The Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Administrative Fellowship: Macy Blake

<p>hello everyone this is Cole from the American Journal of healthc care strategy I'm joined by an administrative fellow from the great state of North Carolina Macy Macy please introduce yourself hi thanks so much for having me my name is Macy Blake I'm an administrative fellow at atrim Health wake Force Baptist here in Winston Salem North Carolina [Music] we're so happy to to have you on you went to UNC for your undergrad and then stayed there of course for the mha originally getting that Bachelor's in biology you were a Premed originally at UNC right yes that's correct so you know I knew I wanted to be in healthcare and was kind of trying to understand through what platform I saw myself there U my mom was in nursing really kind of wanted to explore for myself um so I worked at a practice optometry clinic throughout undergrad and graduate school to kind of get an idea of what the clinical sense was but I really kind of found myself coming back to clinical operations and really looking at Clinic flow and how the day-to-day management of the practice occurred um and then I had a great mentor who really introduced the mha program to me um and so I think that was really helpful as I kind of navigated my undergrad career and I did graduate with my bachelor's in biology so I did make it through the course load um but ultimately found myself taking some Public Health classes at Gilling School of global public health and really enwrapping my in the space um to ultimately end up doing an mha and of course Gillings is awesome you know one of the top one or top two in the country um I have to ask you know what did you get on on oam when you took it so I actually took it during the the semester that we transitioned for Co online so it was a really unique experience and I will say just as challenging online as it was in person uh so even the virtual sense of it made it pretty challenging and and um I really thought that was an opportunity that I would really like to put kind of puzzle pieces together but I found it was very challenging but we we made it through and so how um I didn't get that far when I was doing premat I stopped I stopped at at cam uh cam one um so uh after that course I was I was kind of just not not into it but uh I want to ask how how far along were you in the process right when when you kind of said you know I really think I'm not going to you know go into go into medicine were you a sophomore junior or further along yeah I was right at the end of sophomore year so it was a little too late to kind of switch at that point um and Gillings their undergrad program requires you to apply to their bachelor's program um and so kind of really had to Pivot in that moment and realized that I I saw myself taking Public Health classes so I tried to engage in some of the elective courses um and was able to speak to some of the program directors at Gillings um about being interested but you know being a little too late to Pivot um my major but I really think that actually helped me because I got an understanding of the clinical sense uh through some of those stem courses and then it really just you know showed me that I really wanted to pursue Health Administration so I think even that adversity really helped helped me see through that it's important to be able to to see that right because you put so much dedication into to being able to get you know by you know these really challenging courses you have to really focus on them and especially if it isn't exactly what you're enjoying the most right um so why you know you said you ran into a mentor and so why the mha instead of the mph you know UNC is well known for both so what steered you towards that mha yeah I think really what kind of geared me towards an mha was understanding the business side of Health you know I even tinkered with an MBA and with a healthcare Focus um but I really knew I wanted to go into a career in healthcare and so I think that's kind of what really narrowed down the mha for me and realizing that you know I'm really focused on the strategy and operations of healthc Care Systems and just kind of the opportunities for leadership that you can get there I think the mph though a great program um knew I didn't really see myself in the research space and so I think that's another reason why it kind of deterred me even though I know plenty of people that have been very successful with different types of degrees um in this field but new ultim M since UNC had an mha program that was the route for me excellent yeah no I think that's a good and it's good to have those options as well right you know you have three or the four different options when you're there um in the triangle area you got Duke and of course UNCC and then also you know NC State and um and some others that are really reputable in the Healthcare Management the healthcare administration and the the public health space and so uh during your time of course August 2022 to to 24 in undergrad we we were back from Co right it was mostly in person at that point yeah we were yeah and so you got to then go to the internship at UAB how did UAB come on your radar for that yeah so you know having gone to undergrad and grad school both at at UNC and then being from Winston Salem originally I really wanted that opportunity to leave the state and kind of had that out of state experience and I felt like the internship was the perfect opportunity you know it's three months and if you love it you love it if you hate it you can come back back um I ended up loving it but ultimately decided that I really wanted to be close to family and friends and so my life was really here in North Carolina but um had UAB been in North Carolina they were a great organization and I learned so much and it's been really helpful to see kind of the health landscape and profile of a completely different state than my own um and so I think that really opened my eyes to the differences state byst state of some of the healthcare challenges the demographics um and disparities um but it was was a great summer of learning and I was really grateful for my