What started as a marketing tactic in February 2003 has evolved into an annual event for the students enrolled in the Health Services Administration (HSA) curriculum. In keeping with the theme of Groundhog Day, students can participate in job shadowing a healthcare executive for an entire workday every Feb. 2. They meet with executives such as CEOs and CFOs of hospitals, directors of nursing homes and presidents of hospital supply companies.

According to Assistant Professor and Chair of the Health Services Administration department Mary O'Shaughnessey (pictured at right), the program benefits the student and the executive.

"It provides students with the opportunity to see the breadth and depth of healthcare operations. It gives them the opportunity to link class lectures with the actual workplace," says O'Shaughnessey. "The executives appreciate the chance to meet potential employees."

Typically, an executive schedules meetings and conference calls to demonstrate to students the wide array of the job's responsibilities. Students see first-hand the value of team work and the level of cooperation and coordination that is required of the profession.

According to O'Shaughnessey, sometimes the experience generates an interest in another area for students to then explore. Overall, it is a networking tool that provides students with contacts that could open doors to a career.

HSA student Stephanie Abernathy-Lane (pictured at left) attended five meetings with five different executives ranging from the vice president of finance to the president of information systems when she participated in the job shadow activity this year. Throughout the course of her day, she met a valuable contact.

"I actually did not want the day to end," says Abernathy-Lane. "I experienced several job shadowing partnerships that day which provided me with the chance to find my niche. As a result, I have arranged an internship in the finance department at Children's Hospital of Michigan."

Abernathy-Lane aspires to oversee the finances of a healthcare facility upon receiving her Master's of Health Services Administration degree next April.

"I'm glad I followed through (with the shadowing) because it turned out to be much more than I imagined," says Abernathy-Lane.

O'Shaughnessey strongly encourages students to participate in job shadowing to better comprehend the healthcare profession from the inside and envision their place within it.