Main Body
Whether you are planning to enter the healthcare management field or advance in your current position, it is important to prepare for your transition from academics to practice.
Professional ePortfolio
Regardless of your plans after you graduate, it is a good idea to keep your ePortfolio after graduation. Now is the time to review your Chalk & Wire Profile and Table of Contents. Chalk & Wire allows you to create an electronic portfolio to showcase your work in a portable format that you can carry with you after graduation. Also, consider adding a link to your ePortfolio on your resume.
Career Planning
Whether the goal of earning your master’s degree was to advance and expand your expertise in healthcare management or administration, seek a promotion, or to navigate a career change, GSC has excellent resources and tools to help navigate your needs. Here is a link to the Career Services website.
Highlighting Your Capstone Project on Your Resume
Your MSHCM project is a professional experience to highlight on your resume. In addition to adding your master’s degree to your resume, you may want to include your experience in completing the project and presenting it at a formal event. There are several options where to place this information. Just remember, only include each (project and presentation) once. Do not put it in multiple places.
Let’s start with the project itself.
The first step is to decide where you want to place your work. This list is not exhaustive, as there are many ways to highlight the great work you did throughout your graduate studies.
Most graduate projects are placed as:
- a subsection of your Education section placed under your MSHCM information. This is appropriate if you have only one project to highlight. A potential heading could be Graduate Project, or
- a standalone section labeled Academic Projects if you have more than one academic project you would like to highlight, or Key Projects if you plan to include projects that you have done outside of your program, or
- a subsection of your Experience section if it is only one project and you want to specifically highlight your project as “experience”. This is especially appropriate if you were the project leader, and the project was conducted specifically for an organization or agency. A potential heading could be Key Project or Graduate Project.
The next step is to consider what information about the project you want to include. Always keep in mind that less is more, and your resume is a “brief” summary of your academic and experience qualifications. Here is a link to more information with tips, templates, and examples.
Now let’s look at your presentation.
Think of presentations you want to highlight. In addition to the GSC Capstone Presentation, you will attend, there may be other professional presentations to add such as a speaker or a poster you presented. Here is a link to more information with tips, templates, and examples.
Finally, here is a link to Targeted Resume. As a student, you have access to this career platform that helps you customize your resume.
Professional Organizations
Belonging to a professional organization in healthcare management is critical in staying well-informed with the latest research and practices locally, regionally, and globally. Not only will your professional membership help keep you abreast of current issues and opportunities, but it will also provide you with professional advancement opportunities.
Do you belong to a healthcare professional organization(s)? If so, then consider the following questions:
- What healthcare professional organization(s) are you a member of?
- How active are you in the membership? Do you:
- attend or present at conferences or regular meetings?
- network with other members?
- participate in professional development offerings?
- read their professional journals or newsletters?
If you do not belong to a healthcare professional organization, what are your plans to join after graduation? Here are several healthcare professional organizations to consider.