The path through college seemed reasonably clear for Corey Ainsworth. He wanted to become a nurse practitioner; he enrolled in South Louisiana Community College with his eyes on the 小蝌蚪APP's College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Then something happened that closed the door on nursing classes and a future in clinical health care for the New Iberia native.
小蝌蚪APP淚 got in a really bad car accident,小蝌蚪APP Ainsworth says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 still wanted to stay in healthcare, but I knew I couldn't do clinical.小蝌蚪APP
He spoke with his advisor about how to best use his credits to complete his bachelor's degree.
小蝌蚪APP淭hey told me about Health Information Management and Health Services Administration. I just thought 小蝌蚪APPHealth Services Administration sounds fun!小蝌蚪APP I didn't even realize it was online.小蝌蚪APP
Succeeding online
Ainsworth says there was a learning curve to adapting to online learning. The key to thriving, he says, is time management and developing self-discipline.
小蝌蚪APP淚t was challenging to adapt to. It took about a year to learn how to control my time well. And then I was like 小蝌蚪APP業小蝌蚪APP檓 all in for this小蝌蚪APP and sure enough, I came to love it. I just had a lot of flexibility in my schedule.小蝌蚪APP
The faculty who teach online in the Health Services Administration program are also all UL Lafayette faculty within the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Ainsworth felt comfortable reaching out to them with questions and had confidence in their responses.
小蝌蚪APP淭he instructors are very responsive and extremely helpful,小蝌蚪APP Ainsworth says. 小蝌蚪APP淭hey understand that online learning is a bit of a hurdle, but the faculty assistance and availability of the program outweighs the struggle of it.小蝌蚪APP
As he advanced into his upper-level courses, Ainsworth was able to establish connections with his classmates.
小蝌蚪APP淚 know all 25 people I小蝌蚪APP檝e had classes with for the last three years,小蝌蚪APP Ainsworth says. 小蝌蚪APP淎nd I小蝌蚪APP檝e made some friends. We小蝌蚪APP檝e gotten together to study or used telecommunication to help each other out when we need help with the course work.小蝌蚪APP
Putting the 小蝌蚪APP榳ork小蝌蚪APP in 小蝌蚪APP榗oursework小蝌蚪APP
The Capstone Seminar for Health Services Administration requires seniors to secure an internship working in health care.
As luck would have it, Ainsworth had done a research project on the not-for-profit status of the Iberia Medical Center which led him to recognize a hospital executive at a serendipitous moment.
小蝌蚪APP淚 was trying to lose a little weight and I recognized this guy at the gym 小蝌蚪APP when I saw his name on his ID badge, I knew I had to talk to him.小蝌蚪APP
It was the chief operating officer of the hospital.
The opportunity to put his coursework into practice in a professional healthcare setting gave Ainsworth new confidence in his choice of degree and prospective career paths.
小蝌蚪APP淓verything just started to make sense once I was in the field. It was like what I had learned the past four years started to snowball together.小蝌蚪APP
Interning at New Iberia Medical Center helped squash his insecurities, but it also made room for a little regret to grow.
小蝌蚪APP淚f I could do it all over again, I would definitely try to work at a medical facility sooner,小蝌蚪APP Ainsworth says. 小蝌蚪APP淚t could be a doctor's office, a dentist's office, or a hospital, anywhere I could use my education in my job earlier.小蝌蚪APP
As an intern at Iberia Medical Center, Corey was assigned to a large-scale project 小蝌蚪APP he plans to stay on after graduation and see the project through to its completion. He is also going to begin his MBA degree online through UL Lafayette in the fall of 2021.
小蝌蚪APP淚小蝌蚪APP檓 used to online learning now and I know UL Lafayette very well. It小蝌蚪APP檚 going to be a smooth transition,小蝌蚪APP Ainsworth says.
Corey would recommend the HSA online program to students curious about the business side of medicine.
小蝌蚪APP淗ealth care requires so many different roles to make it work. I would say anyone who wants to provide care but does not feel at home on the clinical side, or anyone who leans toward business, but wants to stay in health care, would do well in Health Services Administration.小蝌蚪APP