Words from the students & alumni of the Nursing and Health Care Management Program!
Current Student Profiles
Benjamin Hardy (Class of 2013)
My interests include health care economics, marketing, math, science (chemistry, physics, and anatomy), cinema, music, sport (especially cricket, soccer and basketball) and art
On campus, I'm an assistant account executive in the consulting committee for MUSE (Marketing Undergraduate Students Establishment); the company we're working with is Betterfly.com. I'm also co-founder of ANZAP (Australians and New Zealanders at Penn), a club which we are currently having inducted into the United Minorities Council. I'm a member of the WUHC (Wharton Undergraduate Healthcare Club) and I'm currently doing a research project on the cost effectiveness of lumbar degenerative disease surgery techniques with the Neurosurgery Department at HUP.
I feel so fortunate to have access to resources in both the best Nursing school AND one of the best Undergrad business schools in the country. Resources include professors, fellow students, research, literature and lectures. Broadly speaking, a breadth of knowledge in two seemingly disparate (but honestly very related) fields is incredibly gratifying. Another thing that's unique about the program is that it facilitates interests in many different areas, and encourages students to make use of opportunities not presented to many others, such as alum and upperclassmen meets/lectures.
Michelle Lu (Class of 2012)
I transferred into the dual degree program at the end of my freshman year because Nursing allows you to integrate academic theory into clinical practice. Most of college is based on textbook learning or discussions of ideas. While I enjoyed that aspect, nursing allows you to be hands on. You learn through personal experience. My favorite part is getting to know the city and people of Philadelphia through these experiences. When a patient needs emergency medical care, it doesn't matter whether they’re rich or poor and what level of education they have. In that moment, they need to be cared for.
I'm interested in the integration of behavioral & health economics with clinical practice. The NHCM program offers a unique perspective into the intersection of providing quality, individualized care, such as in an emergency situation, while existing in a world with limited resources where we must reduce costs. This has been particularly exciting as new Health Reform is being enacted.
On campus, I'm an RA in Harrison College House for the Freshmen Experience program and involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Club Tennis, and a business fraternity.
Michele Mui (Class of 2011)
The scope of the Nursing/Health Care Management & Policy program is like no other. From the integrated curriculum, I have gained the skills necessary to solve a wide breadth of business issues and have developed a strong hands-on understanding of the health care industry. On campus, I serve as the Co-Chair of the NHCM Student Activities Program, and Vice President of Internal Affairs of the Minorities in Nursing Organization. I have also been involved in the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, the Asian Student Union, and the Sayre Beacon After School Program. As a Hillman Scholar, I plan on working in New York City as a nurse after graduation and hope to pursue a career in health care consulting or hospital administration in the future.
Susanna Shuman (Class of 2011)
Susanna Shuman, originally from Lancaster, PA, is a senior in the NHCM program. Originally interested in health care administration in high school, Susanna saw the program as an excellent opportunity to attain both the clinical and business knowledge necessary to gain respect in future administrative roles. Despite being fluent in Spanish, between her sophomore and junior year Susanna studied abroad with the Penn-in-Florence summer program. This past summer, Susanna worked as a Student Nurse Extern on a Cardiothoracic Step-down Unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She hopes to return to nursing in the mid-west with a focus on adult acute care. In addition to her undergraduate studies, Ms. Shuman sub-matriculated into the Nursing Master's Program at Penn, and currently is taking a Health Care Management of the Elderly MBA class at Wharton. Susanna serves as co-chair of the NHCM student activities program along with Michele Mui (NHCM '11), and she is also President of Girl Scouts at Penn, a volunteer with Girl Scouts in West Philadelphia, and a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority.
Xiayang (Sophie) Yu (Class of 2013)
NHCM was the major factor in my decision to apply early to Penn. Having interned at local nursing homes and hospitals throughout high school, I became curious about the business and politics of healthcare, specifically how we could marry opposing parties' needs for profitability and accessibility to benefit society. NHCM, by offering students undiluted experiences in nursing and business, was the ideal fit. On campus, I'm involved in the Financial Literacy Community Project, Student Federal Credit Union, Wharton Women and Wharton Undergraduate Consulting Club. In addition, I'm also a Nursing Undergraduate Honors Program Scholar and a Nursing Peer Advisor. Some of my career interests include investment banking, healthcare policy and research and management consulting, and I'm confident that NHCM is a great ally in any endeavor I may undertake in the future.