time at UAB so you'd recommend if possible that people will maybe explore some of these you know geographically separate or or further away areas yeah absolutely I think it was really important kind of as I was narrowing my options for internships really wanting to have a diverse resume and that included Geographic diversity and showing that I would be willing to move for the right role um and it just you know so happened that it worked out that I was able to return to North Carolina for a fellowship but I think it's important to be open to any opportunity and cast a wide net and go from there so you you did of course come back as you said and you had these options available but you ended up at the the atrian pal for which is a great place to be a fellow from what I've heard why though did you choose to do a fellowship why not go into consulting or you know Pharmaceuticals or any these other options what was the choice for fellow yeah there were so many great options in healthcare that were Beyond just the typical Hospital role and I think that uncc's program did such a great job of exposing those us to those different options um we had the issues in healthcare class and professional development classes that brought in different people from different sectors in healthcare um and so we had medical sales device pharmaceutical policy for-profit not for-profit all of those options and so I think that was really great to have exposure to those areas um the first year of my mha program I participated in a case competition which is more of that traditional probably Consulting role um and while I really thought it was interesting and exciting to deliver a case and kind of have to present findings on it I think I really found myself kind of living in a specific location and in a specific organization and really kind of getting diving deep into that organization um and I think also you know I'm not closing the door and Consulting one day but I'm hoping that after having a career in a hospital or several Hospital systems that that will really help inform me as a consultant later on in my career if that's something I choose to do so you've kind of always emphasized it seems like you know hearing keeping your options kind of wide and open yeah I think it's it's important to Market yourself and to have transferable skills that's definitely something that was pressed upon us uh throughout our program but I am very happy here at atrim Health wake Force Baptist and uh in the fellowship opportunity and I think the reason why I decided to do a fellowship was really to have that experience and exposure to a lot of different areas um there's a lot of support Services as well as Clinical Services that go into providing care for patients um and I think you know it ties in nicely with public health as well of learning about the access and disparities that people have to receiving care so I think it's kind of that perfect happy medium at this point in my career to kind of be exposed to everything and then the opportunities that a fellowship provides I think is really great especially coming from undergrad and then straight into grad school so this is my first kind of formal working opportunity and what has that been like for you especially the first couple coup weeks that must have been quite a change yeah it's weird to not be a student as classes start back up for the first time in my life uh it's weird not to be going to school or going to the office supply store to pick out school supplies um but it's been a really great transition I think the fellowship uh wake has really set me up well you know the first couple months you start with the traditional meet and greets and meeting with different leaders that's really how you kind of get your project work and figure out what areas you're interested in so a lot of opportunities to Shadow an are areas that I may not otherwise see and kind of understand from the inside out how this organization Works um so I think the fellowship has been off to a great start and I think one of the exciting things about the Wake Fellowship in particular is the ability to network with people across the Enterprise so Advocate Health is our Enterprise spanning across Six States um and so the first this is the first year that they have offered Enterprise Fellowship opportunities to network um so there are 11 across the Enterprise and we've engaged in Midwest immersion week so that has included a trip to Chicago and the greater Milwaukee areas as well as the southeast immersion week which we just hosted recently in Winston Salem and in Charlotte um so I think it's really great this Fellowship even though I'm housed in Winston Salem I got exposure to four different states and how they or four different systems and how they operate I have to say I'm a bit envious hearing about these immersion weeks and I want to kind of uh live vicariously through you for a minute here what does that look like when we're when we're going to to Chicago if you don't mind just walking us through I'm assuming you Bard a plane and you of course land in Chicago but when you get there what are some of the first steps what exactly goes on during that week yeah so you know a lot of the program leaders across the various Fellowship sites did a great job of putting together a very robust schedule for us um and really trying to emphasize what made each market unique um obviously a lot of hospitals you know you can see their Ed space you can see the med surge beds the you know IC beds um but really trying to find some of those key gems in each of the markets that really make those areas unique um I think you know it was really great to kind of have to navigate the hospitals as a you know having never been in those States or at those Health Systems having to navigate it much like many patients that are coming to the hospital have to navigate um they of course provided us instructions on how to get places um but I think it was great to kind of see it with new eyes and really have those questions of well hey this is how we do it in North Carolina or at my hospital but you know would love to hear your thoughts with the leaders of of how things operate in their