Sometimes, when the path isn't clear, you have to forge your own.
And that杏吧专区檚 exactly what Chloe Guidry has done.
After earning bachelor's degrees in psychology and philosophy in 2021, Guidry started a career in health information management, first as a chart analyst and now as a trauma registrar for , where she analyzes and reports patient case data to national databases to support research and policy development.
Drawn to the possibility of continuing her education, she enrolled in UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 M.S. in Psychology program.
But after a couple semesters, she decided she wanted to take additional coursework to supplement her work experience in health care. So, she enrolled in a second program: the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 online Graduate Certificate in Population Health.
Through her experience as a graduate student at UL Lafayette, Guidry has found new professional and academic avenues for pursuing her interests in health care and psychology.
From Psychology to Population Health
As a psychology student, Guidry has been particularly interested in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience.
During her first semester on campus, she joined the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Zebrafish Laboratory, directed by Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Erika Caramillo-Hatch. She later earned a promotion to lab manager in Spring 2024 and continues to serve in that role.
The lab conducts research using zebrafish models to better understand the science behind psychological concepts like cognition, learning, and memory. For her thesis specifically, Guidry is using a zebrafish model to investigate potential causes of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer杏吧专区檚.
As Guidry settled into her master杏吧专区檚 program, however, she also began to feel the desire to incorporate her work experience in health care into her studies.
杏吧专区淚 was looking in the 杏吧专区 catalog when I stumbled across this health services administration course that was labeled for population health students,杏吧专区 Guidry says.
Intrigued, she reached out to the population health program杏吧专区檚 coordinator, Associate Professor of Health Care Administration Dr. Rachel Ellison.
杏吧专区淩ight off the bat, Dr. Ellison was so helpful and responsive,杏吧专区 Guidry says. 杏吧专区淲e worked together to see how I could make it work logistically with my graduate assistantship and psychology coursework, and once I got the all-clear from everyone involved, I started my population health classes.杏吧专区
Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Shortly after starting her population health coursework, Guidry knew she had made the right decision.
The population health program consists of a four-course sequence completed over just two semesters, beginning with HSA 500: Essentials of Population Health. The introductory course examines how various factors influence health outcomes across different populations and offers an overview of the U.S. health care system.
For somebody like Guidry, whose educational background is not in health care, that baseline knowledge has been eye-opening.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e played a part in the hospital revenue cycle and handled sensitive patient data, but getting to take coursework that goes through all the major domains of the health care system has really given me a more intimate understanding,杏吧专区 Guidry says.
The population health coursework emphasizes real-world application, allowing students to explore their interests and analyze case studies.
杏吧专区淔or one of my classes, we got to put together a project talking about the impact that COVID-19 had on our specialty in health care,杏吧专区 Guidry recalls. 杏吧专区淚 had never really gotten a chance to take a deeper look into it, so to be able to do that for class was really cool.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淭here are so many moving parts to what we do in health care, not just in our own roles but also the bigger system that we work in.杏吧专区
The coursework, which emphasizes improving patient outcomes across populations, has also been directly relevant to Guidry杏吧专区檚 work as a trauma registrar.
After Guidry uploads trauma case data from her hospital into the appropriate databases, researchers and policymakers use that data to make decisions.
杏吧专区淔or example, there杏吧专区檚 that teaches the public how to use tourniquets in an emergency to prevent people from bleeding out before medical help can arrive,杏吧专区 she explains. 杏吧专区淭hose kinds of initiatives are planned and implemented using the trauma case data I work with.杏吧专区
Researching for a Reason
Since starting graduate school, Guidry has embraced every opportunity to improve the world around her through research and data analysis.
As a Graduate Assistant for the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Committee on Graduate Student Success and Retention, she explored ways to support to improve graduate student retention and graduation rates without compromising educational quality.
This year, she杏吧专区檚 presented her research in the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Three-Minute Thesis (3MT庐) and Graduate Student Appreciation Week Research Showcase competitions, the Southwestern Psychological Association杏吧专区檚 2025 Convention, and the American Romanian Academy of Arts & Sciences杏吧专区 46th Annual Congress.
And, thanks to her experience in the population health program, she recently landed a new graduate assistantship with the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 LCHI, a division of , aims to advance health care through research, education, and collaboration with strategic partners.
As a graduate research assistant for LCHI, Guidry supports staff with projects covering everything from the relationship between air pollution and cancer to the underdevelopment of certain specialties in the healthcare workforce.
She杏吧专区檚 particularly excited about an upcoming project with local nonprofit Miles Perret Cancer Services, which will involve analyzing data they杏吧专区檝e collected to identify areas for improvement in their outreach efforts.
杏吧专区淢iles Perret helped my grandfather when he had cancer,杏吧专区 Guidry says. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 a full-circle moment for me to be able to work with and help them.杏吧专区
Looking Ahead
Guidry is grateful for her experience so far as a graduate student, which has given her an opportunity to reflect on how she can bridge her backgrounds in psychology and health care.
杏吧专区淟ooking long term, I杏吧专区檇 really love to do research on how traumatic brain injuries can impact the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer杏吧专区檚, but I also hope to continue my work as a trauma registrar.杏吧专区
As she finishes the coursework for her on-campus master杏吧专区檚 program and her online graduate certificate, she杏吧专区檚 confident that she is well-prepared to take on whatever comes next.
杏吧专区淚 definitely want to continue in academia, pursuing a doctorate and potentially doing some post doc research,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e really done all that I can to build out my coursework and make myself more well-rounded as a student ahead of applying to Ph.D. programs.杏吧专区
For now, Guidry leaves graduate students with a few words of wisdom.
杏吧专区淩each out to prospective mentors early on,杏吧专区 she encourages. 杏吧专区淗aving people like Dr. Caramillo-Hatch, Dr. Ellison, and Dr. Gabriela Wilson (LCHI杏吧专区檚 director) in my corner has made a huge impact in setting me up to be successful. Meaningful connections make the overall experience of graduate school more enjoyable, but it can also open doors to opportunities that you might have missed out on otherwise.杏吧专区
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