It is definitely spring in San Antonio. As I write, Fiesta is in full swing: the popular Battle of Flowers Parade was yesterday in downtown San Antonio. The semester is winding down: the on-campus class drove up to Marble Falls yesterday to visit the new Baylor Scott & White facility for their final Friday Morning visit. The most important spring event, however (at least in our students’ minds), is that Preceptors' Conference is right around the corner. This year, we have a large number of organizations offering our students an incredible array of residency opportunities. Of course, the class is nervous, but also excited and thankful that they are afforded such great opportunities to apply and expand the things they are learning in the classroom to real life settings. The faculty is very excited to be a part of this and to see where the students land.
This has been an exciting semester at ÐÔ°®ÌìÌÃ. We have continued our recent successes in case studies. This year, for the first time, we decided to send a group of first year students to the UAB Case Competition in February. This is a case competition typically attended by second year students who are about to graduate from their programs. Given our second year students are in their residencies in February, however, it has not been the ideal time for them to compete. So even though our first year students would be potentially at a disadvantage, we thought they would still learn a great deal in the process. As it turns out, they were not at a disadvantage. Out of about 40 teams in the competition, our team advanced first to the semi-finals and then to the finals, putting them in the top six for the competition. Not too shabby for a team of students who are only in their second semester of study!
We also competed in the Cleveland Clinic’s Case Competition again this year. This competition is set up so that any team from an M.S.-HCAD/MBA program can register. The Cleveland Clinic sends out the case via email on a Thursday afternoon, teams work on the case over the weekend and send their proposal on Monday morning. The judges then select the top 16 teams and invite them up to Cleveland to present to their leadership. Out of more than 50 submissions, 3 of the 16 teams invited to Cleveland were from ÐÔ°®ÌìÌÃ. Thanks to a generous contribution from an alumnus, all 11 students and I were able to attend the competition in Cleveland. While none of our teams made it to the finals, we were the only school with three teams and it was an extremely valuable learning experience for the students. Something all of them say they will never forget.
Our executive students are also winding down their semester. Our second year students are scheduled to come to San Antonio in May for their final session where they will compete in an internal case competition. Amer Kaissi, HCAD Professor and Executive Program Director and Ms. Sharon Hubenak, Director of Recruitment and Residencies, have been working hard to market the program and let people know what a great opportunity our executive program affords someone who is looking to move up in health care leadership. Did you know that more than 70% of our executive students receive a promotion within two years of their graduation – most of them by the time they graduate? If you know of someone in your organization who has leadership potential and is looking for a graduate program, please send them our way.
Part of what makes teaching in this program so rewarding is the culture that we have been able to create. We are a very collaborative faculty who prioritize students. Everything we do is focused on making our students the best leaders possible. This is unusual for an academic department where often the faculty operate in silos not unlike many physicians. What keeps us centered, however, is our connection to you, our alumni. The faculty has the great privilege of seeing the direct impact of what we do on campus by interacting with you through your careers. By observing the difference you make in your organizations and in the communities you serve, we are inspired to make sure we keep our focus on our students. So thank you for all that you do and please keep us updated as to where your careers take you.
Edward J. Schumacher
Professor and Chair
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