University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

In August, the Iowa MHA program welcomed 20 new students to the College of Public Health Building here on campus. The MHA class of 2019 is among the most academically accomplished and diverse groups seen in the program’s 66-year history. The incoming class is characterized by high levels of academic achievement, with nearly every student attaining undergraduate degrees either with honors, from an honors college, or as members of the Dean’s List. Impressive academic achievement, however, seems to be the extent of their similarities in the classroom, as the incoming class holds undergraduate degrees in thirteen different fields ranging from business administration to chemistry, and even history. From a geographic standpoint (and, yes, there is a geography major in the bunch!) these degrees were earned in twelve different states, including: both Dakota’s, Iowa, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Washington.    Outside of the classroom, the new students enjoy a wide variety of...

In recognition of its outstanding effort to build curriculum content and competencies in Inter-Professional Education and Practice (IPE), the Iowa MHA program was named an inaugural winner of the CAHME-Aramark Innovation Grant. Sponsored by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) and funded by Aramark, nearly $32,000 was distributed between eight programs “to recognize innovative ideas in improving graduate healthcare management education.” Winning applications were chosen from a field of several dozen applicants and sought to expand and support student participation in research, seminars, skills trainings, case competitions, and other activities. Iowa was among a handful of top programs to receive a grant, and intends to use the award to provide additional opportunities for students to participate in IPE and other team-based experiences, such as national case competitions.

By first-year MHA students ('19), After spending a stressful week cramming for exams and polishing papers, the first-year MHAs walked into the alumni speed networking rather timidly. Throughout our recruitment and the first several months in Iowa City, we’d heard much about this event; a consensus favorite of the second-year’s and among the most formative in the transition from undergrads to polished young professionals. Despite being repeatedly ensured that there was no need to be nervous, the laughs filling the Prybil conference room seemed more forced and slightly higher-pitched than usual as we watched the alumni wander in. As we sat down and introduced ourselves to the alumni we were paired with for the first of ten four-minute speed networking “meetings,” the room hummed with slightly nervous small talk before the volume increased, laughs and smiles started extending to our eyes, and the four minute meetings started feeling like two minutes. Before long, the formal event h...

By: Nora Kopping (MHA ’18) This November, students and faculty from the Iowa MHA program were excited to host senior managers from the Nihon Keiei Group, one of the largest consulting firms in Japan. The MHA program enjoys a special relationship with Nihon Keiei, which hosts an Iowa intern each summer. Senior managers from Neihon Keiei Group pose after dinner with representatives from the Iowa Health Management and Policy Department including MHA Program Director Dan Gentry, Liz Theisen (MHA '19), Associate Professor Xi Zhu, and GerhardHartman Professor and Interim Dean of the College of Public Health Keith Mueller. One highlight of the visit for second-year MHA students was having our guests attend an Organizational Ethics class discussion, where they exchanged perspectives on the community obligations of health care organizations in Japan and the United States. During the visit, our guests toured the Grinnell Regional Medical Center (where Todd...