Fourteen TTUHSC School of Medicine MD/MBA candidates completed preceptorships this
summer at TTUHSC, the Lubbock Health Department, Lubbock Heart Hospital, and other
various medical practices in Austin, Houston, and other cities around the state. This
course is a joint effort of the TTU Rawls College of Business and TTUHSC’s School
of Medicine. Students were tasked with completing 150 hours of field experience time
that included research, observation, interviews and surveys, data compilation and
analysis, and project management. The final result for each student was a research
poster describing their project that they presented in front of fellow students, physicians,
and TTUHSC staff.
Student projects focused on various topics like telemedicine, workflow optimization,
clinical cost-minimization, patient experience, COVID-19 response. Throughout the
duration of the summer, students had unique experiences in emergency and operating
rooms, clinical settings of local detention centers, and the clinical departments
of the TTUHSC. The field experience is expected to provide the students with healthcare
management opportunities not readily available from classroom situations, such as
functioning as a professional member of a healthcare organization, assuming responsibility
for management, planning, and policy activities related to actual healthcare problems,
and observing firsthand how executives adapt to the unforeseen circumstances and changing
objectives of today’s turbulent healthcare industry. All of the students were able
to shadow their preceptors directly in a clinical or office setting.
Student Bridget Boeger worked with Lubbock Director of Public Health, Katherine Wells,
and Lead Epidemiologist for the city, Tiffany Torres. Bridget said her preceptorship
this summer was an invaluable experience. “I was able to work directly with the health
department and tie in data from the global pandemic with concepts I have learned while
getting my MBA. I will use the skills I learned this summer throughout my career in
analyzing health data and trends.”
“In medical school we rarely learn about the business side of healthcare. In my preceptorship
I was able to study physician compensation models, and how patient bias due to non-modifiable
factors can influence the value-based pay system, which is becoming more popular for
physician reimbursement,” said student Caleb Hawkes. He remarked that his preceptorship
experience opened his eyes to the business side of being a physician.
This unique experience offered to our medical students allows for an exclusive and
in-depth look at the business management aspects of a medical practice. The research
contributions made by these students this summer have been recognized as useful and
progressive by the organizations they served, with many planning to expand their projects
and continue data collection.
We would like to extend much gratitude to those who served as preceptors for our students
this summer and worked diligently to ensure that the students had valuable experiences.
Brent Magers is the Professor of Record for the course, and it was my pleasure to
serve as the teaching assistant for a third consecutive year.