Studying my MBA in Healthcare Management at IMU and the knowledge that I have gained from it had brought a fantastic positive effect in my operational decisions. With the knowledge garnered, I am able to provide more impactful solutions and decisions to my organisation and promote cost effectiveness and workflow efficiency. This is what Sandra So, a Director of Nursing and Marketing at Cengild GI Medical Center, Bangsar South, said in an online interview when asked about her experience studying the IMU MBA in Healthcare Management programme. It all started in 2019 when Sandra had the intention to pursue her MBA and was looking for a suitable programme. It was then that one of her ex-colleagues Mazwin, who is currently working on the IMU Hospital project, told her about the IMU MBA programme and even assisted in getting the Programme Director to contact her. After speaking to the Programme Director, Sandra was convinced that she wanted to study this programme at IMU because she is the University’s Nursing Science alumna who trusts the quality of education that will be offered and the outcome of the programme.
Sandra started the programme in 2019, enjoying most of her MBA journey with IMU, despite having to sacrifice most of her weekends to attend class physically at the University’s campus in Bukit Jalil. This was during the pre-Covid times. In a span of 18 months, Sandra had to use her very precious and little time effectively and spend most of it on her studies, balanced with short breaks which are scheduled by the university for students to rejuvenate and reset. It was truly challenging for Sandra to balance the time for work, studies, assignments, management project and family.
Nevertheless, studying the MBA in Healthcare Management at IMU also brought many wonderful memories for her, one of which was having a community project under IMU Cares in a retirement home in Sabah. “As part of the MBA programme, we were required to be involved in a community project because the University believes that giving back to the community is an important aspect of our education at IMU. I really enjoyed doing this community project in Sabah as it gives us the opportunity to develop and grow while engaging with communities in need in the hopes of driving change for the future.” Sandra also had fond memories of having field trips, especially when the students visited Kota Kinabalu and Ranau. The whole journey to the public healthcare system with Ministry of Health – the visit to Klinik Kesihatan Ranau and Hospital Likas was a great and unforgettable experience for Sandra.
“I have gained so much more knowledge and experience that I could apply to my daily management at work. Some of the modules require me to do an assignment that I could apply to my workplace and this makes my MBA journey so much more meaningful.”
For Sandra, it is her determination to strive for better knowledge and support rendered by the MBA’s supportive Programme Director, To’ Puan Dr Safurah that was the main motivation to continue and complete this course. Adds Sandra, “She (To’ Puan Safurah) is the main drive for the completion of my studies. I was one of the lucky ones who started my programme and completed my modules pre-Covid. It was only during my management project when I felt the effect of the pandemic on my studies. I really had a tough time collecting data as the healthcare staff were always so busy with their task and had no time to fill out my questionnaire for the management project, resulting in a delay in obtaining data for my study questionnaires on time and an overall delay in the completion of my management project. I am extremely grateful to my supervisors and all the lecturers who had provided me with support and advice in the completion of my Management Project and throughout the programme”.
In spite of all these challenges, Sandra completed her MBA in Healthcare Management in 2021. Her advice to those who aspire to take up their MBA is to “chose a programme that matters and figure out how it will help you in your future career path. For those who are currently studying their MBA, stay strong and beat the odds despite the pandemic and limitations in the study methodology, I am sure you will still be able to grasp and gain as much knowledge as we did earlier.” Now that she has completed her MBA, Sandra is looking forward to coming out of her comfort zone and look out for new challenges in the future.
