As a MHA/MBA student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the ACHE Congress held March of 2008 in Chicago, Illinois was a tremendous experience. In contrast, to eBay Live with more pins, more ribbons, more free food, and more music - ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership provided top notch educational value. While both events hold sessions and provide networking opportunities, ACHE is definitely for "professionals". For one thing, I saw no ACHE name tags with over 30 attachments hanging to their knees.
I was a first time attendee to the ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership. The things I learned include the power of meeting face to face with healthcare executives, the benefits of being a Program Assistant, and the fun of being part of the MHA program at the University of Utah.
At eBay Live, sellers, buyers, and a wide assortment of others join together in a rousing circus-like atmosphere while at the ACHE Congress a business professional image pervades and serious approaches to healthcare issues are explored. Meeting executives at the ACHE Congress turned out to be very fun. During one of the breaks I met Mr. BG David A. Rubenstein, FACHE, the new Chairman for 2008-2009. He is an accomplished leader and comes from the Armed Services. You can listen to his opening remarks here.
Another networking opportunity came during the luncheon held on Monday. As a student associate of ACHE, I am also a member of the Utah Healthcare Executives (UHE) where Mr. Mark J. Howard, FACHE worked for Intermountain Healthcare for many years. Mr. Howard was awarded ACHE's highest honor, the Gold Medal Award because of his significant contributions to the healthcare field throughout his career. After the luncheon in which he was presented his award, Mr. Howard met with a small group of MHA students from the University of Utah. Mr. Howard is an amazing and inspiring leader.
Other opportunities at Congress include being a Program Assistant. Doing so provided a unique opportunity to introduce the speakers to the audience. Mr. Joseph Bujak, MD is an incredible speaker and presented a compelling presentation on aligning administrators and physicians to take care of patients. And Mr. Michael Nowicki, MD is a wizard when it comes to financial management of hospitals. We met the day after his presentation and chatted. He signed his latest book for me. I highly recommend being a Program Assistant.
The University of Utah has had a certificate in Health Services Administration since about 1977 and the University has only recently begun offering the Masters of Healthcare Administration. Although the program is new, it has a long history and for this reason I selected the MHA/MBA program at the University of Utah. I think the program is uniquely positioned to take advantage of networking opportunities with some of the best healthcare organizations in the nation. In March 2008 at the World Famous Giordano's in Chicago, the University of Utah held its first MHA gathering with five students for an ACHE Congress. We are looking forward to many more.
On a side note, it turns out eBay Live 2008 is being held in Chicago this year. I wonder if I'll see any healthcare executives there?
Jake
Candidate MHA/MBA 2008
Cofounder FHLA at the University of Utah
