January 27, 2019

PKUHSC to help Michigan Medicine launch training program for hospital administrators

A group from PKU Third Hospital participates in a team-building activity in Ann Arbor as part of a 2017 pilot Global Executive Education program.

A Michigan Medicine-run training program for visiting hospital administrators from abroad will launch in earnest this year with a visiting group from PKUHSC.

As many as 15 hospital administrators from Peking University Third Hospital will visit Ann Arbor in May for the Global Executive Education program, a three-week course that covers several core administrative leadership curricula for rising healthcare administrators. The program is the first of its kind administered through Michigan Medicine’s Global REACH office, which oversees the medical school’s international partnerships.

“At Global REACH, we increasingly field requests from partner institutions for training that focuses on administrative systems and skills. As their institutions grow, it drives a need not just for providers and care capacity, but for skilled executives, too,” said Amy Huang, MD, MHSA, Global REACH Director of Asia Programs, who spearheaded the program. “We started with PKUHSC because they have been such a strong partner, but we eventually plan to offer the course to other interested partner institutions as well.”

The group headed to U-M this spring follows a cohort of ten who participated in a pilot session of the program in 2017. That group, also from Third Hospital, completed 112 class hours and 11 departmental tours, including behind-the-scenes looks at Emergency Medicine and Survival Flight operations; the Japanese Family Health Program offices; the Michigan Medicine simulation center; the Kellogg Eye Center, and more. Participants included leaders from Third Hospital’s Information Technology, Human Resources, Communications, and more.

This year’s curriculum will follow a similar path, although a portion of the program will be divided into three distinct focus tracks – clinical and translational research; medical education, and management and administration – for a more individualized trainee experience. The sessions will be led Michigan Medicine administrative leaders from each respective area.

“We received very positive feedback from the first group and our collaborators at PKUHSC were immediately interested in sending others into the program,” said Huang, MD, MHSA. “We’ve taken the opportunity to refine the program, including additional sessions in areas like medical education, which we and our partners feel will have the greatest impact.”

After the May session, two to three more cohorts are expected to travel to Ann Arbor for the program through 2019.