Colorado Tech Online Faculty
Meet Adeline Conroy
School of Healthcare Management
Teaches MBA Healthcare Management courses
Leading in Healthcare Management
Adeline Conroy has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level since graduating with her own Master's Degree. It was only a little over a year ago she made the switch from traditional brick-and-mortar schools to online education however. In typical fashion for her, she has run with it, helping the Healthcare Management track within Colorado Tech Online's MBA program grow in both student numbers and prestige. Conroy was the first professor of graduate-level Healthcare Management at Colorado Tech Online.
Introduced to Colorado Tech Online by her son, who is a professor in the Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice program, Conroy is focusing exclusively on teaching these days; over 25 years working experience as a clinician and healthcare administrator is enough…"for now," she says. (She taught part-time for this entire time as well.)
During her time in the healthcare trenches, Conroy held a variety of positions: associate administrator, administrator, vice president for operations, acting president/CEO, president/CEO and administrator, and clinical administrator, to name but a few.
Now that she is dedicated solely to teaching, Conroy makes sure to share her real-world experience. Not only does she use it to put theory into practice, but also for career guidance when requested. "I don't know if my students are just bypassing the career services at Colorado Tech Online, but they ask me all for sorts of on-the-job advice and career guidance. I'm happy to help, of course."
So what does Conroy tell her career-advice-seeking students? First of all, she encourages them to join student chapters of professional organizations and to read the journals of a profession. And then, when it really comes time to look for a job, look at ads and job boards and use the contacts made through the professional organizations to network and see what is out there.
"But before you turn your r&eactue;sum&eactue; in, ask yourself how you would fit in. A Colorado Tech Online MBA is a broad degree that can set you up for a variety of positions, but you can't expect to just walk into a hospital with it and get a position. The degree is only part of the whole package, but it certainly sets you up for an amazing start."
Conroy should know about what a business degree can do for one's job prospects in the healthcare field. She initially started in healthcare with a purely clinical background; Conroy was a registered nurse. "I didn't have the knowledge or skills to do anything managerial or administrative until I went back and got an advanced education. That gave me the business and organizational sense that allowed me to bridge clinical and executive."
Conroy says just over half of her Healthcare Management students already have some experience in the area. The rest are just learning about the field. She says it is for these latter students that her real-world experience most comes in handy. "When I have students who have no healthcare experience, the theories in the textbooks make absolutely no sense to them. The practical examples I can share really bring the concepts home to them though, putting the theories into terms they can understand." Foster understanding: that's just what a leader should do.
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