Health Care UST MBA

Meet Deb Franko

"The Health Care UST MBA has been the best thing that I have ever done for my personal and professional growth. It has reshaped the way that I look at the world."

My undergraduate degree is in journalism and I have worked in health care marketing and sales throughout my professional career. It became apparent the further along I got in my career that I needed to go back to school for an advanced degree. I felt that I could only do so much “on the job” learning and I knew that a business degree would be practical and would apply to all aspects of my life. After researching graduate programs I decided that the Health Care UST MBA at the University of St. Thomas was exactly what I was looking for. 

I liked the hybrid model for classroom and distance learning – it’s really the best of both worlds. You get to know your cohort members and professors when you are on campus, while still having the flexibility of distance learning during the remaining 10 weeks of class.

Students in the program come from a variety of different backgrounds, but one thing ties us together – health care. My cohort had a 30-year age difference between the youngest and the oldest student. This wide range of real life and professional knowledge really enhanced my learning experience. The cohort model also allowed us to get comfortable enough that we could challenge each other and develop our thinking – we really pushed each other to perform at our personal best. Some students worked in clinics and hospitals (on the delivery side) while other students came from managed care organizations and pharmaceutical companies. These varying perspectives helped each of us paint an accurate picture of the entire health care system in order to maximize our learning in each class.

This program has given me much more confidence in making business decisions in my organization. I now have the skill set to make statistically sound assumptions and to ask the appropriate questions about the business prior to reaching a conclusion.

I made a career move toward the end of my program and am currently working for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI).  I have no doubt that my MBA is what set me apart from the other candidates during the interview process and is what helped me get the job. I can contribute to conversations surrounding the business and then execute a marketing plan that makes sense to the organization. I am a much greater asset to my team at CDI now that I have an M.B.A degree. The sky is the limit. I feel as though there are no longer any barriers that I can’t overcome simply through asking the right questions and working with my team on solutions.

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