David Andresen

What inspired you to pursue a Master of Science in Clinical Informatics Management (MCiM) degree?

Most of my professional experience has been at companies hoping to leverage their strong foundation in technology to innovate in healthcare.  I developed an appreciation for the value that my colleagues with solid healthcare domain knowledge brought to these organizations, which inspired me to develop a similar set of skills for myself. In the past, I’d thought about attending both medical school and business school- neither was a perfect fit.  I was drawn to MCiM because of how well it aligned with my goals of building leadership skills, studying how technology drives change in medicine, and becoming an expert on the health care ecosystem.

How did you approach brainstorming for your Practicum project, and what was the moment or insight that made you realize you had found the right concept that you were passionate about?

I wanted my practicum project to be something that both pushed me out of my comfort zone and felt like a culmination of the year’s coursework. Additionally, I hoped to find a project that I would be excited to continue working on even after graduating from MCiM. I didn’t come in with a well-formed practicum idea, so my brainstorming involved a lot of listening and reflecting. I made an effort to keep track of concepts that excited me from lectures, guest speakers, and conversations with classmates and mentors. Since I chose to develop a business plan for my practicum, I knew I had landed on the right idea when the ‘narrative’ started to click, much like it should in a good pitch.

Looking back on your year with MCiM, how have your interests within medicine, business, and technology shifted? How have these shifting interests influenced your career aspirations moving forward?

Absolutely. The MCiM program has opened so many doors and has sparked several new interests for me.  Artificial intelligence was an underlying theme for our program, and though I had some exposure to AI before starting MCiM, my interests and experiences in the field have deepened in the past year.  There are several areas within health care that were opaque or even intimidating to me (like the incentives behind value based care, or the finer details of how Medicare works) before starting the program. After MCiM, I have both a better appreciation for the breadth of opportunities across health care and a stronger belief in my ability to drive change.