Master Your Healthcare Career
Master Your Healthcare Career
Leaders in the MHAking: Johns Hopkins Students Co-Piloting Healthcare Through Leadership, Networking, and Community
What happens when students aren’t just learners—but co-pilots? Anthony co-hosts this session with Cole Lyons, President and COO of The American Journal of Healthcare Strategy and host of The Strategy of Health Podcast. In this episode, we learn from Johns Hopkins Master of Health Administration Program Director Dr. Mark Bittle, along with MHA students Angelina Haw and Riya Patel, how students collaborate, innovate, and build a network that serve to enhance their future success.
Well, melissa, thank you very much for that introduction and really a warm welcome today to our guests. This is a different type of podcast for us. We are doing it in partnership with the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy, and I want to first welcome my co-hosts for this podcast, cole Lyons. So, cole, would you introduce yourself a little bit and tell a little bit about what the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy is all about?
Cole Lyons:Well, hello everyone, and thank you so much, anthony, for coming up with this idea and bringing us together. You know I'm a huge fan of what CAHME does and you've been a mentor to me as well, for, you know, quite a few years now, and you've been very helpful, and so I was really thrilled to do this. You know, the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy is really trying to. You know, one of the kind of buzzwords is democratize. You know we're trying to democratize strategic knowledge, but what that really means is we just want to make information more accessible. We want to make it available to students and executives alike, and one of the biggest ways we've been doing that is through these podcast interviews with students and leaders, like we're about to today. So that's where we've been doing. That is through these podcast interviews with students and leaders, like we're about to today. So that's where we've been doing, and it's been an awesome journey so far.
Anthony Stanowski:And Cole thank you. And I really want to say this idea was Cole's and he said hey, anthony, do you know a university that's out there that's really doing something special with the students to kind of help get the students to understand what the impact of that university is to themselves and what they can do to kind of give back? And at that point Mark sent me an email. I want to introduce Mark Bittle from Johns Hopkins University. He sent me an email about the newsletter that was being prepared by students and what they were doing. So with that, mark, let me turn it over to you. Tell a little background on the Johns Hopkins program. Maybe a little background on yourself I know you've served in the field of practice for a while but then a little about the wonderful students that are attracted to Hopkins and the type of careers they typically go to.
Mark Bittle:Yeah, well, thanks, anthony and Cole. So nice to be here with you and representing the program. I have been in healthcare for almost 40 years or so. I spent the first 38 in practice, as you mentioned, working my way through a number of different academic medical centers, not the least of which was University of Pennsylvania, as we were just talking about. And then about 10 years ago, I was apt to put my hat in the ring for taking a faculty position here at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the MHA program, and I thought long and hard about it. I knew the program, I knew its reputation and it just seemed like a great opportunity for me to join the faculty. So I've been with the school now for 10 years. I'm a teaching professor and program director for the MHA program.
Mark Bittle:Bloomberg School of Public Health's had a health care management program really since 1972, so a little over 50 years.
Mark Bittle:Our MHA program is a two-year full-time residential program and it's really designed for the early careerist. Roughly 60% of our admitted students are right out of undergrad from any number of different disciplines. It doesn't have to be just healthcare administration, but a number from public health and other disciplines as well. The other 40% have been out for about two to three years, so have some working experience in healthcare and are coming back to get their master's degree, in some cases a second master's degree. One of the interesting parts about our program is that we have an accelerated first year and it's partly because of the term system that our school uses and then that's followed in the second year by an 11-month paid residency administrative residency. Unlike many of the other programs, our MHA students really don't have to do fellowships in the third year because we've essentially built that fellowship into the second year of our program. So we're really proud to partner with about 40 different organizations throughout the country that host our students during their administrative residency and most of them, upon graduation, go into either provider organizations the you know, healthcare systems, hospitals, healthcare systems or into healthcare consulting.
Cole Lyons:Wow, it's a very unique kind of dynamic right population. You have the early kind of emerging leaders coming out and you also have some that are more experienced. And you know, mark, I appreciate that you teach as well as lead, you know it's kind of a powerful combination when you're leading the organization that you're also taking an active role in. So that's really nice. And we have two students here from your organization here, angelina Ha and Rhea Patel. Can you both please introduce yourself and just give a little bit of tidbit about what you're studying and what your future hopes are?
