Spring Break
Students journey to Chicago for convention on healthcare
Trip serves as somewhat of a mock interview for grad students nearing professional health sector
Ryan Gunderson
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: News
By Ryan Gunderson
The Daily Barometer
Over spring break last month, a group of students attended a prestigious healthcare conference in Chicago.
"It was very overwhelming," said Keith Brannen, a junior in the health management and policy program. "But eventually you get past it," he said, referring to meeting directly with hospital CEOs and other high-ranking public healthcare officials.
Over this past spring break, Brannen, along with six other OSU students from the HHS department, traveled to Chicago for the American College of Healthcare Executives Congress. The congress is held annually in downtown Chicago, and according to the ACHE website, it has an expected turnout of roughly 4,000 students and business professionals each year, making it the largest such gathering of healthcare professionals in the world.
The congress welcomes any student or like-minded business professional to attend and participate in the seminars and presentations that are offered. However, the journey to Chicago can be expensive, and not everyone can afford to go. As Brannen explained, the students from OSU who had the opportunity to go had to be approved for funding first.
The conference was made up of mostly graduate students who are nearing the professional sector, and it gave them an opportunity to meet other graduate students and hospital CEOs, as well as attend seminars and lectures that focus on each individual's primary interests within the public healthcare field. However, six of the seven students from OSU who attended the congress were undergraduates, making OSU the largest undergraduate representative by far.
"I focused mostly on policy and leadership seminars," said Erick Edtl, a junior in the OSU health management and policy program, and treasurer of the OSU Society of Healthcare Executives. Edtl stressed that there were many different seminars offered, and that students were allowed to choose, individually, which seminars to attend, based on their own interest.
The Daily Barometer
Over spring break last month, a group of students attended a prestigious healthcare conference in Chicago.
"It was very overwhelming," said Keith Brannen, a junior in the health management and policy program. "But eventually you get past it," he said, referring to meeting directly with hospital CEOs and other high-ranking public healthcare officials.
Over this past spring break, Brannen, along with six other OSU students from the HHS department, traveled to Chicago for the American College of Healthcare Executives Congress. The congress is held annually in downtown Chicago, and according to the ACHE website, it has an expected turnout of roughly 4,000 students and business professionals each year, making it the largest such gathering of healthcare professionals in the world.
The congress welcomes any student or like-minded business professional to attend and participate in the seminars and presentations that are offered. However, the journey to Chicago can be expensive, and not everyone can afford to go. As Brannen explained, the students from OSU who had the opportunity to go had to be approved for funding first.
The conference was made up of mostly graduate students who are nearing the professional sector, and it gave them an opportunity to meet other graduate students and hospital CEOs, as well as attend seminars and lectures that focus on each individual's primary interests within the public healthcare field. However, six of the seven students from OSU who attended the congress were undergraduates, making OSU the largest undergraduate representative by far.
"I focused mostly on policy and leadership seminars," said Erick Edtl, a junior in the OSU health management and policy program, and treasurer of the OSU Society of Healthcare Executives. Edtl stressed that there were many different seminars offered, and that students were allowed to choose, individually, which seminars to attend, based on their own interest.
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