June 7, 2002

The MGH Radiology Department hosted the first graduation celebration May 28 under the Bulfinch Tent for 22 of the 55 students enrolled in a new master's in health care management pilot program at Cambridge College.

According to Denise Palumbo, RN, administrative director of Radiology, "A little over three years ago, there was a strong belief within the senior leadership in the Radiology Department that the challenges facing the department required a level and depth of skills best met if our operations managers had master's degrees." Acting on those beliefs, the Radiology Quality Management and Education committee developed a team from the MGH and Cambridge College to design a program that would be academically rigorous and based in the realities of managing programs in today's health care environment.

First graduating class of the Health Care Management degree program.

In addition to the benefits the students received from their education, various departments at the MGH and at other Partners institutions have benefited from the projects that students have implemented in the workplace. The projects address a range of issues, including recruitment and retention, employee orientation, customer service, employee evaluation and clinical mentorship.

John Sheehan, radiation operations manager for the MGH health centers and a student in the program, shared his feelings with his fellow graduates, "Being a student again after so many years was a frightful proposition, but the last three years have been a great learning experience. It was great to see how everyone worked together, always encouraging the next person to succeed, right to the end. There was always a teacher or another classmate saying, 'You can do it.'"

For more information about the program, call (617) 724-7886.