Angelina Haw:I can go first. So hi, I'm Angelina Haw. I am currently a second year MHA student at Johns Hopkins University, as well as a marketing chair for our MHSA, and I'm currently doing my administrative residency with Johns Hopkins Medicine with their business development, planning and analysis team.
Riya Patel:And thank you, Angelina. My name is Riya Patel. I am also a second year student. I'm the very proud president of our MHA SA, our student association, and I'm also doing my residency at the University of Maryland Medical System at one of their hospitals Baltimore Washington Medical Center and Cole I heard that you had mentioned, you know, what are some of my plans, you know, in the future. You know healthcare is very, very large. You can go down many different avenues, and so while I'm in my residency I've been exposed to quite a few different roles and opportunities, and so I'm really in this stage where I kind of just want to see where the wind takes me. You know you continue to learn in every stage of your career, and so I think I'll continue to learn and see what exactly I want to grow in and develop as I grow my career.
Cole Lyons:That's a great mindset to have. I think we've seen a lot of students who go down one path and then when you talk to them 20 years later, they'll say I never expected to end up doing what I'm doing now, so a great perspective to take.
Anthony Stanowski:You know I want to get back to the students and talk about where you want to go and what your future kind of holds. But, Mark, I want to go first to you because I think one of the interesting things for me watching the Hopkins program over the years is when COVID-19 hit, Johns Hopkins really shot into international recognition and its exposure just exploded across the globe. I think part of that was due to the fact that the statistics that were coming out about COVID-19 were coming from the Bloomberg School and a lot of the faculty that are in the program. What have you seen as the long-term ramifications of COVID-19, both for you, for the Hopkins program and also for the students.
Mark Bittle:Yeah, that's a great question. It was obviously a very interesting time for all of us in a lot of industries, but most especially in education. For us as a residential program I mean, we had it's a full time program we had to pivot, sort of on the fly, to going first to just fully hybrid and doing things all on Zoom and in a synchronous format. So we were doing it online, as we're doing it right now is how we had to teach all of our courses. But then our second year residency, our students were out in many cases were out in the organizations that were battling the impact from COVID-19. So we were very fortunate that during that period none of our students lost their residency. In fact, they were really leaned upon to help set up COVID testing facilities and really think about doing manpower plans to deal with the impact of COVID. A silver lining in everything and I think in the case of COVID, it really helped us to one see the value of our residency partners and just how much not only we value them as being the second year of our two-year program, but also how much they value our students and how much they trust our students. So that was an important reflection for us, I think. The other, for me, was how critical, how critically important it is to really engage students, to be part of the program. And you know, I like to think that our program has supported our students just as much as they've supported us throughout the years, particularly in the last five or so. My students know I'm a pilot and that means I tend to use a lot of aviation analogies and in any educational program, obviously supporting students is central to the mission of what we do. But for me, the real question is are students simply passengers, you know, on this journey? Are they just sitting in the back of the plane, you, the plane, going along for the ride, or, as I like to believe in our program, they're actually sitting beside us in the cockpit. They're our co pilots, they're helping us to navigate.
Mark Bittle:And we really leaned on our students heavily during COVID and have really leaned into it since COVID, to make sure that our students are really integrated into our program, not just as passive participants but really intentionally woven into everything that we do. So you know, they're involved in our program governance. So Rhea and her vice president of the MHA Student Association sit on our advisory board so they have a formal voice in the program. Uh, we involve them in orientation and onboarding of new students. They mentor first-year students. So our second-year students mentor first-year students. They've helped us to really think about new ways to engage our alumni. So they actually interview alumni and post that interview on LinkedIn for others to see. They help us in communicating and even curriculum review and course planning. They've been integral to everything that we do in the program.