Health Systems so I think it was a great learning opportunity to see how they do it and find the best practices across the Enterprise because you're able to really like innovate when you're coming from two very different areas right you can come together and create something really cool um do do how how in touch are you with the people across the Enterprise are you in Daily communication weekly communication I mean how often are you talking with someone who's you know based six states away yeah I'd say right now very much involved as we're working on our recruitment efforts and kind of the aligning of the Enterprise um because we had those two immersion weeks most recently um we've been in contact most weekly um but the great opportunity is to you know beyond after fell after the recruitment cycle ends um we have workshops that happen so we have workshops in project management team facilitation strategy and Consulting so a lot of different topics that are really important to be exposed to um and so that's something that we all participate in all 11 of us across the Enterprise so it's really nice to have those connections and opportunities to network at so early in your career and as we go through these life stages and career stages together it's nice to have other people you know similar age similar point in their careers to really lean on and ask questions um so definitely great connections being made nice that is awesome and and I mean it's a shame of course that they didn't send you to Chicago in the middle of the winter that would have been a great experience for a southerner like yourself after going to AC a couple marches ago that was plenty for me I was to ask you know you've lived in North Carolina you went to Alabama do you not like the cold is what I was gonna ask you yeah not very fond of the cold and I think if I saw real snow in some of the northern and M Western States I would really be taken a so definitely a southern person for sure they'll have to you know uh ship you up for an immersion week so you can learn how their you know their snow plowing infrastructure work we could learn some things here in North Carolina for sure I because we we shut down in North Carolina you know as soon as there's a dusting we have to shut it all down um that's great and so yeah I love that that it's this this big team and then talking more locally for a minute what is the local team like how integrated you know we've only been there three months but how integrated do you feel in that local team yeah I think they've done such a great job our fellowship here at wake is around 45 years old and so they're really used to having fellows come every summer which is really exciting we have a fellow Wall of Fame so we have pictures and portraits of each of the cohorts of fellows so it's really fun to go to the wall and look back and see where people are now you know we retain our fellows pretty well and so it's really cool to see people go through different life stages and career stages but having that Central connection of being a fellow um and then also being exposed to a lot of the executive and Senior leadership um getting integrated in those teams and being asked you know or being invited to their meetings I think the great thing about being a fellow is you have a seat at the table um and they really do want you to engage as a working member of their team and so you are asked and and it's expected of you to speak up in meetings and not just sit there and take notes um and really just kind of being a fly on thewall but also really engaging in those conversations and you know being a teaching hospital and wake being the traditional academic Medical Center and now the academic core of The Advocate Health Enterprise I think there's a lot of familiarity with what fellows can do and what their role is in this organization and so they're very well supported when they come on um and it's been fun to get involved in Project work so early on because I think sometimes there can be that lag of when you first get started um but I will say we have hit the ground running and we have been integrated into those teams really easily so that's very good and you can't say that many other places when you go right from undergrad to getting you know kind of a job in in a big Corporation other than in in these fellowships and so that that's wonderful and it's it's so important because that's how you learn right you learn by by doing um so that's that's wonderful and so what are you looking forward to right because you're only you know you haven't been there that long so you have some time ahead of you what are some things that are on the horizon that you're excited about yeah so I'm really excited for the opportunity to just see you know what areas I could see myself in a postfellowship role and really just immersing myself in the health system system I think there's still so much to learn in so many areas and complexities of academic medicine um you know we have our Innovation district downtown in Winston Salem as well as the academic arm um and so understanding nuances with you know how providers or Physicians are paid and how they are supported with their research and clinical efforts as well as teaching efforts um so I think I'm really excited to kind of dive more into those nuances and intricacies um and North Carolina is you know a really great state well resourced with Healthcare and so I think it's been really interesting to learn about the healthcare landscape in North Carolina we're very fortunate to have some great health systems and so kind of learning of you know how we all work together for the common goal of providing for patients um and learning more about like the growth and Business Development opportunities that exist in our state as well as the challenges and health the health policy landscape um are definitely things that I look forward to yeah North Carolina's Health Systems I mean like you said there's so many of them and then you have you know you and which has some really interesting funding sources that are kind of bizarre when you do research on it and it just gives you this room for opportunity that that's incredible um and so of