Kayla Saunders
Employer: Department of Veterans Affairs
Current position: Ambulatory Care and Processing Section Chief
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Degree(s): 2019, Bachelor of Science of Health Sciences; 2021, Master of Health Administration
Why did you choose your major/program?
After minoring in health services management in undergrad at IUPUI, I decided to pursue my higher level education in health administration. This program would allow me to stay involved in the healthcare environment and help people and their families, while also being involved in operations.
Briefly describe your career path.
I started as a student intern within the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2018, and served as the assistant research compliance officer, health systems specialist, and business manager for the facility.
Describe what an average day for you might be like.
An average day in my role is rounding within the outpatient clinics of our medical center, while also touching base with our clinical partners to ensure that we are all collaborating to meet one common goal: serving our nation’s veterans.
What advice would you give your college self about pursuing your current career path or industry?
I would tell myself that it’s okay to not have everything figured out and that the health administration field has so many different pathways and avenues to follow. You never will be siloed or stuck, and you are able to still make an impact on patient care while being in healthcare operations.
What is a lesson learned at FSPH that you have been able to apply to your career?
How valuable networking is, along with being aware of the culture within any organization is key to your success and strategy.
What is the most significant thing that’s happened to you since graduating?
I’ve had two new roles since I’ve graduated (business manager and ambulatory care and processing lead). This has allowed me to get more exposure to healthcare operations and staffing to ensure that our patients are able to receive care in a timely manner.
What’s next for you?
I’d like to see myself serving as a service line administrator within another VA hospital throughout the country, and eventually work my way up to the executive level of a VA hospital.
What is your favorite IUPUI/FSPH memory?
I really enjoyed the MHA capstone class with Steve Reed. It allowed me to get exposure to a real-world operations problem and be able to come up with feasible solutions for the sponsor organization to take into account.
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