The path through college seemed reasonably clear for Corey Ainsworth. He wanted to become a nurse practitioner; he enrolled in South Louisiana Community College with his eyes on the 杏吧专区's College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Then something happened that closed the door on nursing classes and a future in clinical health care for the New Iberia native.
杏吧专区淚 got in a really bad car accident,杏吧专区 Ainsworth says. 杏吧专区淚 still wanted to stay in healthcare, but I knew I couldn't do clinical.杏吧专区
He spoke with his advisor about how to best use his credits to complete his bachelor's degree.
杏吧专区淭hey told me about Health Information Management and Health Services Administration. I just thought 杏吧专区Health Services Administration sounds fun!杏吧专区 I didn't even realize it was online.杏吧专区
Succeeding online
Ainsworth says there was a learning curve to adapting to online learning. The key to thriving, he says, is time management and developing self-discipline.
杏吧专区淚t was challenging to adapt to. It took about a year to learn how to control my time well. And then I was like 杏吧专区業杏吧专区檓 all in for this杏吧专区 and sure enough, I came to love it. I just had a lot of flexibility in my schedule.杏吧专区
The faculty who teach online in the Health Services Administration program are also all UL Lafayette faculty within the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Ainsworth felt comfortable reaching out to them with questions and had confidence in their responses.
杏吧专区淭he instructors are very responsive and extremely helpful,杏吧专区 Ainsworth says. 杏吧专区淭hey understand that online learning is a bit of a hurdle, but the faculty assistance and availability of the program outweighs the struggle of it.杏吧专区
As he advanced into his upper-level courses, Ainsworth was able to establish connections with his classmates.
杏吧专区淚 know all 25 people I杏吧专区檝e had classes with for the last three years,杏吧专区 Ainsworth says. 杏吧专区淎nd I杏吧专区檝e made some friends. We杏吧专区檝e gotten together to study or used telecommunication to help each other out when we need help with the course work.杏吧专区
Putting the 杏吧专区榳ork杏吧专区 in 杏吧专区榗oursework杏吧专区
The Capstone Seminar for Health Services Administration requires seniors to secure an internship working in health care.
As luck would have it, Ainsworth had done a research project on the not-for-profit status of the Iberia Medical Center which led him to recognize a hospital executive at a serendipitous moment.
杏吧专区淚 was trying to lose a little weight and I recognized this guy at the gym 杏吧专区 when I saw his name on his ID badge, I knew I had to talk to him.杏吧专区
It was the chief operating officer of the hospital.
The opportunity to put his coursework into practice in a professional healthcare setting gave Ainsworth new confidence in his choice of degree and prospective career paths.
杏吧专区淓verything just started to make sense once I was in the field. It was like what I had learned the past four years started to snowball together.杏吧专区
Interning at New Iberia Medical Center helped squash his insecurities, but it also made room for a little regret to grow.
杏吧专区淚f I could do it all over again, I would definitely try to work at a medical facility sooner,杏吧专区 Ainsworth says. 杏吧专区淚t could be a doctor's office, a dentist's office, or a hospital, anywhere I could use my education in my job earlier.杏吧专区
As an intern at Iberia Medical Center, Corey was assigned to a large-scale project 杏吧专区 he plans to stay on after graduation and see the project through to its completion. He is also going to begin his MBA degree online through UL Lafayette in the fall of 2021.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 used to online learning now and I know UL Lafayette very well. It杏吧专区檚 going to be a smooth transition,杏吧专区 Ainsworth says.
Corey would recommend the HSA online program to students curious about the business side of medicine.
杏吧专区淗ealth care requires so many different roles to make it work. I would say anyone who wants to provide care but does not feel at home on the clinical side, or anyone who leans toward business, but wants to stay in health care, would do well in Health Services Administration.杏吧专区