My name is Megan Pisone,
and I'm working on my master’s in Health Administration at Rangos School of Health
Sciences. I have worked in pharma for 10 years.
The pharmacy industry in Pittsburgh is large. I mean,
we support two of the largest IDNs (Integrated Delivery Network) in the country.
We have UPMC and Allegheny Health Network right in our backyard.
But I knew to get myself to the next step in my career,
I really needed to work on building some development and leadership skills.
And I thought this program just really gave me the right balance of those
skills. (Why did you choose Duquesne’s Online MHA program?)
I think it allows people that have a full-time job to manage both work
and getting the work done at your own pace.
It was really attractive to me that the two-year program was completely online.
Anytime I needed to spend on campus, I do live in Pittsburgh,
so it made it easy for me, but I really like the platform of the program too.
Once I started working with,
some of the counselors and talking through just how the scheduling was gonna
work,
it just seemed like it was really paced appropriately for someone like me,
who does have a lot of commuting and traveling to do for my full-time job.
And so far, it's been really easy to manage everything. (Online MHA coursework)
I think the one thing about the program that's been really cool is being able to
work on projects within the specific classes and areas that interest you.
I've worked with people in the classes so far who have done telemedicine
projects or looking at rural health delivery.
How telemedicine will fit into different health care models.
I already worked on a telemedicine project for my Intro to Health Sciences
class,
just to kind of address how health care needs to fit
telemedicine in now long term. It wasn't.
It's not going to be a short term thing. It's here to stay.
I think the freedom that this program allows to explore those areas and choose
topics that are of interest to you, in your specific area of expertise, and
maybe for what you're doing now in your career.
This is really important because it allows us to grow in spaces that we have the most
interest in, and comfort, or maybe confidence in as well.
A lot of the work is on Zoom. A lot of it is self-paced,
but I appreciate that it's built out where you can have a routine for
the week or do what's best for you.
It seems like we all are able to manage the workload really well.
There’re still group projects.
So, I think that part does make it a little more interactive too. You do,
you know,
work one on one or with a couple people in the program in a specific class to
work through the project. (What inspired you to pursue your MHA?)
Social determinants of health is definitely one of the biggest reasons that I
wanted to pursue my master’s.
I feel really strongly about how we can equalize access to
health care, whether it's through the healthcare systems here in Pittsburgh,
whether it's access to pharmaceutical drugs,
access to a primary health care provider, access to homeless medicine.
I do see the disparities in even Pittsburgh in terms of
access to health care.
And I feel that it's the responsibility for people in health administration
roles to really find new and innovative ways to deliver health care to
everyone. (Why is Duquesne’s online MHA the right fit for you?)
I knew that when I looked at the Master of Health Administration program here, that the
self-pace of the program being online and the reputation that they have in the
public health space in Pittsburgh already, was something that made it really
attractive to me. I think that notoriety is already there.
And that reputation is really strong for just producing
Well-rounded individuals in the healthcare industry. (How did Covid-19 impact your MHA journey?)
I started right in the middle of COVID. I started in May. I started the process
of looking into Duquesne in April
and immediately, despite all the uncertainty that was going on in the world,
I felt that this was a solid place to be.
I could tell that the program was already working to address
some of the things that might make people apprehensive about
taking a leap like this during COVID.
From the original advisors that I spoke to, talking to the faculty and then
really starting the program in May, I never looked back. I thought,
despite everything that's going on in the world and all the uncertainty,
this was a really solid place for me to continue to pursue
those dreams I had of working on my master’s. (Applying your degree to your future)
I really do love pharmaceutical
work and working in pharmaceutical industry.
I think that I plan to try to pursue leadership opportunities,
possibly more management roles. There's a lot of field reimbursement
and communication working with health systems locally that would require
more graduate work just to reflect some of the programs that they're working on
even here in Pittsburgh.
My dream job would be to continue to work in the pharmaceutical industry
and collaborate with Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs) and learn more about how they
are working to serve patients. I think that
a lot of the leadership opportunities between health networks,
health systems and pharmaceutical industry,
or any type of medical services industry, any kind of vendor management,
you really do need master’s level work
just to understand more about how the two are integrating and working together.
I want to learn more about what’s goes on Behind the scenes. More about the operation
side or how strategic planning fits in for both the hospitals and the
pharmaceutical companies.
Or how vendor management programs are starting to change based on
changes to access to physicians.
How they're making decisions for drug formulary. All those things
are interests of mine. And I think the program's really reflective of that. (Why did you choose the population health concentration?)
I actually chose the concentration of population health because I thought it was
really reflective of a lot of the work that we already do in the pharmaceutical
industry.
I think it aligns really closely to with where health networks are moving to,
trying to pursue more of a patient-centered care model.
And a lot of the work that Duquesne is doing in Rangos really reflects
shifting towards that model. The shift towards
telemedicine and being a little agile and mobile versus a
traditional health care delivery model.
And I think that I see this program already shifting, towards trying to
reflect the changes in the industry. And,
I've already been really excited
to work on projects that kind of reflect that shift too. (Interacting with supportive faculty and peers)
I thought all of the faculty have been so responsive.
For someone who does work full time my hours tend to be a little different.
I'm working through things at night or early in the morning,
and I still feel like I'm a part of a class.
I feel like I'm a part of a group. And, I've really liked that.
All of the advisors, the faculty,
everyone has been kind of flexible working on my schedule too,
which is really important. We all exchange numbers. We text, we call,
we work together. You know, “Who's going to be on the Zoom tonight?”
and “Can someone else take notes?” if someone's going to miss it.
I feel like there's camaraderie there. Because we are,
a lot of us are working. A lot of us are
doing things full time or managing a family or managing
other things outside of just school.
And I have already felt like I have a group
to kind of work with for the next couple years. And I'm excited about that too.
Every time I see that they are in my classes, I get really excited!
But so far, I have felt nothing but the same camaraderie that I
kind of was looking for in a group that would be completing the program with me. (Feeling supported at Duquesne)
This is a really
nice, warm, comfortable place to be.
And I feel that most people in Pittsburgh would agree that Duquesne has a great
reputation just for being
a school that's still close to the city,
but feels like it has its own identity and its own ownership
compared to some of the other schools in the area.
Feeling like you're a part of a program where you really matter.
And that the value was there for me
Financially, as well. I just felt like this was the best value for me. (To learn more, visit onlinehealthsciences.duq.edu)