September, 28, 2016 (Jackson, Miss.) - Ferris Brown '16 was selected to participate in a one-year administrative residency program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).
Brown, who earned a Master of Health Care Administration from Belhaven, is now working alongside senior hospital executives. Administrative projects give him a variety of experience within an academic health setting and vary from operations and finances to management and strategic planning. He has already participated in projects for UMMC's Adult Hospital, Children's Hospital, ambulatory clinics and the vice-chancellor's office.
The residency has given me a high-level view of the ins and outs of operating a large academic health system. I have learned the importance of working in interdisciplinary teams in order to create the best strategies, engaging staff from the bottom-up in all operational improvement initiatives and building strong interpersonal relationships with physicians and other senior administrators as a way to accomplish goals, says Brown.
Brown credits Belhaven's M.H.A. program with preparing him for the administrative residency. The program taught me the importance of time management, hard work and consistency in order to be successful. I have also learned and experienced in my residency, that quality is the most important function of health care. The health care quality management course, the health care finance and budgeting course, and the health care capstone course were of great value to my current role in health care administration, says Brown.
Once the program is complete Brown hopes to gain all the skills and abilities needed to become a successful senior-level health care administrator.