Many instructors face a learning curve when translating what they know about classroom teaching into an online learning management system, but Dr. Rachel Ellison cut her teeth teaching in an online environment.
杏吧专区淚 fell in love with it. I love the online learning aspect,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 earned my master杏吧专区檚 online and my Ph.D. online, and I enjoy being on the other side of it.杏吧专区
Dr. Ellison serves as program coordinator for the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 online Health Services Administration degree and is among the full-time faculty members for the program.
But Dr. Ellison杏吧专区檚 original career plan wasn杏吧专区檛 to teach; she planned to be a surgeon. However, a brief stint 杏吧专区 exactly one shift 杏吧专区 as a transporter at a hospital when she was 17 told Dr. Ellison that she should explore other options.
杏吧专区淚 knew I wanted to stay in health care,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 love people and I wanted to help people, and I found I could help people another way 杏吧专区 I could run or manage a healthcare organization.杏吧专区
She earned her bachelor杏吧专区檚 in healthcare systems administration in her home state of Michigan before moving to Florida and beginning her graduate studies.
Dr. Ellison was working in a hospital and pursuing her doctorate when a professor from her undergraduate studies reached out, asking her to teach online as an adjunct.
For Dr. Ellison, the answer was simple: No.
杏吧专区淭eaching was never on the radar for me; I wasn杏吧专区檛 seeking it,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 was like, 杏吧专区業 am not a teacher, I杏吧专区檓 not going to be doing this.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
But the professor continued courting Dr. Ellison, visiting her in Florida to make her case and train Dr. Ellison on the online learning management system.
杏吧专区淚 ended up meeting her over the Christmas break and saying, 杏吧专区極K, I杏吧专区檒l do it this one semester杏吧专区,杏吧专区 Dr. Ellison says. 杏吧专区淎nd I haven杏吧专区檛 actually stopped since then.杏吧专区
That was 2010.
After earning her doctorate, Dr. Ellison taught briefly at a Florida university before searching for a position with a larger institution. When fielding offers, the 杏吧专区 rose to the top of her list.
杏吧专区淲hen I was interviewing, I really liked all of the people that I could be working with,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey seemed like a great group of people, and I like to work with people who have great personalities. I like the team environment; it杏吧专区檚 a motivator for me.杏吧专区
Dr. Ellison is always up for new adventures 杏吧专区 her 2018 summer itinerary included Thailand, France, Italy and Spain; the Dominican Republic is on tap for 2019. Having never been to Louisiana, UL Lafayette provided the opportunity to explore yet another locale and culture.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 not Cajun; I杏吧专区檓 a northerner,杏吧专区 Dr. Ellison says. 杏吧专区淭his is completely different from where I杏吧专区檓 from so I enjoy that, too.杏吧专区
Dr. Ellison joined Allied Health shortly after the online HSA program began, providing her the opportunity to see the program grow and evolve.
杏吧专区淓very year the class gets stronger,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭he program is small, but we are growing, and I see us continuing to grow each year.杏吧专区
Dr. Ellison says the program size has allowed her to develop personal connections with her students, even though she杏吧专区檚 never met most of them in person.
杏吧专区淚 try to put myself out there so they know they can contact me,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 don杏吧专区檛 get too personal, but I try to keep things on the same level as if they were sitting right in front of me in the classroom and try to engage with them as much as I can.杏吧专区
Destiny Theriot, who completed the HSA program in Spring 2019, says Dr. Ellison杏吧专区檚 efforts made a difference.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e never actually met her in person, but I feel like I have,杏吧专区 Theriot says. 杏吧专区淚 feel like I know her. She reaches out to us; she understands us.杏吧专区
Dr. Ellison says students who complete the Health Services Administration program go on to work in account management, human resources, risk management, community advocacy, marketing, performance improvement, and finance 杏吧专区 all within the healthcare field.
杏吧专区淲e need competent, educated people to manage and operate large health systems,杏吧专区 Dr. Ellison says. 杏吧专区淭he students we have now are going be in the health force and will be educated on the right things to do.
杏吧专区淗ealthcare administrators have to be aware of changing laws and policies. We杏吧专区檙e constantly talking about them and showing students how important it is to stay aware and educate themselves.杏吧专区