Mark Bittle:So the students and the MHA Student Association are just crucial to that role and I think the MHA Student Association for me just isn't a social group for the students. It really is, I think, part of our leadership through both. You know smooth skies and turbulence alike and you know you mentioned earlier that the document that I sent you MHA Making Leaders in the Making and the making is sort of a play on the MHA, so it's MHA-ing making and recently when I got that, I was reading through it and I think that's when it really hit me just how deeply embedded students are in our program. It's sort of a newsletter, but when I read it and I shared it with you and some other colleagues, I was again struck by the pride that our students have in what we're doing and I think part of that really is emphasizing the notion that this is their program as much as it is. You know our program as program leaders so you know I think getting to share the cockpit with these students has really been the privilege of my career.
Cole Lyons:That is incredible. I mean, I'm a little jealous in a way. You know, I kind of I envy that experience and it's really. You know, we look at a lot of programs MHA, mph, et cetera and it's nice to see that level of student engagement in the planning. You know, I think I have a just a bit of questioning for you, mark, on that. Do you think and have just a bit of questioning for you, mark, on that.
Cole Lyons:Do you think and this is a bit off script a little bit you can say, but do you think it's the tradition of kind of the university that's created that environment, or have you and your team put a lot of work into making it that way?
Mark Bittle:I would say the latter Again. I think every school is focused on their students and I run other programs, not the least of which is our doctorate in public health program at the school. So, yes, you know, obviously every educational program and Bloomberg not being any different is focused on their students and wanting to support their students. But I do think that in a program like ours and really I think, any program it's important to really include the student voice in what you're doing, and I don't mean that just in the sense of, you know, maybe having focus groups with your students to, you know, talk about the courses or the program or doing surveys, which we all do of our students, but rather really thinking about them as a partner and not just, again, someone who's paying their tuition to go through the educational process. But really that the success of our program is due as much to what we do as program leaders as it is to the students in it.
Anthony Stanowski:And I think it's a mutual. There's definitely a mutual benefit to us working together. And, Mark, you could see it. I mean I do remember when you sent it and your sense of pride did come through with the email referencing the MHA or in the making, and it really came through. Let me go to Angelina. How did it start from your perspective? What, what kind of what was your impetus with kind of creating that newsletter and kind of moving it forward?
Angelina Haw:So, for the leaders in the making specifically, I'm aware that it was created a few years ago by, like another alumni, but I think, as a marketing chair and like getting a lot of influence and inspiration from that, I think, just knowing that, I myself am very proud of this program and really happy to be part of a program and be with advisors who really care about us, and I don't think I've ever been placed in a situation where I wasn't afraid to kind of share what I was thinking or be able to ask for advice or share exactly what I wanted to say, and I think that the leader in the making really just describes that, as students, there's so much that this program offers us whether it be the exposure to being able to be a resident or it be through the ability to participate in case competitions or be able to network and connect with leaders that to participate in case competitions or be able to network and connect with leaders that I would never imagine I'd be able to connect with.
Angelina Haw:And something I really appreciated from the program was all these seminars that they set up for us and being able to hear so many different perspectives and really being able to build upon that as well and gain discussions from that as well, and so I think just knowing that our program provides all these resources to us only made me want to be able to showcase our program more to other students and be able to let them know that this is an amazing program. I have no regrets being here, and I really wish you would have the opportunity to be able to join this community that we've created.
Anthony Stanowski:Yeah and Angelina, those certainly come through, but Riya I want to go to you would have the opportunity to be able to join this community that we've created. Yeah and Angelina, those certainly come through, but Riya, I want to go to you next around the newsletter because one of the interesting things to me is it didn't just talk about the program and the residencies and all that stuff, but you also included people's birthdays or fun things to do in Baltimore, which is an amazing city to go and enjoy and explore city to go and enjoy and explore. So talk a little bit about how the newsletter kind of works, both as a way to kind of promote the advantages to going to the Hopkins program for the people within the program, but how you've created a community from it as well.
Riya Patel:Most definitely so. We always start off MHASA the new elected year, I would say with a theme, and so our theme this year was strengthening connection, right, so there are so many different ways that you can connect in a program, not just with the program, but you know your local community, your alumni network, your professors, other students in the school, and so that was really the purpose of bringing this newsletter to life. Right, it was to show our students you know there's more to the city, to the school, than just your student, your co-students and the professors you work with. And so the what's happening in Baltimore and you know what are some community events you can get involved in, that was really an attempt to show our students. You know, these four walls are not, they're not closing you in. They should be a way for you to open your horizons, to see what else you could get involved in.
