Three graduate students in the Ohio State Health Service Management and Policy program developed a creative solution that earned them first place at the Seventh Annual Everett V. Fox Student Case Analysis and Presentation Competition.
Tamara Austin, April Jackson and LeTesha Austin, who are all working toward a master’s degree in health administration, had three weeks to find and present a solution to a fictional hospital problem.
The students defeated 13 opponents from leading graduate programs for the top spot in the competition, held Oct. 2-4 in Miami and sponsored by the National Association of Health Executives.
The students spent tedious hours working on their formal presentation and supporting documents.
“From the day the case arrived, we committed ourselves on working everyday on it,” said Jackson, who served as the team captain. “We worked hard to ensure that our strategies incorporated the most current trends and best practices for today’s changing health care environment.”
The students agreed their experience working in the healthcare profession was great preparation for the contest. All completed hospital residencies this summer.
“Being able to pull from realistic experience really helped. It helped in our real-world situation.” LeTesha Austin said.
The group also credited OSU with helping it achieve its first-place finish.
“Our classroom work, team experiences and affiliation with the OSU Medical Center also provided us with a good foundation, which we often utilized,” Jackson said.
LeTesha Austin said advisors and other faculty were a tremendous help because of their readiness to answer questions.
Each of the students received $3,000 for their efforts and a plaque is on permanent display in the HSMP program office.
“I think it’s a really remarkable accomplishment because two of the girls are doing MBA and MHA,” said Sandra Daly, graduate program coordinator for HSMP.
Jackson and Tamara Austin are working toward a master’s in business administration and health administration simultaneously.
“They’re working above and beyond just going to classes,” Daly said.
OSU teams are no stranger to success in the competition. This is the second time in four years a team has finished first in the national competition.
“They know what they’re going to get when OSU shows up,” Tamara Austin said. “So it puts pressure on us, but it’s good pressure.”
Last year’s team finished a close second in the competition. Jackson, a member of that team, said her experience helped with this year’s performance.
“I made sure that this year’s team learned from the experiences of last year’s from the very beginning. We improved upon our weaknesses, capitalized on our strengths and then added a little bit of creativity to both the presentation style and written analysis for this year’s competition,” Jackson said.
Tamara Austin said she hopes to return as the captain of next year’s team.