Alumni Profiles
Carol Hanselman, BS & BSN '09
After my first visit to Penn, I knew that the Nursing school highly valued my education and desired to connect me with numerous possibilities, including the Dual Degree Program in Healthcare Management. The program enables me to understand the financial and strategic business decisions that are needed to provide the care that a nurse desires to give. At Penn, I am a Sansom Advisor and I am involved with Wharton Women and Penn Students for Christ. I also completed a study abroad program in Israel that included clinical rotations in Hadassah Hospital. Upon graduation, I aim to gain experience as a nurse and pursue a master's degree in nursing. I believe the dual degree program will provide me with a foundation from which to pursue international or public health nursing endeavors in the future.
Julian Liang, BSN '10 & BS '11
I chose to come to Penn just to have the opportunity to participate in the joint degree program. During my college search, I felt as though I had to choose between a pre-medical route and business school. While I also had several other great colleges to choose from, the flexibility and scope of the Nursing and Health Care Management program embodied exactly what I could not find at other schools. On campus, I am involved with the Phi Gamma Nu Professional Business Fraternity as the Philanthropy Chair and have membership with the Alpha Phi Omega Community Service Fraternity, Wharton Women, and Penn Taiwanese Society. In addition, I have assisted with health economics research at Penn's School of Medicine and at CHOP as a Nurse Manager Assistant in order to learn more about the health care environment and its processes. My future goals include possibly going into healthcare consulting or government related health policy work.
Grant Martsolf, BS & BSN '02
I graduated from the NHCM program in 2002. I have worked professionally in a number of health care settings including clinical nursing and international health and development. Most recently I worked at a management and strategic consulting firm that specializes in hospitals. I am presently working on a PhD at Penn State University focusing on physician quality measurement and public reporting.
The unique mix of clinical and operational training in the NHCM program really differentiated me from other colleagues in hospital consulting and has really provided important insights into my present research initiatives. The training that I received at Penn is instrumental to any success that I have had in my career.
Pamela M. Orozco, BS & BSN '09
My name is Pamela Orozco and I graduated from the NHCM program in May 2009. Currently, I work as a nurse at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco as a Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant Nurse. I've been a practicing nurse for over 1 year now!
The beauty of the program is the ability to apply one's knowledge in whatever path you choose, whether it be more business or clinical related. I feel I am a better nurse because of the skills and knowledge I gained not just clinically, but theoretically through my nursing and business classes. I see things at work from both a nursing standpoint and as a hospital's perspective by trying to minimize waste and cost on my unit. I still consider myself a fairly new graduate, so I am unclear of where I'll be in the long term future, but the possibilities are endless!
Michele Segal, BS & BSN '02
I was part of the inaugural NHCM class that matriculated in 1997. I took the opportunity to study abroad and graduated in May 2002. I worked for several years as a Management Consultant, with a focus in Biotechnology. In 2006, I began my nursing career and am currently a pediatric nurse at UCSF. I am the Charge Nurse on a 36-bed unit and, as a Clinical Nurse III, I participate in administrative roles on my unit and hospital-wide. I also teach undergraduate nursing clinicals through a local university. My unique background allowed me the flexibility to change careers and ensures that I will continue to have a variety of career choices, such as a recent opportunity to become part of the strategy team at a world-renowned Children's Hospital.
Virginia Shu, BS & BSN '09
I began my Penn career as a student in Nursing. After joining the Nursing/Wharton program my sophomore year, I have become so excited by the unique intersection of these two seemingly unrelated disciplines. The current state of our nation’s health care industry is in such dire need for reform. On top of that, the demographic makeup of consumers in health care is constantly changing. The industry holds so much opportunity for willing minds. Thus, it is my desire to experience several of these opportunities, specifically health care consulting, public health policy, and hospital administration. On campus, I have been involved in Penn International Business Volunteers, Penn Taiwanese Society, Dzine2Show, Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, and Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association.
Randy Tang, BS & BSN '07
I graduated from the NHCM program in 2007. At Wharton I dual concentrated in Finance and Health Care Management. I also minored in Chemistry in the college. Right after I graduated from the program, I matriculated into medical school at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ - Robert Wood Johnson, where I am currently a 4th year medical student.
The joint degree program in NHCM prepared me exceptionally well not only for the demands of medical school, but also for understanding the complexities of the health care system from multiple perspectives. This is an education unmatched anywhere in the country (two degrees from the best of both worlds), and has benefited me in many aspects of my life by helping to make me "stand out" from the crowd: from applying for internships in college (I worked at an investment bank my junior year) to applying to medical school.