course also being at the academic institution you've mentioned that a couple times is there something about it being that academic teaching Hospital medical school kind of all integrated that you you know like is that something that you really you know have sought out yeah so after my time at UAB medicine this past summer you know I really was kind of exposed more to academic medical centers and kind of what that structure is like and so it's been really cool to kind of cross compare from my time there to hear and kind of asking those questions of why is this the way it is and how can we as we integrate as a a larger Enterprise you know how what is our value proposition and bringing that academic piece um you know they're building the second location of the white forest School of Medicine in Charlotte and so we have our Flagship campus here in Winston Salem and that's been really great to see kind of the combination of the two one program but two sites and understanding like they're really excited down in Charlotte to have a med school and I think it's great for the opportunities for residencies and fellowships that we will hopefully pursue now as an Enterprise um because you know as we know a lot of the clinical training there is not enough sites to train and so I think it's exciting anytime you can bring or offer more of those sites to to clinicians I know that as a Premed at UNCC Charlotte I was very excited that the medical school was coming um it created a lot of investment a lot of Buzz uh and of course you know wake force is an incredible institution um so you know just kind of finishing up with one of the final questions aside from the fellowship talking about Winston Salem right it's not necessarily a city that that many people know about until they start researching Health Care um and you know Pharmaceuticals and Innovation and then W Forest usually or or Winston Salem rather comes up you know what do you like about Winston Salem though what do you like about living there would you recommend it to others yeah definitely it it's funny because I feel like Winston has grown so much you know I've spent the past six years in Chapel Hill and in high school and when I was younger I me I remember saying that there weren't many things to do in Winston Salem and uh really it's grown out from underneath me and I feel like I'm exploring a whole new city out from under me and as an adult it's really fun to to navigate that I think the one thing I love about Winston Salem is that everything is within 15 minutes away from each other so so you know you're 5 10 15 minutes from downtown you can get to the other side of town the malls um the hospital um so it's a very easy City to navigate um and it's really exciting to see how much like this organization at wake has grown you know we're an 885 bed hospital and then we have our community hospitals in the surrounding areas and and you know Wake Forest Baptist Health is really you know on the western side of the state and so we do help a lot of the Ral communities as well and so I think it's really great to have this academic Medical Center the level one um level one Trauma Center um and we really receive the tertiary and quary care in the region um and then also seeing how we can partner with our community hospitals or network hospitals to provide care really for all which is you know Advocate Health's mission is to provide you know Health healing and hope for all um and so I think that's really great to see you know from Winston Salem we have such a well resourced Hospital uh considering our population size and Winston is definitely one of those areas that's fastly growing um as more people hear about it so I love the fact that you can be in downtown very easily but then you can also see kids going to school and family homes and you know there's a lot of green spaces and parks and just people outdoors and so I love that aspect of it for sure and it is a very unique you know if people haven't been there it is a very unique aspect where you'll have some you know beautiful very unique as well architecture in the downtown there you know you'd recognize those buildings kind of right away when you see them um and then a couple blocks away you know in Philly maybe a mile away um you'd see still continuing these large buildings but Winston s you can go right into these these houses there uh and then you know 30 40 minutes away you'll see you know these farms in rural areas and it's it's such a unique thing about North Carolina that I that I really appreciate um how how you know I'll leave you with this final question are you kind of the more the person that's going to go to the Asheville for your Vacations or are you going to the beach because wi Sal is centrally you're located right you got Charlotte that's I think 45 minutes away and then you got Asheville which isn't too far and then of course you got the beach um which might be a little further but you know what what are one of your favorite attractions yeah so I have you know grown up being a beach person but obviously it is the furthest of all those options but I think the really nice thing is I've grown to appreciate the mountains especially during the fall it's beautiful to go drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway uh and see all the beautiful leaves um there's a lot of opportunities to hike not too far away from here so it's fun to take my dog and go there um so I think you know I'm learning to appreciate the mountains more um but definitely grew up being a beach person but I think like you said we're Winston Salem is so centrally located across the state you can get places really easily and so it's it's well positioned throughout the state so if you are looking for a fellowship this should definitely be one of your top choices I've been saying this for a while that Atrium and especially you know of course in Charlotte and wion because I'm familiar with those areas should be your Top Choice thank you for coming on Macy and kind of making this case for us um I do really really appreciate it and I hope we can have you on again when you get your kind of uh official role post Fellowship thanks so much for having me</p>