When I began the Healthcare Administration Program with the University of Wisconsin, I had 17 years of clinical experience as a Radiation Therapist working in hospital-based cancer centers. I had just started a new position as Manager of Radiation Oncology and only had 4 months of experience with that. As you can imagine, the education and tools I picked up through these courses were invaluable to my career in healthcare leadership. During the first few courses, I kept thinking how ironic it was that everything I was being taught could be directly applied to something I was focused on at work. Then I began to realize that this was not coincidence but just an excellent design of the program. I began looking forward to each class and tried to guess what part of my day-to-day work would benefit from the lessons of each course. 

 

I have grown in a couple of ways since I first started this program. I would like to think I am less reactive to situations than I used to be. When a coworker comes to me with a problem, I now have a few tools at my disposal to solve the problem, or best-case scenario, help them solve the problem. A statement of facts has become one of my favorite tools for problem-solving. This document helps determine the root cause of the problem. Sometimes a problem can be presented in a way that we immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. The statement of facts can also be incorporated into a cause-and-effect diagram. This diagram can be effective for strategic planning to reach specific goals. One of my biggest takeaways from these courses in regard to problem solving is that the specific problem needs to be stated. Avoid trying to solve the problem without data (Furterer & Wood, 2021). 

 

As you can see throughout my portfolio, I was able to incorporate some of my assignments to projects I had at work. In the Human Capital Management course HCA 730, one of the assignments was to create a flowchart. Flowcharts help create a more visual presentation for the team members. A flowchart can engage the team's brains to find patterns and make sense of the data being presented. For this project I mapped out a flowchart for patients receiving radiation therapy treatments. This went from the first day consult to the final day of treatment. I was able to build on that and apply it to improve efficiency within the radiation oncology department. The underlying goal of the project was to help me make decisions on how to staff my department. In the end, that project helped my department increase patient satisfaction and employee engagement. 

 

Another resource that seemed to come up a few times throughout my coursework was the Malcolm Baldrige Framework. The goal of the Baldrige Framework is to get organizations on a path to high reliability.  The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence has helped thousands of organizations improve the care their patients receive. This framework builds on the core values of each organization. This includes "patient-focused excellence; organizational and personal learning; agility; and focus on results and creating value" (Bowen, 2014). I will be sure to continue referencing the Baldrige Framework throughout the rest of my career.

 

Lastly, my Capstone Project was not only a benefit to the organization I worked for but something that needed to be addressed. That old LINAC had been sitting in an abandoned department of the hospital for 7 years. Other departments wanted the space, but it was unclear whether the organization could move the machine to the new Cancer Center or if we could simply buy a new LINAC and replace the old one. This project solved all of these internal issues and will also begin increasing the care our patients receive by 2025. This includes shorter wait times to get treatment started and more time slots to offer patients. This extra flexibility will give patients more choices when it comes to their daily treatment times. This should also take stress off of the staff and allow them to focus more time with each patient.