HAP Alumni

Learn more about Mason’s on-campus MHA program. Learn more about Mason’s online MHA program.

Sharon Lamberton Named American Academy of Nursing Fellow

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 14:13:29 +0000

Sharon Lamberton Named American Academy of Nursing Fellow Mary Cunningham Tue, 09/06/2022 - 10:13

Mason alumna and CHHS advisory board member to be recognized with one of the highest nursing honors.

Sharon Lamberton

The College of Health and Human Services is pleased to share that alumna and Dean’s Advisory Board member Sharon Lamberton (MS, Health Policy '01) has been recognized for her extraordinary achievements by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), earning the title Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Lamberton joins Paula Graling (BSN '82, MSN '96) as the second FAAN currently on the College’s Advisory Board. Lamberton (MS, Health Policy '01) was awarded the Distinguished Alumna of the Year from the College in 2020.

Each year nurses are selected as AAN Fellows on the basis of their contributions to the medical field and nursing as a discipline. FAANs are leaders, not only within the nursing profession, but they also play a part in higher education, conduct research, champion for health care policy, and more. This year’s 2022 cohort of nursing Fellows is the largest class to date.

Previously, Lamberton served as a neurology nurse at the National Institutes for Health. She has worked to improve health policy with the General Accounting Office (GAO), the National Committee to Preserve Social Security, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

Currently, Lamberton serves as deputy vice president of state policy at PhRMA, a trade association of 33 biopharmaceutical companies based in Washington, DC. She is primary liaison for PhRMA to the National Governors’ Association, National Foundation of Women Legislators, Women In Government, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

“I attribute my success to mentors like Drs. P.J. Maddox, Len Nichols, and Mary Wakefield who took time to help mold me and helped me develop my professional goals early in my career," said Lamberton. “Mason is one of the best kept secrets. We need to get the word out about Mason’s talented faculty and their research that’s making transformative changes. Alumni, potential students, and community leaders should know the quality individuals that the University is attracting and retaining. For me, the driving motivation to attend Mason was their offer to tailor my graduate degree according to my interests and needs. In addition, some of the top health policy experts in nursing were leading Centers, programs, and teaching classes at Mason.”

The Induction Ceremony will be held on in Washington, D.C., Saturday, October 29, at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference.

Congratulations again to Sharon Lamberton and all awardees of the American Academy of Nursing Fellowships.

Topics

Capstone Practicum Helps MHA Alumni Provide Better Results for Patients

John Brandon Cantrell — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:46:34 +0000

Capstone Practicum Helps MHA Alumni Provide Better Results for Patients John Brandon C… Mon, 03/21/2022 - 10:46

MHA alumni credit their capstone internship and research experiences with preparing them for their careers in health administration.

Winter MHA 2021 capstone practicum students.

For students who want to solve real-world health care problems like helping a hospital system create a disaster management plan or developing a security plan for a location health department, Mason’s Master of Health Administration (MHA) in Health Systems Management program is the place to practice and gain those skills with guidance from professionals.

Whether in person or online, the MHA program culminates in a real-world capstone practicum project where students solve a health care problem for an organization or company they are interested in, all with the guidance of a preceptor who is a professional in the field. Projects have included improving a COVID-19 testing and vaccination initiative, creating an improved patient intake plan, creating a strategy to reduce falls at a senior living facility, identifying the impact a hurricane had on suicides in Puerto Rico, and developing an online dashboard for a medical center, among others.

Recent alumni from the program agree that the capstone, which comes at the end of two years of coursework, and the program provided them with well-rounded health care skills that have helped them succeed in their careers.

“My capstone project taught me to be confident in my skills. I knew my perceived worth at my place of employment already so chose to do my project at a different location. Meeting new people, networking, and collaborating to produce a project that was centered on their needs helped me realize that I can step out of my comfort zone and still be successful,” said Kathy Hubbard, MHA ’21, whose project assessed injury prevention at a retirement community.

The field-based capstone practicum provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned in class and through faculty collaboration to key health care executives while conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to inform an executive decision regarding a complex problem.

"The most important lesson I learned from my capstone is to ask ‘why’ and strive for better results for our patients and providers."

Jake Rodriguez, MHA '21

“The most important lesson I learned from my capstone is to ask ‘why’ and strive for better results for our patients and providers. I was able to completely change the way my team outreaches to patients and leveraged the data analysis in the project to improve the accuracy of our patient panel attribution, greatly improving our cost of care metrics,” said Jake Rodriguez, MHA ’21. For his capstone, Rodriguez’s looked at a health care system’s highest cost “unengaged” patients to improve preventative health outcomes and the total cost of care.

Jake Rodriguez, MHA '21, discusses his practicum project.

