Jennifer Spick, M.S., B.S.
Master of Science, Healthcare Administration
I'm Jennifer, a graduate of the Master of Science - Healthcare Administration Program through the University of Wisconsin, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. My focuses include surgical and perioperative services, leadership and management, public health and healthcare quality and safety.
Welcome to my slice of the internet! As you navigate through my website, you will find out more about me and my accomplishments throughout my career and my MS HCA program. My education, work, and experience has molded me into a strong, qualified leader and I'm excited to leave a positive impact in healthcare.
Check out the curriculum 👇
U.S. Healthcare Systems
HCA 700
This course helped advance my knowledge of the many elements of the U.S. Health System, including history, social and cultural components, payment structures and insurance such as Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance, and the importance of leveraging value-based care and how delivery of care affects different populations.
View courseworkPopulation Health and Epidemiology
HCA 705
This class helped me grasp a better understanding of rural healthcare and the many social determinants of health and health disparities. Being able to understand and identify social determinants and health disparities is what makes exceptional healthcare professionals.
View courseworkCommunications and Marketing in Healthcare
HCA 710
Communication plays a key role in health literacy. This class taught me the importance of communications in healthcare, how we communicate, and the impact it has on the patient based on their culture, social status, etc.
View courseworkHealthcare Technology, Data Analytics, and Information
HCA 715
Our future is in the hands of technology and being able to learn and advance in this area is critical. This curriculum taught me a lot of useful information, specifically working with Excel. I found this course challenging due to the multiple steps and “shortcuts” if you will, that it takes to learn and memorize to develop graphs and information. These concepts are something I will definitely need further education and training on but I do think that this is something I can become more fluent in with more repetition.
View courseworkHealthcare Financial Management
HCA 720
Finance has always been a challenging subject for me. I understand the importance of budgeting and finance, and this course allowed me to build a better understanding of the application to healthcare, but I still need to further develop this skill set. I’ve always enjoyed working with numbers so I think it would only be a matter of real-life practice and application to help me advance in financial management.
View courseworkHuman Capital Management
HCA 730
This is one of the courses I found very applicable and relevant. I think it’s so important for organizations to reciprocate appreciation to their employees, who create profit for the organization. Leveraging human capital is a requirement to sustain a competitive advantage, retain talent, and satisfy your workers. Organizations cannot perform to their highest potential without employees who feel appreciated, understood, and valued by their employers. This course has helped me recognize how employers take the initiative to implement human capital measures, or their lack thereof.
View courseworkHealthcare Operations and Project Management
HCA 740
One key takeaway from this course was the use and implementation of a project charter. I’ve grown familiar with the benefits of a project charter and its purpose in operations and project management. Managing the scope of a project, whether it’s for process improvement, coordinating care, managing inventory, addressing capacity, etc. can be complex and challenging. There are many processes to consider when analyzing healthcare operations which is why it takes strong project management skills to deliver successful results.
View courseworkHealthcare Quality and Performance Improvement
HCA 750
This course taught me about the importance of problem solving when it comes to quality and performance improvement. Prior to this course, I was aware of methods such as SWOT and Forcefield analyses, however I was not aware of the dozens of problem-solving tools that exist and their relevance to process improvement. I think what I have yet to learn, and experience is how/when to apply each problem-solving technique.
View courseworkHealth Law and Policy
HCA 760
This course allowed me to brush up on some law basics, as well as furthered my understanding of law and policies and the influence it has on healthcare. Laws and policies help shape healthcare costs, patient rights, and many other controversial topics.
View courseworkOrganization Development and Strategic Leadership in Healthcare
HCA 770
This course gave me a better understanding of what it means to be a healthcare leader, who I am as a leader, and what I value. It’s helped set me up for success by preparing professional and personal development plans, which will aid in my growth and development as a transformative leader.
View courseworkCurrent and Emerging Topics in Healthcare
HCA 780
Familiarizing oneself with current and emerging topics in healthcare is how we continue to make a difference. Being able to recognize and understand what’s evolving in healthcare and how we must act to implement change is a very important part of our role. This course specifically taught me more about cultural competence in healthcare and what it means to be a culturally competent healthcare leader. Our country is more diverse now than it’s ever been while continuing to become more diverse, and we cannot provide patients with the utmost quality of care if we are not culturally competent.
View courseworkCapstone
HCA 790
The Capstone project is a cumulative project with a well-rounded understanding of learning outcomes over the duration of the MHA program. My project focused on the realm of sterile processing supplies and inventory and using data analyzation to forecast for future ASC opportunities.
View courseworkProfessional Documents for your leisure
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Leadership
Performance
Recruitment
Effectiveness
Financial strategies
Communication
Progam Outcomes
Both the University of Wisconsin Extended Campus and the University of Wisconsin La Crosse have fine-tuned their healthcare administration programs to be some of the best educational programs in the world. Through their continuous refinement, both the University of Wisconsin Madison and the University of Wisconsin La Crosse aim to graduate their students with the abilities to improve healthcare, access to healthcare, quality of healthcare, and reduction of cost.
Future Career Plans
The future of my career is still unknown. I am optimistic that my education and experience will lead me to a management position where I will be able to showcase my motivation, determination, skillset and work ethic. I am passionate about continuing to evolve as a healthcare leader much like how healthcare continues to evolve today. As I enter into the professional world, I plan to use what I've learned while also continuing to advance and grow. This program has granted me the ability to apply all the beneficial knowledge I've learned while also continuing to improve wherever my path leads.
