Interview with James W. Begun, PhD, James A. Hamilton Professor of Healthcare Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota

James W. Begun, PhD, is the James A. Hamilton Professor of Healthcare Management at the University of Minnesota. He earned his PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina (UNC). He previously served on the faculty of UNC, Cornell University, and Virginia Commonwealth University.Dr. Begun teaches graduate-level courses in management and leadership in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where he was the recipient of the 2009 Leonard M. Schuman Award for Excellence in Teaching. In addition, he has received teaching awards from the MHA program and die Carlson School of Management executive MBA program at the University of Minnesota and the master of health services administration program at Virginia Commonwealth University.Dr. Begun's research focuses on the strategy and performance of healthcare organizations and occupations. Among his more than 100 publications is the book Adaptation in the Health Professions: Meeting the Challenges of Change (JosseyBass, 1993). In 2001, he received ACHE's Edgar C. Hayhow Award for his article Strategic Cycling: Shaking Complacency in Healmcare Planning, coauthored with Kathleen B. Heatwole.Dr. Begun has served as director of the master of healthcare administration program and chair of the Department of Healthcare Management at the University of Minnesota. He has also chaired the Accrediting Commission on Education in Health Services Administration (now known as the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education [CAHME]) and has been an active promoter of competency-based education. In 2008, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) awarded him the Gary L. Filerman Prize for Innovation in Healthcare Management Education.Dr. Begun is a member of the Plexus Institute Science Advisory Board; Board of Commissioners, Commission on Nurse Certification; Board of Directors, CAHME; ACHE's Higher Education Committee; and the editorial advisory board of Health Care Management Review.Dr. O'Connor: You earned a PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina (UNC). What prompted you to get into the healthcare field?Dr. Begun: I was interested in using knowledge and research to affect policy and practice, and healthcare was an obvious place to do that in the 1970s when I completed my doctoral degree. Medicare and Medicaid had begun about a decade earlier, and HMOs were coming into vogue. I was lucky enough to get involved with some HMO research at UNC while pursuing the sociology degree there. At that time, the field of health administration was professionalizing and growing. Members of the field were upgrading the knowledge base and doing more research, and institutions were hiring academics and expanding teaching programs. After completing the doctoral degree, I was fortunate to continue to work at UNC and, subsequendy, tfiree other excellent programs: Cornell University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and now, the University of Minnesota.I enjoy this field because it is so purpose driven. Working in health administration offers people great opportunities to make a big difference as teachers, researchers, or practitioners. I find healthcare practitioners and academicians to be incredibly motivated and caring. My work has been a lot of fun. It has also been fulfilling because it allows a life of purpose.Dr. O'Connor: The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) is the accrediting body for graduate healthcare management education programs in the United States and Canada. You have chaired this commission in the past and presently serve as a CAHME Board member. What do you see as the value of accreditation for developing our field?Dr. Begun: Our undergraduate and graduate heahh administration educational programs are critical to raising the quality of practice and have direct effects on improving health and healthcare. …

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