MHA: USI and Hochschule Osnabrück Block Week
In a pre-pandemic world, the University of Southern Indiana’s Master of Health Administration (MHA) program would be traveling to Germany to learn about the German health care system, tour the Hochschule Osnabrück, and make lifelong friendships. Like many things this year, however, plans had to be reorganized to happen virtually.
10 years ago, Dr. Kevin Valadares and Dr. Hendrike Berger began the USI-MHA and Hochschule Osnabrück block week where health administration students from both countries would be able to culturally expand their knowledge and learn from each other. Why Evansville and Osnabrück, you might ask? Osnabrück, Germany and Evansville, Indiana were declared sister cities in May 1991. For those that live in the tri-state area, there is an obvious German influence on the area as many German immigrants settled in the area.
Eager to still allow for current MHA students to experience the cultural learning and sharing from previous years, Dr. Erin Reynolds and Dr. Hendrike Berger set out to plan 4 days of Zoom meetings in the early morning for American students and late afternoon for German students. Dr. Reynolds stated that she felt “the relationship with Dr. Berger and the Hochschule Osnabrück is important and we wanted to try something outside the box to bridge the travel restrictions with COVID this year.” She goes on to describe the planning process with Drs. Valadares and Berger included several Zoom meetings to discuss whether this would work at all, whether students would tune in for cross county zooms, or even whether we could do something synchronous with the 7 hour time difference.
The first day of the block week started with usual introductions to the faculty before splitting up into breakout groups where students from both countries were encouraged to discuss stereotypes about each other's cultures or ask any burning questions in general. With the election ongoing during this time, that was an obvious first topic for the German students to feel out with the US students. Topics of conversation varied between gun ownership and common vacation destinations. After a short break, students gathered back into the larger group where discussions were summarized.
"With regard to the training of medical personnel, it was noticeable that in America, work or training is done on a much more interdisciplinary level."
- Chiara Beran, Hochschule Osnabrück
Breakout rooms were filled once more, this time focusing on differences in healthcare between the two countries. Anyone can read about the difference between social healthcare and private insurance but getting to hear personal accounts provided a deep look into both systems. While American students were shocked with the 40% tax German’s pay towards social health benefits, the German students were equally surprised with just how many American’s see “Go Fund Me” pages to help supplement payment for healthcare prices. When asked to recall the most interesting differences between the systems, Mr. David Eidhoff, a German medical student, stated, “It is very interesting that the German system is much more effective (costs, and many other indicators) but the better quality (on the highest standard) is better in the US.”
Day two provided a deeper look into both American health care and German health care with lectures and discussions from Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Berger respectively. These gave deep insights to the technical aspects of each countries health care systems, as well as allowing students to again discuss differences between the two.
Guest speakers were the primary focus of the third day. When joining the Zoom call on Wednesday morning, students were likely surprised to find Carly Andrews, USI alumni and previous Hochschule Osnabrück visitor, sitting fully masked next to a mannequin. Dr. Andrew’s discussion led into an intense discussion about healthcare students cross training between concentrations, and how the German students could benefit from such training. “I also liked the doctor's lecture about interdisciplinary work, for me a very important thing and interesting to hear as I'm working at a hospital and i know how important it is to work together as a team”, Ms. Stefanie Montag, a German student participant, reflected after the block week had concluded.
The final and fourth day of scheduled meetings started with an incredible story of a double organ transplant patient – who just happened to also be a USI alumni that had participated in the Hochschule Osnabrück block week back in 2017. “...it was very [personal] and [I] am very happy that she [spoke] so open and honest about her [transplants],” said Ms. Montag when asked her impressions of the guest speakers.
As is true with many things this year, plans have had to be altered to keep everyone safe and healthy. While an online format may not be everyone’s first choice, there are plenty of positives to glean from the week. “It was great that the professors made it possible to adapt the program to these special times. On top of that, the program may have become more inclusive because there was no need of financial ability to pay for flights, accommodation, etc.”, reflected Ms. Chiara Beran, a German student studying Social Work.
Moving forward, both groups hope to continue growing and improving the learning opportunities afforded to MHA students. In Fall 2021, the MHA program plans to host a one-day healthcare management conference that will include current students, alumni, and healthcare leaders from the region, with hopes that German health administration students may have the opportunity to visit us here in Evansville and participate.
If you’re interested in learning more about the block week, or the MHA program overall, please head over to our main MHA page where you can fill out an interest form.