Student Spotlight: Carol Richter

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Today in our Student Spotlight series, we're going to be learning about Carol Richter! Carol is a member of the Executive Healthcare Administration Program at Trinity and serves as a Director in the Pediatric Surgical Unit at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio.



    How did you hear of the TU HCAD Executive Program?

I was attending Texas A&M Corpus for my MSN in nursing leadership, during my final semester I chose my preceptor for leadership who was an RN but had moved nto the operational side of healthcare and was the Sr. VP of Operations at our facility.  I chose him because my interest is also in operations and I wanted to learn more about his role.  Long story short, he recommended the Trinity MHA program, and at this same time our organization partnered with Trinity offering employees a tuition discount so I felt like it was meant to be.

     What has been your favorite part of the program so far?

This will be hard to narrow down, I have enjoyed the leadership courses with Dr. Shay.  The discussions with Dr. Beauvais and his course work.  I have also enjoyed learning more of the financial aspects of healthcare, especially coming from a 20 year nursing background.  I think my favorite part of the course has been sharing with classmates regarding their challenges they are facing in their organization or projects they have been a part of to improve processes or impact patient safety outcomes.

    How do you see the graduate degree benefiting your career advancement?

Upon completion of this program my goal is to seek a position in Operations within our organization and I feel this degree will give me the foundation I need to be successful.

     What does “being a leader in healthcare” mean to you?

I have been a leader in healthcare for the past ten years in a middle management role.  The changes that our organization have experienced are unlike any other profession.  Healthcare leaders must be able to balance professional relationships with physicians, patients, and staff as well as to keep an eye on the financial success or challenges of the organization.  It is being able to balance people’s lives and your unit checkbook from the same place and to keep close to the mission, vision, and values of not only the organization but my own personal set of values.  It is also being able to adapt to change at a very rapid pace and keeping your team calm in the face of chaos.  It is juggling metrics and peoples lives and doing what is right for the patient.  It is about safety and security for all of our customers and staff.  It is management with heart.

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