Capstone projects can help students prepare for their future jobs, and sometimes lead to a job after graduation. The projects always provide students with growth, development, and help them learn something new about health care or their desired specialty.

“The capstone opened my eyes to the world of data analytics and its critical role in the health care setting. [I developed] a relentless determination and will to seek out and create opportunities for professional development and personal enhancement,” said Rehan Saeed, who now works at his dream job as a staff consultant at Federal Advisory Partners.

Experienced Preceptors, Supportive Networks

From hospitals, health care clinics, and private practices to government agencies and departments of health, preceptors mentor students in all types of health care facilities and organizations in the private and public sectors. Each student identifies a mentor to help guide them to create a worthwhile project for the host organization and the student and support the student in their research.

“My preceptor was an experienced Registered Nurse (RN). She helped prepare me by giving me opportunities to ask questions but then challenged me to answer them through reflection. This was important to me because I truly believe there is more value in presenting a solution than a question in many circumstances,” said Hubbard, currently the RN Clinical Supervisor for the Internal Medicine Department at Eastern Virginia Medical School. “In health care, we know what the problems are, we have asked all the questions before and done the research again and again. Like the MHA program, my preceptor instilled in me a sense of urgency to create and implement the solutions to the problems we identified.”

Preceptors have included administrators at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Office of Strategic Policy, Mason and Partners Clinic, Sunrise Senior Living, National Institutes of Health, Medical University of South Carolina, Kaiser Permanente, Maryland Department of Health, and Healthcare Sustainability and Relief Effort, and many more.

Career-Ready and Always Learning

Kathy Hubbard, MHA '21 presents her practicum research findings.

“The work I did throughout the MHA program triggered my interest in a career change toward consulting. I had always worked in administrative roles – HR, business management, operations. The capstone work pushed me harder toward the career change and I ultimately decided to ask for a position as a consultant [at my current company],” said Sara Hodgson, who is a double Mason alumna with an MHA and a Bachelor of Science in Health Systems Management. Hodgson is a partner at The Moran Company, a health care research and consulting firm. “It is a complete career switch, but one I am glad I made and perhaps would not have made (or been qualified for) without working through the MHA program and my capstone project.”

The MHA program and its capstone practicum prepare students to thrive in the field of health care as administrators in a variety of roles. Students leave the program ready to take on the challenges of health equity and the health care system.

“The best thing that I learned from my capstone is that there is still work to be done. Health care is an industry that is constantly evolving,” said Jose Vazquez, who currently works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He aims to be a health care administrator within the federal health care system. “Also, I learned that adaptability has to be crucial for health care professionals because in times of crisis we have to respond and provide concrete solutions to deliver the best care possible.”

And Mason students are prepared and excited to do the work.

Topics

HAP Research

Department of Health Administration and Policy

CHHS Research

internships

Practicum

Mapping a Career in Health Care Consulting

John Brandon Cantrell — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 22:08:30 +0000

Mapping a Career in Health Care Consulting John Brandon C… Tue, 01/25/2022 - 17:08

Learn more about Mason's MHA program

Topics

Population Health

Department of Health Administration and Policy

Fatphobia & Its Racist Past.

Mason Alumna’s capstone project led to a career at Booz Allen Hamilton

Nhien Ho reflects on how her experience at Mason prepared her for a career as a health care consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Mason alumna Nhien Ho always hoped to apply the skills she learned in the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program to help others—and now she is. She mapped a path to her dream by pursuing a capstone practicum project that allowed her to work toward her goal of expanding health services to those in need. In turn, she gained the needed experience to work with health care organizations across the country as a health care consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton after graduating in 2020.

"I pursued an MHA degree because I was interested in doing meaningful work to provide better availability, accessibility, and affordability in health care, and I was able to pursue [those goals] through many opportunities from the program and my professors," Nhien Ho said. "Through the assistance of Dr. Alison Cuellar, I was able to work on a project that centered on analyzing population health for those affected by COVID-19."

Navigating population health data

For her capstone practicum project, she worked with Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS), a local nonprofit organization that provides essential resources to families in need. NVFS works with the Virginia Rent and Mortgage Relief Program to process applications for families seeking funding through local COVID Support Act funds.

Nhien Ho analyzed population health data from local COVID Support Act funds to identify the characteristics of families who applied for funding, as well as the average time it took families to complete the application and the successful completion rates. Then, she created a population health map of applicant, census poverty, and race data to determine if funds reached individuals who live in areas with the most significant social and health needs. With her research findings, she also advised the NVFS leadership team on increasing outreach initiatives to ensure funding is accessible and attainable for those most in need of support.