Riya Patel:And so birthdays as well it's. You know, we are students, but we're also human, and so there's always a reason to celebrate. And, yes, you're learning really great information, but you should never forget you know who you are, your moral, your values, and I think birthdays are always just a way to you know. Hey, I know you're a student and you may work with me on a project, but you're also my friend and you're an acquaintance and you have a life just like me, and so the newsletter is a way to keep us grounded and down to earth in some shape.
Anthony Stanowski:It's a really good way to build a community, and that's going to a program like Hopkins is not just what you learn, but it's the people that you get to meet along the way.
Cole Lyons:Yeah, it's a big deal. That network and the friendships that you build are so important. I want to ask both of you as well have you received any feedback, or any you know rumblings you could say, from the students after putting out this newsletter?
Riya Patel:I think they're very, very grateful that it's there. You know, sometimes when you're so deep into the classes you're taking, it's hard to sometimes take a look out and find these community events or these social events that are happening, or even like knowing which young alumni to speak to. So the newsletter has become a place for them to not only hear from young alumni that we've interviewed but also, you know, keep in touch with birthdays, look at social events that they may be interested in going when they just want to, you know, relax and de-stress from a busy week of courses. And so the feedback has been very positive. Just curious to the students do you guys know about how many people read your newsletter? So we send it to both of the classes. So I know our class size is about 34 and then 40. But then we also send it to our program advisors, our advisory board, and then at times it can also be forwarded by people to young alumni or their preceptor.
Mark Bittle:Yeah, it goes out to all the alumni, all the faculty um, of course, all the students. So students are 70, let's say another 20 between the faculty um, mha faculty and our advisory board, and then our alumni are a couple hundred. Uh, and then again it gets like, like me, I forwarded out from. There to other people.
Riya Patel:It's very neat, Good job guys. Yeah, and we um to me. I forward it out from there to other people. It's very neat, Good job guys. And to make some type of distinction, we actually have two newsletters. We have a monthly and then an annual. So we make the annual one a bit more extensive, obviously, but the monthly one is updated with those community service events and social events that are happening each month.
Cole Lyons:Wonderful. That must be kind of motivational to see that. I have a follow-up question as well, since you both are the second year, right? So you have your responsibilities, and one of those that Mark mentioned was mentorship that the second year is mentor. The first years Were you nervous at all? Or you know what was the support like for becoming a mentor? Because I know, you know, even in my MBA program, getting asked to mentor someone in undergrad was even a bit nerve wracking, so let alone someone who's kind of even a closer peer. What was that experience like?
Angelina Haw:I will definitely say I was a little nervous to become a mentor, but I think, as I've continued to be a mentor for my buddy, I think it's more of a partnership than me being a mentor and them being a mentee.
Angelina Haw:There's so much that they're teaching me that I was not aware of, and there's a lot that I'm teaching them as we continue on this journey, and I think there's just so much to be learned throughout this program, and so, less than like a mentor-mentee thing, I think it's really like you're my buddy, let me learn from you.
Angelina Haw:How are you doing this program? How can I just simply be a resource and offer you any sort of advice that I've experienced throughout my first year and, in return, like, tell me a little bit about yourself, like who are you and what have you experienced throughout your first year and how can I make you excited for the next one? And so I think, yes, it was really nerve-wracking, but the more I continue on with this, I feel more that this is a great opportunity to create friendships and be able to know more about the first years, especially as second years when we start our residency. It's not as because most of us aren't on campus anymore. I think it can feel a little like distance from the program itself, but I think the buddy system is a great way to still feel really connected and feel like I'm making an impact and also feel that they're making an impact on me.
Cole Lyons:Wow, that's beautiful.
Riya Patel:And if I could add on to what Angelina just said you know I agree with everything she said. I think the buddy relationships that we've established have been very successful. And to Mark's point about this analogy of being the co-pilot you know, being in the cockpit with our professors and our program advisors I think that first year of didactic coursework really trains you to step up into leadership roles and, you know, become leaders, and so picking up a buddy, as we call them, and mentoring new students has become somewhat familiar in some shape. You know, we're taught to be leaders during that first year and then in the second year we go into this residency where we're expected to lead projects. So this becomes more of an informal leadership opportunity as well for all of our students, which is a really great facet of this program.
