neighborhood Clinic (PNC) is a student-run clinic that provides free healthcare services to under-resourced individuals in the community. Volunteering as an interpreter has given me the opportunity to work closely with patients as well as students from other health disciplines. PNC allows me to hear from patients first-hand and understand their stories, as well as help increase access to care in the Minneapolis community.”
Muskaan Gupta, Case Competitions
My experience in a case competition challenged me to design creative solutions to address the challenges of equity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team devised a strategy called the CARe Pathway, composed of an equity task force, a hub and spoke model, and virtual patient homes, ultimately being awarded a scholarship and influencing UCLA Health’s future long-term telehealth implementation to be more equitable.
Focusing on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
We as future healthcare leaders need to understand that healthcare disparities exist and are perpetuated by the healthcare system, and we need to work to close those disparities and work to ensure that our organization’s value and support all marginalized staff of the organization. At all levels of the School of Public Health, including the MHA Program, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are underway to revise curriculum and ensure a positive learning environment for all students, faculty, and staff.
— Katie Larin (‘21) & Daniel Okabue(‘22)
Rachel Rahman, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Student Chapter
I was fortunate enough to serve as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Open School University of Minnesota Chapter (IHI UMN) Co-Director and as a Student Consultant for a local healthcare organization. I joined a team consisting of students from various health professions working together to enhance prevention measures and outcomes to advance health equity. As a Student Consultant and Co-Director, my positions allowed me to delve deeper into cultural competency, engage in strategic thinking, and enhance my interprofessional teamwork skills.
Grisel Isidor, Clarion Case Competition
During my participation in the CLARION case competition I worked within a multidisciplinary team from throughout the health sciences to address disparities in infant and maternal mortality and morbidity between ethnic populations in Wisconsin. My previous coursework in population health and leadership allowed me to help guide my team members through the steps of the problem solving method and dive more deeply into the theory we learned in class. I found a lot of value in hearing the different perspectives of teammates and was able to build more confidence in interpersonal leadership and my understanding of the problem solving method.