"Put yourself out there and apply to positions that fit your passion," said Nhien Ho. "Leverage the experiences and education that you have had, and emphasize your transferable skills and the soft skills that you have demonstrated in your previous work."

Discovering new career opportunities

She believes the experience working with the NVFS leadership team, analyzing health data sets, and learning new skills made her stand out as an applicant when applying for the health care consultant position.

"I was able to leverage my experience working with clients and analyzing health data sets along with my education in quality improvement initiatives and strategic alignment to really speak on the qualifications that [Booz Allen Hamilton] had for the position," said Nhien Ho.

The process of creating a population health map required Nhien Ho to quickly learn new analytic software, such as Tableau, Stata, Lucid Chart, and Social Explorer, to outline the areas that received relief funding. In December 2020, she received a Population Health Analytics Award from the Department of Health Administration and Policy to acknowledge her quality of research and dedication to learning new skills throughout her practicum project.

"Nhien was an outstanding student and did an amazing job on her practicum wherein she conducted an 'Analysis of Covid Support Funds Provided by Northern Virginia Family Service,'" said Alison Cuellar, professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy as well as Ho's preceptor. "NVFS was thrilled with her extensive data and geographic analyses."

Guiding others to pursue their passions

Nhien Ho said that the skills she learned in health informatics, strategic management, and quality improvement prepared her to complete the practicum project successfully. Her practicum project also provided insight into new ways she could help individuals with her master's degree in health administration.

"My practicum experience brought [my attention to] a different area of health care administration that I was not aware of: health data analysis," said Nhien Ho. "This helped me understand the range of options I had for my career. I could make an influence in health care in many different ways, from clinical management and quality improvement to data analysis."

As a proud Mason alumna, she encourages College of Health and Human Services' students to explore their passions in their program and apply for positions related to their goals for entering the health care field.

"Put yourself out there and apply to positions that fit your passion," said Nhien Ho. "Leverage the experiences and education that you have had, and emphasize your transferable skills and the soft skills that you have demonstrated in your previous work."

Wide Open eats: Health Administration Alumna Brianna Graham writes about fatphobia and the evolution of the ideal body type.

Emma Therese Anderson — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 18:13:36 +0000

Wide Open eats: Health Administration Alumna Brianna Graham writes about fatphobia and the evolution of the ideal body type. Emma Therese A… Wed, 01/19/2022 - 13:13

Topics

Weight Control

CHHS in the Media

College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Health Administration and Policy

Rising Healthcare Leaders Making Connections at Mason

Emma Therese Anderson — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 13:30:08 +0000

Rising Healthcare Leaders Making Connections at Mason Emma Therese A… Thu, 09/30/2021 - 09:30

In This Story

Brenda Helen Sheingold, PhD, RN, FNAP

PJ Maddox, EdD, MSN, RN

RHLM leadership team with the Director of the Master of Health Administration program, Brenda Sheingold.

On September 16, Rising Healthcare Leaders at Mason (RHLM), a Mason Registered Student Organization (RSO), hosted its first in-person networking event since March 2020. The graduate student leadership team in the Department of Health Administration and Policy (HAP) worked to make the event a successful networking opportunity for attendees. P.J. Maddox, chair of HAP, and many HAP faculty members were present as well as alumni and students. Mark Lainoff, an Inova administrative fellow, also attended and spoke with students who were interested in pursuing an Administrative Fellowship. The event was supported by a team of volunteers from the undergraduate Health Administration program.

The president of the RHLM leadership team, Akshaya Chinnathevar Ramesh, delivered comments to thank those who attended. “Rising Healthcare Leaders at Mason is a registered student organization representing the HAP department,” said Ramesh. “Our mission is to open the platform for students to enhance their career advancement through networking and other activities, and this event is a stepping-stone toward that goal. We want to set a path for the future leadership team as well as the emerging healthcare leaders who have joined [us] in our journey.”

Brenda Helen Sheingold, director of the Master of Health Administration program, said that the event was successful thanks, in large part, to the student leadership team’s efforts to create a safe and professional environment for students and faculty to connect during the pandemic.

"The Master of Health Administration is a network-intensive degree, and students haven’t had the opportunity for face-to-face interaction with healthcare executives, the faculty, or each other for over 18 months,” said Sheingold.

All COVID safety protocols were followed at this event.

Topics

Rising Healthcare Leaders at Mason (RHLM)

Healthcare

Inova

HAP Faculty

Department of Health Administration and Policy

Student Spotlight

CHHS News

Alumni Spotlight: Karyn Onyeneho, MS Health Informatics ‘14

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 19:12:09 +0000

Alumni Spotlight: Karyn Onyeneho, MS Health Informatics ‘14 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/17/2021 - 14:12

Topics