Education 4.12 - Flipbook - Page 22
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| Sunday, April 12, 2026
Need for Health Care Professionals,
continued from page 14
prehension, reinforcing foundational
skills, and supporting mastery through
repetition, the immersive platform contributes to student persistence and program completion. This will help prepare
more competent graduates to meet the
growing national demand for dental
hygienists.”
Salisbury University Community
Internship Leads to Full-Time Position
Caitlin Cecil, a master of social
work (M.S.W.) student in Salisbury
University’s (SU) college of health and
human services, recently joined Apple
Discount Drugs pharmacy in Salisbury
as its first full-time community health
advocate, a role that is rare within a
pharmacy setting and one of only a
handful of initiatives across the country.
Cecil’s work with Apple Discount
is a full-time position supported by
TidalHealth’s REACH Community
Wellness Coalition through which
community health professionals create an individualized and customized
approach to patient-first advocacy, a
necessity when it comes to addressing areas that often struggle in rural
regions.
Cecil began her social work education at SU after serving time in the Army
Reserve and obtaining undergraduate
and graduate degrees elsewhere. “I
wanted to connect with people in a
different way professionally than I had
been able to do thus far in my career,”
she says. “I looked at different programs and opportunities and found
SU’s M.S.W. program. It has been a
great choice and I love it.”
Cecil’s new in-person position first
started as an opportunity for an internship placement. “After Apple Discount
Drugs and SU connected, I was given
the offer to explore this new and innovative idea the organizations had to
determine if there was any way that
social work could be introduced and
integrated into a pharmacy setting,
especially in rural communities.”
Cecil explains that throughout her
studies and in her current role with
Apple Discount Drugs, she has learned
about social determinants of health and
what rural communities need, such as
catering to aging populations and those
on Medicare. She has also been able to
publish and present research internationally at conferences surrounding how
to bring social work into a community
pharmacy.
“I’m now managing a caseload of
clients who need more than average
support,” Cecil continues, explaining
that her responsibilities include setting practices in place for medication
reminders, connecting patients to food
resources, and helping them navigate
significant life and family transitions or
a shift in their support system if those
circumstances have changed and had
an impact on their care.
“The realities of health care in rural
communities is that a large influx of
resources is unlikely, so in rural communities it’s up to the health care professionals to get creative and be strategic,” Cecil continues. “We have an
obligation as social workers to meet
clients in the space and reality in which
they are living. Advocacy and being
there for vulnerable populations is the
core foundation of social work and it’s
important work to be done.”
Stevenson University Offers
Degrees in Healthcare Management
Stevenson University has offered its
Master of Science in healthcare management (MSHCM) degree for more
than a decade as part of its graduate
and professional studies offerings within the Brown School of Business and
Leadership.
“The program prepares students to
take on essential leadership roles in
health care administration,” says Ola
AL-Sheyab, Ph.D., assistant professor and program director, who notes
that the program prepares students for
success through courses in accounting, finance, health care management
and marketing, economics, health care
information systems, policy, and ethics
and law.
The program was developed primarily for working professionals seeking
leadership roles in health care organizations and is delivered in a flexible online
format that allows students to balance
professional responsibilities with graduate study.
AL-Sheyab notes that the master’s
program currently offers two specialized tracks: quality management and
patient safety and project management
in healthcare. Stevenson also offers
a healthcare management certificate
designed for professionals who want
to build targeted skills or advance their
careers without pursuing a full graduate
degree. “These options allow the program to meet professionals where they
are in their careers while helping them
expand their knowledge and leadership
capabilities,” says AL-Sheyab.
In addition to the graduate degree,
in fall 2022 Stevenson launched the
Bachelor of Science in healthcare management.
AL-Sheyab explains that the development of these programs was driven
by the rapid growth of the health care
sector nationally and within Maryland,
the increasing complexity in health
care delivery systems, and the growing
demand for professionals who understand both business management and
health care operations.
“Health care organizations today
require leaders who can analyze health
care data, manage interdisciplinary
teams, ensure regulatory compliance,
and improve operational efficiency and
patient outcomes,” says AL-Sheyab.
“Stevenson’s programs were designed
to address these workforce needs by
integrating business education with
healthcare-specific management training.”
AL-Sheyab
emphasizes
that
Stevenson’s programs maintain strong
connections with the regional health
care ecosystem, particularly in the
Baltimore area, which is one of the
most significant health care hubs in the
United States.
“A key strength of the program is
its adjunct faculty, many of whom are
industry professionals currently working in health care leadership roles,” he
observes. “These professionals bring
current industry knowledge into the
classroom and share real-world challenges and experiences that help students better understand the operational
realities of health care organizations.
“The program also maintains
engagement with health care employers who visit classes,” AL-Sheyab con-
tinues, adding that students also gain
practical experience through internships
and experiential learning placements
with major health care organizations
such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mercy
Medical Center, LifeBridge Health, and
The Maryland State Medical Society
(MedChi).
“These partnerships help ensure
that the curriculum reflects real-world
administrative, operational, and policy
challenges faced by health care organizations today,” says AL-Sheyab.
AL-Sheyab observes that healthcare management is widely considered a strong career path because
it combines business leadership with
a mission-driven industry that directly impacts community health. Among
its advantages are strong projected
job growth, competitive salaries, and
diverse career opportunities in such
settings as hospitals, health systems,
insurance companies, consulting firms,
and public health organizations.
“The field is particularly appealing
for individuals who want to work in
health care but prefer leadership, analytics, and operational roles rather than
clinical practice,” AL-Sheyab adds, noting that Stevenson’s graduate health
care alumni have obtained positions
such as health care program administrators, compliance analysts, quality
improvement specialists, practice managers, clinical operations coordinators,
and health care project managers.
“Enrollment in both programs
continues to grow each year,” says
AL-Sheyab, adding that Stevenson
also offers a “4+1 pathway,” which
allows students to complete both their
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five
years, creating an accelerated path into
healthcare leadership careers.
AL-Sheyab
points
out
that
Stevenson’s health care management
programs stand out because of their
strong business-focused foundation.
“This approach ensures that graduates
leave the program with a solid understanding of business operations while
applying those principles within the
health care industry, preparing them for
leadership roles that require both managerial and healthcare-specific expertise,” AL-Sheyab says.
