Eli Mansfield, MPH-Public Health Administration & Policy (PHAP) student, is the head athletic trainer for the University of Minnesota men’s baseball team. This role and others in athletic medicine developed his interest in public health.

“I noticed disparities and quality improvement methods could be directly applied to sports medicine departments in the Division I setting,” notes Mansfield.

Mansfield’s biggest interests lie in quality improvement and management.

“The use of quality improvement measures in health care systems can lead not only to improved experience for the patients, but also have a positive impact on the entire team of healthcare professionals. It is my intention to apply this to the athletic medicine model,” says Mansfield.

At first, Mansfield wasn’t sure where to focus his interests at the graduate level. After talking with staff at the School of Public Health he felt the MPH-PHAP degree offered a great framework for understanding policy and how to lead a group of individuals.

“I didn’t know what exactly I was hoping to learn, but staff at School of Public Health worked with me to structure my courses and apply existing knowledge of hands-on healthcare to the management realm,“ says Mansfield

Mansfield attended Purdue University as an undergraduate and participated in activities that aligned with his athletic medicine interests. He was also an athletic training intern with the Detroit Lions, which required a rigorous and fast-paced application of his skills and knowledge. Mansfield has studied abroad at the Beijing Sports University in China as well.

Mansfield notes that balancing graduate school and full-time work is challenging. When he gets the chance, he takes time to enjoy the outdoors and is an avid hunter and fisherman. Mansfield also excels at playing the piano.

~ Post by Mona Rath