When Benjamin Gonzalez San Martin was choosing a master’s program in health systems management (HSM), he didn’t want to attend a large university where he would “just be a number.” Today, he is grateful that he earned his master’s from Rush in 2017.
“Everyone at Rush is willing to give you individualized attention, and that’s what really separates Rush from other universities,” says Gonzalez San Martin, who is currently a senior financial analyst with Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
This unwavering focus on students has helped propel Rush’s HSM program to a coveted ranking among the top 3 programs in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.
A focus on leadership
Rush’s top 3 ranking also recognizes the program’s outstanding faculty, who as teacher-practitioners are taking a lead role in transforming health care. One example is Wayne Lerner, DrPH, FACHE, longtime faculty member and former chairperson of the Department of Health Systems Management. In 2013, Lerner received the American College of Healthcare Executives Gold Medal Award, its highest honor for career excellence.
"We’re teaching students how to be leaders not only through our discipline-based material like economics or finance, but also by example because our faculty themselves are practicing, so students are introduced to various leadership styles.”
Lerner, former CEO of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago, understands the value of cultivating leadership in the next generation of health systems executives and those who aim to work in technology and health care startups. “We’re teaching students how to be leaders not only through our discipline-based material like economics or finance, but also by example because our faculty themselves are practicing, so students are introduced to various leadership styles,” says Lerner, who currently teaches students in the executive track.
Through group work, HSM students also learn leadership skills like collaboration, negotiation and crisis management. “A good leader recognizes when they should step into a leadership void during an emergency, or when somebody else belongs in that situation,” he says.
Reflecting on his career, Lerner finds great satisfaction from teaching future health care leaders who want to make a difference. “I get tremendous joy working with students,” he says. “And I tell them if they pay it forward, they will help improve the health care field over the long term.”
A lasting connection
Beyond benefiting from the experience of faculty like Lerner, HSM students in both the executive and residential tracks also receive valuable coaching from a variety of advisors. Incoming first-year students are paired with second-year peers, providing valuable mentorship on everything from classes to the best places to eat in Chicago. Students also receive a teaching advisor who provides support with courses, as well as an alumni career advisor working in students’ desired field.
For graduates like Gonzalez San Martin, who serves as president of the HSM Alumni Association, the relationships formed with advisors can be long- lasting. “These people have made such an impression on my life,” he says. “I feel like they’re in my court, whether that’s 10 years or 20 years from now.”
Photo captions
Top: The HSM Alumni Association Board at a recent alumni event
Below: HSM faculty Wayne Lerner, DrPH, FACHE, and Diane Howard, PhD, FACHE, celebrate the program’s ranking