Courtney Bingham began her college career planning to work directly with patients, but her experience at the University of Georgia opened the door to a different way of shaping healthcare. Today, as Program Manager for the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program—a program she once completed—she guides students toward their own paths in public health.

Bingham began her time at UGA in 2016 on the pre-clinical track, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in health promotion. After taking several of the major’s classes, as well as having the undergraduate faculty open her eyes to public health career options, she decided she wanted to make an impact in a different way and shifted away from patient care.

Then, the Covid-19 pandemic happened. During such an uncertain time, undergraduate graduation was approaching for Bingham. She decided to pursue the Master of Public Health program (MPH) with the future goals of helping people in health systems and communities. During her first year in the program, she decided to add the Master of Health Administration (MHA) as well.

Looking back on her time as a graduate student at CPH, Bingham shared that she learned the importance of finding mentors and building a strong professional community to help her navigate and find her place in a complex industry. She expressed gratitude toward the CPH’s “supportive network of professionals willing to pour into their students” and help shape them into leaders.

“The primary goal of healthcare administrators is to support the patient. They do this by empowering the doctors, nurses and staff who care for them, ensuring they can focus fully on delivering the best possible care,” said Bingham. “That was my most important take away from my time as a student.”

It was such an important take away for Bingham, that she works daily to ensure every student in the MHA program learns it as well. As the MHA Program Manager, she works alongside the Director of Graduate Studies of the MHA Program Jessica C. Smith on MHA operations, recruitment, admissions, student support and success and more. She helps MHA students find internships and eventually post-graduation job placements.

“Seeing how much they grow in the program and all of their accomplishments is my favorite part of my job,” Bingham said. “Our students are amazing, and they are securing awesome internships and job placements, so it’s really fun to see all of the hard work that goes into our program and then how the students continue to flourish outside of it.”

Bingham also nurtures relationships with alumni and their continued involvement, with external partners from healthcare organizations throughout Georgia and nationwide. This also includes the program’s advisory board, which provides oversight and guidance to the MHA program to help ensure top tier graduates are produced.

When she first began her time as the MHA Program manager, she spent most of her time personally working to gain CAHME accreditation for the program. Now that the program is accredited, she spends time maintaining the CAHME standards.

The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) accreditation sets the standard for overall rigor and effectiveness of coursework, affirming that the UGA MHA established course competencies provide quality foundation in skills such as data driven decision making, personal communication skills and more.

Bingham shared that MHA classes provide knowledge and hands-on learning through case studies and guest lectures from healthcare industry professionals, allowing students to develop academically and professionally with a well-rounded knowledge base and a deep understanding of what their future in healthcare might look like.

To Bingham, the community that students become a part of during their time in the MHA program holds power to be extremely transformative. Through a cohort-based model where students progress through the entire program with the same group of peers, these relationships “go beyond” the health sciences campus and into their futures.

“The relationships I formed during my time as a student are ones I still maintain and value today,” said Bingham. “It’s special to see that same sense of connection continues in the cohorts before and after mine. We’ve built a community in the MHA program that has shaped us not only professionally but personally as well.”

By Alexia Rule