From left: Tommy Burt, Lauren Naumcheff and Matthew BarnesA student team from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Master of Science in Health Administration program took home first place in Baylor University’s fourth annual Robbins Case Competition in Healthcare Management. In addition, team member Lauren Naumcheff was one of three students awarded Best Presenter.
The MSHA team, consisting of Matthew Barnes, Tommy Burt and Naumcheff, defeated 10 other universities from across the United States and Canada.
“Our MSHA program has used case competitions as a form of experiential learning for more than 10 years because solving problems under a deadline and presenting results to a panel of judges shows potential employers a student can think clearly and critically under pressure,” said Amy Y. Landry, Ph.D., Howard W. Houser Endowed Professor in Health Administration and MSHA program director. “We competed against the best students from programs across the country, and our team’s success at Baylor demonstrates what amazing students we have in the MSHA program at UAB.”
The case competition provides master’s-level students an opportunity to put what they have learned in the classroom into real-life practice. Students are given a real-time health care case to analyze, and they subsequently present recommendations to a panel of health care experts.
“The competition was designed to provide a forum for master’s-level students to participate in a national case competition in health care management with a distinct financial emphasis,” said Scott Garner, administrative director of the Robbins Institute. “This is an increasingly critical area of expertise within the health care industry.”
Participation in Baylor’s event is by invitation only. It features competing universities chosen from among full-time programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education or BAMH member programs.
For their efforts, the MSHA team won $12,000. For her Best Presenter honor, Naumcheff won $500.
The UAB Master of Science in Health Administration program, ranked No. 2 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, is housed in the School of Health Professions’ Department of Health Administration.
UAB also hosts a national case competition every year. The 13th annual Health Administration Case Competition will be held Feb. 27-March 1, 2019, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel.