Running head: SYNTHESIS ESSAY
Synthesis Essay
Danielle Griffin
INDS 400
1
Running head: SYNTHESIS ESSAY
The medical field is a vast field of opportunity and careers that many people have
never heard of before. Fortunately, not everyone is required to be passionate about patient
interaction in order to be apart of the medical field. The people that are behind the scenes
and facilitate the work that physicians and nurses do are as vital to the operation of
healthcare as the actual physician and nurses themselves. The career path that I have
chosen to pursue is healthcare administration, which involves working for hospitals or
healthcare organizations and managing all of the intricate departments of those facilities.
The fields of study I chose for my undergraduate degree are Health Sciences and Biology.
While I still will need a masters degree in healthcare administration, the areas of Health
Sciences and Biology educated me on the basics of medicine, while giving me insight
into healthcare systems and developing professional skills necessary for being a
healthcare administrator.
An important aspect of being an administrator for a healthcare organization is to
know what system you are actually apart of. My background of biology provided me with
an understanding of medicine and the body, which will be extremely helpful when
interacting with doctors and nurses to ensure that I can keep up with their ever expanding
knowledge of the human body. The course work is also very challenging on an academic
and intellectual level, so the biology classes strengthen my self-discipline and ability to
process complicated information. In addition, my background of health sciences, where I
received most of my credits, prepared me for all of the ins and outs of different health
problems, healthcare systems, epidemiological implications of diseases, and
grantsmanship.
2
Running head: SYNTHESIS ESSAY
A class that shaped my abilities to be a successful healthcare administrator is
Introduction to Public and Community Health. This class was essential to understanding
the healthcare system that exists in America, and how different aspects, like insurance
and healthcare policies play into this system. We were responsible for conducting a
research project through the period of the course to find a health problem in a community,
doing extensive research on it, and then presenting potential solutions to this problem. I
gained a lot of critical thinking abilities in the field of healthcare, while also becoming
more comfortable with the terms and knowledge of different healthcare techniques.
Another class that helped me grow as a healthcare professional was my
grantsmanship class. This class was essential for opening my eyes to the financial and
professional networking side of healthcare. The entire class was centered on a grant
proposal for a nonprofit of our choosing. It was an enjoyable challenge to develop my
writing skills in a professional way, while also participating in a regular project that
healthcare professionals are required to do for their organization. The financial side of the
project is important since healthcare administrators are heavily involved in the business
operations of the organizations that they work for.
Lastly, the classes health promotion for an aging population and principles of
epidemiology and biostatistics rounded out my skills that apply to healthcare specifically.
A healthcare system that healthcare administrators can work in is retirement homes, and
learning about this age group was integral to understanding their needs and what it entails
to work with that group of people. Just like children have special needs, the elderly
population has special needs as well, which will have to be fulfilled by their healthcare
providers. Additionally, my epidemiology class required us to work in a group and
3
Running head: SYNTHESIS ESSAY
conduct research with our peers, which helped develop my teamwork and leadership
skills. Presenting in that class gave me experience with presenting experiments and
primary research, which could be helpful if research is ever conducted from the
healthcare organization I am working for in the future.
Communication and quick thinking are skills that are valuable for the healthcare
field. I had multiple opportunities in the group projects to cultivate the ability to
communicate effectively and produce a finished product on time and receive very
positive feedback from professors. The professors were great at asking challenging
questions that required quick and proficient explanation. Furthermore, organization has
been a key aspect to keep my experiments and project’s files together throughout the
entire 16 weeks of the classes, while also meeting required deadlines. Organization is a
strength necessary for the success of a healthcare administrator to keep a healthcare
system functioning smoothly. Managing the different groups of people for each project
gave a small example and experience of what it is like to manage groups of people in a
professional and productive manner.
In conclusion, the classes that I took to earn an undergraduate degree in health
sciences and biology have challenged me in ways that are essential for my development
as a future professional and a future healthcare administrator. Health promotion classes
and biology classes together have given me an overarching understanding of the medical
field. The classes, such as intro to public health and grantsmanship had the greatest
impact on my academic experience and gave me the interest and passion that I now have
for the healthcare field. The structure of the classes challenged my abilities and habits to
prepare me for the professional world that I would be entering into. With the addition of
4
