1. Please provide a brief biography, including your educational background.
My name is Frank Nagle and I am a manager of Population Health for ProMedica Bixby and Herrick Hospitals. I am an alumnus of the University of Toledo, earning a bachelor of science in 2012 and a Master of Business Administration in 2019.
2. What does a typical workday look like?
A typical workday is filled with critical thinking, collaborations, and problem solving. Population health aims to make strategic and data driven decisions that improve the health of patients and the community. As a result, my role constantly is collecting and analyzing a variety of data sources to determine how we can scale health impact in Lenawee County and in Michigan.
3. What are other career paths in your field?
I view population health as role that serves as a seam that pulls healthcare and public health industry strategy into one. There are varieties of other career paths in both industries. In breaking the components of population health further, the fundamental element is helping people to live healthier lives. Other career paths
4. When you were a college freshman or sophomore, did you see yourself doing what you are doing today? If not, then what led you to what you are doing now? Early in my undergraduate studies, I was undecided on a major. I did not have any idea that I would be managing population health in the healthcare industry. What led me to what I am doing now is primarily driven by my passion to help people live healthier lives. I have long wanted to help people prevent or manage chronic disease so they can gain independence and avoid complex health complications that are largely preventable. I began working out of college as a personal trainer. After a year of working in that role, I realized that I could help some people but I would only scratch the surface of affecting the lives of many in that role. Shortly after re-evaluating my career goals, I interviewed for an opportunity to be a project coordinator for a grant project with ProMedica Bixby Hospital. I was fortunate to get the position and have been learning ever since. I believe by following my core passion to help people live healthier lives with lifestyle change and chronic disease prevention, I naturally surrounded myself in environments that accomplished that goal in some fashion. Working very hard in those environments opened my eyes to other positions, roles, and opportunity to accomplish my goals. My advice is to really identify what your career goal(s) are. Establish a short-term goal, establish an intermediate goal, and establish your long-term goal. Each year, re-evaluate yourself and how you have evolved. As you learn and grow in your career, you will find opportunity by pursuing and annually reviewing your progress!
5. For students with little or no work-related experience, how can they grow their resumes?
Building a resume to be competitive out of college can seem daunting when most job postings specify they are looking for 2-5 years of experience in the field. My advice for building a resume is to intern or shadow multiple professionals in the field you are interested in. Additionally, volunteer for organizations employing positions you are interested in pursuing. Get a first-hand perspective of how those places operate, what day-to-day looks like, and what the long-term growth opportunity is for young professionals in the organization or industry.
Experience is gained not only from working experience but also from these opportunities. Many professionals are happy to have students/young professionals’ intern or shadow with them.
6. What are some essential skills that employers are looking for?
I believe that the essential skills that employers look for are Leadership, Teamwork, Communication (interpersonal/business/technical), Compassion, Self-Motivated, Reliability, Critical Thinking/Problem Solving. I believe that employers also are looking for people who want to make a career out of working in their organization. They really want to find someone motivated to bring value not only to the company but also to their personal growth. Your personal growth as a leader will directly affect the organization you work for. Take advantage of opportunities to learn, grow, and advance. Work hard and push yourself through the challenges. Take on challenging projects to demonstrate to employers AND YOURSELF that you are capable of leading and accomplishing great things with the team you are part of.
7. What advice do you have for young college students who are uncertain about their career paths?
For students uncertain about your career paths, I would recommend conducting a self-assessment. As mentioned before, identify the most fundamental aspect of what you want to accomplish in your career. Focus in on what difference do you want to make in this world! After you conduct your self-assessment and identify the difference you wish to make, research industries providing services or products that align. I utilized the Bureau of Labor Statistics to research careers, which guide me. From there, research organizations and businesses that are employing those positions and explore opportunities to network or meet professionals working in those fields to share insights as to how they progressed to where they are today, recommendations they have for young professionals, and what their career path looked like. The career path is rarely the straight line between points A and B. More often, it is a squiggly line that sometimes goes backwards but overall always trends forwards toward growth and new opportunity.