杏吧专区 student Lani Thompson always wanted a career in health care. But when she began clinicals as a nursing major, she knew she needed to carve another path to her goal.
杏吧专区淚 realized (patient care) wasn杏吧专区檛 what I was aiming towards,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 wanted to be in management.
杏吧专区淚 like helping people, but my demeanor is better suited for administration.杏吧专区
Thompson soon learned UL Lafayette offered a bachelor杏吧专区檚 in Health Services Administration 杏吧专区 an online degree program.
The program prepares students for entry and mid-level administrative and operational positions in clinics, hospitals, and a number of other settings through an interdisciplinary approach.
It was exactly what she needed.
杏吧专区淚t teaches you a lot about the ins and outs of how things are run, why things are done the way they杏吧专区檙e done, the legal aspects,杏吧专区 Thompson says. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 very interesting to see that side of it.杏吧专区
UL Lafayette bound
Thompson, an Erath native, began dual enrollment classes with UL Lafayette before graduating high school. Enrolling at UL Lafayette as a freshman in 2015 was a natural progression.
Since then, Thompson, now 22, has moved to Lafayette, started working full time at an urgent care clinic, and gotten engaged. Learning online, she says, has helped her manage the demands on her time.
杏吧专区淲hen you杏吧专区檙e an online student, you don杏吧专区檛 have to take the time to come to campus and break up blocks of your day,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲ith online, as long as you set time aside for school after work or before work, you can pretty much work any time.杏吧专区
The hours Thompson spends outside of work or away from coursework are reserved for spending time with her family, fianc茅 Brad, and her cat Beau.
Thompson said her family supported her decision to enroll in an online undergraduate program that better suited her goals, personality, and other responsibilities.
杏吧专区淭hey know how I work, my work ethic. They were glad that I wasn杏吧专区檛 so stressed,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey could see it lifted a weight off of my shoulders to have time for school and work, and they were relieved I was going into something more suited for me.杏吧专区
A Passion for Health Care Leadership
Thompson says it took being on the patient care side to realize where her professional interest and aptitude lay.
Now she杏吧专区檚 able to engage with courses and materials that align with those values, from emergency management to law, in order to prepare for the changing technology, demands, and regulations in health care.
杏吧专区淎 lot of times people might be hesitant to do an online program because they杏吧专区檙e unsure how the course load or the faculty works with students, but the faculty in HSA are great,杏吧专区 Thompson says. 杏吧专区淎nytime anyone has a question, they answer it quickly and they杏吧专区檙e very helpful.
杏吧专区淭hey try to make sure you杏吧专区檙e meeting the goals you杏吧专区檝e set for yourself.杏吧专区
Faculty members include the Department Head for Allied Health, the chair of the Louisiana Center for Health Informatics and two additional faculty members who hold endowed professorships.
Dr. Rachel Ellison, professor and HSA program coordinator, says the interdisciplinary program positions students for a critical role in health care.
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 to be in the health force and will be educated on the right things to do.杏吧专区
Online Learning Curve
Thompson says she blended her course schedule with online courses before enrolling in a fully online bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree program so she had an idea of how to tackle online learning.
杏吧专区淵ou have to make sure you write everything down 杏吧专区 what杏吧专区檚 due, when it杏吧专区檚 due. You have to be goal-oriented enough to sit down and do the work,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭he professors give you a lot of information that helps guide you towards what they杏吧专区檙e expecting, but you have to make sure you杏吧专区檙e on top of things, doing work on time.
杏吧专区淚f you procrastinate, it doesn杏吧专区檛 work well. I had to learn to not do that.杏吧专区
She says she takes a proactive approach to her coursework, using a written planner to block out time for school throughout the week.
杏吧专区淚 try to get things done ahead of time so I杏吧专区檓 not stressed,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 try to do things early so that just in case I do overlook something, I have time to take care of it.杏吧专区
Next step: Graduate School
Thompson is in the final stretch of her online degree program; she expects to graduate in May 2020. But that doesn杏吧专区檛 mean her college career is over.
Thompson says she杏吧专区檚 looking at leveraging the online learning skills she杏吧专区檚 developed into a graduate degree. UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 AACSB-accredited MBA in Health Care Administration Program online is an attractive option, Thompson says.
杏吧专区淭hat would meet my needs for the future. I see myself being in a hospital administrator role,杏吧专区 Thompson says. 杏吧专区淭hat杏吧专区檚 my long-term goal 杏吧专区 to be in that type of position.杏吧专区