Jessica Adams began working in the health care field at age 17. Starting in claims processing and then as a nurse’s aide, she completed nursing school and became a nurse in the post anesthesia care unit at Regions Hospital in Minnesota. Within four years, she was promoted to Charge Nurse and decided to pursue a Master of Health Administration (MHA) at Capella University.
Adams recently talked with Capella about why she’s shifting from nursing to health administration, her experiences with the online MHA program, and how it’s helping her achieve her career goals.
Q. It sounds like you have a lot of experience in nursing! What made you decide to get your MHA?
A. At Regions Hospital, you need a master’s degree to be in any leadership position. My direct manager thought I had potential to take on her role as a Nurse Manager, so she encouraged me to pursue a master’s.
I didn’t know what degree I wanted because there were so many options. My VP of Nursing brought up the MHA program at Capella because many of the upcoming leaders at Regions had pursued this degree and really liked it because it was a business degree with a health care focus.
Q. What are you hoping to achieve with your MHA?
A. When I first started the program, I thought I would aim for a nurse management role. But as I took classes, I discovered that I like quality improvement and risk management.
Q. And your interest in quality improvement has actually opened up a new opportunity for you, right?
A. Right! Because I’m completing my degree, I was recruited to join the quality improvement section of the hospital. They selected me because I bring clinical experience to quality improvement, and now I’ll have my MHA. I’m excited for the new job!
Q. How does the MHA build on what you already learned in your earlier degrees?
A. When I first started nursing, I chose an associate’s degree program because it focused on the clinical aspect of nursing. Once I had that part built, I went back for my bachelor’s. That degree was more about diversity and team management. In my master’s program, it’s been really helpful to work on projects with people from all over the country. I’ve learned a lot about team leadership and how to build a successful team.
Q. What else are you learning in your program?
A. We’ve had to build so many budgets! That helps me now because I see how to get from Point A to B while still maintaining my budget. It’s really valuable to understand profit and all the components that go into running a hospital.
It also helped to learn about the different certifications that health care organizations go through, such as Joint Commission and Leapfrog, and how important they are in building creditability.
Q. What is your favorite part of the program?
A. The flexibility of online learning has been great. As an adult student, working with a family, it’s nice to be able to do my homework when it’s convenient for me. And to not have the additional stress of getting to a classroom.
Capella has also taught me great communications skills. Communicating with someone online, by email, or in the courseroom is a whole different game than when you talk in person. You have to learn completely different communications techniques. With the way health care is going, it will be really important to know how to communicate online.
Q. Any advice for someone considering an online program?
A. When you enroll in a degree program, it can be very overwhelming to look at the classes you’ll need and how long it’s going to take. My best advice for someone coming into the program is to take it one course at a time and get as much as you can from that course. If you stay focused, determined, and motivated in your classwork, it does pay off. You can learn so much. Just stay patient and keep working at it.
Learn more about Capella’s Master of Health Administration or Doctor of Health Administration programs.