Anthony Stanowski:Riya, it's a really good point program. Yeah, it's a really good point. But I want to say you know, when we began, cole was talking about how I've been a mentor to him. But let me just kind of say I think I've learned more from Cole than he has from me, including help on podcast and where to kind of go with it, and he's just been to me an incredible font of information and direction and kind of keeping in touch with. You know where we need to go as a community. What I've said to Cole and Ria and I'm sure in Angelina this applies to both of you as well too is that the healthcare system is going to be in a lot of really good hands, kind of going forward, with leaders like you kind of coming into the place and thanks to people like Mark who really kind of serve in an incredible way of bringing that information across and creating, modeling, incredible behaviors for you to kind of go forward with.
Cole Lyons:Well, thank you, andy, that's very kind. I feel like I've learned so much from you and also everyone you've introduced me to, even in this situation, is really wonderful to see, because you know, I do worry a bit right about the future with AI and with all these things that are happening, you know, and so it's actually really nice to meet people who care so much about their fellow students and about their community, and that's one of the other things I wanted to ask about. Baltimore has a lot of kind of systemic social issues right in their health space, and it also can be nerve wracking. Moving Johns Hopkins, of course, it's a great program, one of the top in the country, which means I'm sure you also got into some other programs as well, given that you got into this incredible one. So how did that decision come to be?
Riya Patel:So I will say the residency is what drew me here. The residency and the people. You know my admitted students day tour and just meeting the students and the program faculty, I could tell that I would be supported here. And you know, coming from an undergraduate career where you know you're in these courses with people in classes of hundreds of people, you know I wanted a program that was going to focus on myself, help me grow the skills that they could see I had opportunities in, and I found that in the people here. And then the residency was just. It was something unique that I didn't see in a lot of other programs and I knew that I needed real life exposure, field knowledge, to really understand how to translate my didactic coursework knowledge into real life application. And so building that residency into my two year program really gave me an opportunity to not just learn it but apply it and make an impact from my second year of the program.
Cole Lyons:And thank you so much, rhea, that was wonderful. And Angelina, you are actually working as well at kind of in that geographic area of as well, and so I wanted to kind of bring up the question to you is do you feel at home in Baltimore now? Have you started to really adapt to it and do you have any, you know, kind of prior experience there?
Angelina Haw:And do you have any kind of prior experience there? No, so I think moving to Baltimore was actually the first time I had ever left New Jersey, and so there was a lot of moments of fear, a lot of moments of concern what do I do? I'm so used to this one state Will I have fun? Will I meet friends? And I think there's a lot of concern regarding that.
Angelina Haw:But I think the biggest thing I've learned while living in Baltimore is that the people there really make the city, and I think I am so grateful for my cohort and every single one that's there, because I think they have contributed so much to my experience, and I don't think I would have enjoyed my Baltimore experience as much if it wasn't for them, for my fellow cohort members, who are always friendly, always asking hey, like let's go hang out after class or let's go to this cafe, let's explore the city. You know, there's a lot of us who came to Baltimore for the first time, and I think it's a little special knowing that we're all experiencing this new city together, which means we're all going to be creating these new memories for each other, and so I think I've really grown fond to Baltimore, and it's really due to all the people that have really made this city like as great as it is, and some great food in Baltimore.
Anthony Stanowski:Well, this has been an amazing discussion and, I have to say, just one of the most fun ones that I've done. Cole, appreciate your partnership on this podcast. Thank you very much for that. And Angelina and Riya, good luck in your careers and good luck making a difference in healthcare. We really need that and appreciate your kind of commitment. And, mark, as always, thank you very much for your partnership. You've been a great friend to myself and to CAHME over the years and thank you for all you do to help advance healthcare management education.
Mark Bittle:Anthony, it's a privilege, it's great to work with such a great organization, and all my colleagues in this field are just tremendously committed to making sure that we're able to, you know, help folks like Riya and Angelina move ahead and take the reins and take the controls back to my analogy and really keep this healthcare industry moving forward.
Anthony Stanowski:That's what it's all about.
Mark Bittle:Thank you all so much.