Why Duke? (If you are interested in a specific concentration, joint degree, clubs or activities, please discuss how you would contribute to these in this essay.)

When I began researching MBA programs, the Duke University Fuqua School of Business immediately jumped out at me as an outstanding program that would enable me to achieve my career goals and would be a great fit for me personally. Especially appealing are Duke’s Health Sector Management Program, global business opportunities, extensive student-led clubs, and the collaborative team environment and network that is Team Fuqua.

As an advanced practice nurse, I have extensive knowledge of healthcare delivery from the provider and patient perspective. In order to succeed in healthcare consulting and long term as a Chief Executive Officer of a hospital or healthcare system, I will need knowledge of all aspects of the healthcare industry. Particular areas that I would like to focus on are health policy, healthcare economics, and the payor industry. The HSM program at Fuqua would help me learn this knowledge through courses such as Economics and Strategy of Health Sector Management, Management of Health Systems and Policy, Health Care Operations, and Provider Strategy. I am particularly excited to take classes with Professor Kevin Schulman and learn from his experiences at the crossroads of medicine and business.

Outside of the HSM program, I would like to pursue a concentration in financial analysis, which would help me to analyze hospital revenue cycles. I look forward to Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation and Fundamental Analysis. Operations electives such as Supply Chain Management, Information Systems for Production Management, and Service Operations Management would give me the tools to improve hospital operations.

Although all of my work experience has been in the United States, I am fortunate to work in a highly international environment. Louisiana-Presbyterian Hospital employs doctors and nurses from all over the world, such as Russia, China, India and multiple countries throughout Europe and South America. I have also had the pleasure of taking care of patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. I have experienced an international environment and developed cultural awareness, but would like to take it one step further and gain work experience in a foreign country.

During my time at Fuqua I would participate in the Global Consulting Program and Global Academic Travel Experience. I would ideally pursue a GCP involving healthcare in India, developing an understanding of their health system and gaining consulting experience in the healthcare industry. Additionally, I would like to take advantage of Duke’s flexible six-week semesters to study abroad in China via the GATE program.

While I have strong leadership and teamwork experience, I have not held traditional management roles. Courses such as Managing Innovation in a Global Organization and Managing Human Assets and Organizational Change would help me learn how to implement innovative changes and manage employees in large organization, such as consulting firms and hospitals. In addition, Duke’s extensive student-led clubs would allow me to apply my leadership skills in a more traditional manner, preparing me for managerial roles in healthcare consulting and, eventually, healthcare administration. The Healthcare Club offers an abundance of leadership roles, particularly the opportunity to run the Healthcare Conference. In my first year, I would obtain a conference cabinet position in operations, managing the logistics of the conference. In my second year, I would like to run the healthcare conference as conference co-chair.

I am also interested in the tremendous resources available to the members of the Healthcare Club, such as the workshop to prepare first years for the interviewing process and a specific workshop dedicated to consulting in healthcare. The resources would be invaluable to me given my non-traditional background, and desire to change careers. I am particularly interested in the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of the healthcare consulting industry from second year students. Duke’s social clubs promote a well-rounded student body, emphasizing the importance of being more than just a business professional. At Fuqua, I can continue to enjoy my passion for running through the Running and Triathlon Club. I look forward to the bonds I would build with my fellow classmates. I would bring with me experience running for charities, and would like the opportunity to organize a charity run to support a local Durham community cause. When I visited Duke, I was able to observe the student body at Fuqua Friday and listen to a student panel. I took away a much better understanding of the collaborative teamwork environment and the intangible concept of Team Fuqua. During this visit, every interaction was with a student. I interviewed with a student, attended a student-led HSM roundtable discussion, toured campus with a student, and went to a student panel. Duke truly is a student-led school. The teamwork involved in organizing all of the prospective applicants interviews and campus tours was impressive. The student panel touched not only on academics, but also on student life. The six students in the panel had mutual respect for each other, and clearly enjoyed spending time together inside and outside of the classroom.

I feel confident that I would build not only professional network but also a personal network at Fuqua. Duke University Fuqua School of Business is the best MBA program for me both professionally and personally. The curriculum, global opportunities, leadership opportunities, and collaborative teamwork environment would help me to achieve my career goals. I hope to join Team Fuqua as a member of the class of 2013, and look forward to spending two years at Duke and building a lifelong global network.