The last three weeks I have been spending a lot of extra hours preparing for the UAB Case Competition. I was appointed team captain by the faculty to represent the University of Memphis, along with Parker Harris and Alicia Pacheco, in Birmingham.
The UAB Health Administration Case Competition is designed to provide graduate students an opportunity to put what they have learned into practice with a real-life, real-time case. Our team analyzed potential population health strategies for a large, integrated health system. We were given three weeks to analyze the case and develop solutions. We presented our solutions to judges made up of healthcare executives throughout the nation.
Basically all of February was spent by us meeting for hours up on campus to put together our solutions, financial forecasts, and projected health outcomes into a crisp 20 minute presentation. Words don't really do that stressful process much justice. We showed up in Birmingham very proud of all the work we had done, but when you put so much time in, you also want to win.
There was a nice dinner the night before the competition, and we drew numbers for our time slots. I actually knew quite a few people there. A guy who served in Argentina with me was there on the Penn State team. Overall, there were about twenty or so LDS guys all from different schools. Thirty-eight schools had teams there, and only 12 would advance past the first round and into the semi-final. Memphis has never had a team advance.
We presented the next morning in a small room to just two judges and really felt like we had done a great job. We had practiced so many times, and worked through the nerves. I thought it was our best run-through. Dr. Powell (our faculty coach) was also in the room with some of our first-year students who joined the team as observers.
In the afternoon they announced the semi-finalists, and we were one of those 12 teams! We were over the moon! Dr. Powell and Dr. Gentry (Division Director) almost couldn't contain themselves. This is arguably the most prestigious case competition among MHA programs, and advancing brought a lot of prestige to our program, which will help us move up in the MHA rankings. It felt good to be a part of the first team ever to advance from the University of Memphis.
We presented again in the afternoon to a panel of three judges and about 40 students in the semi-final. Any students on a team that did not advance were allowed to watch the semi-final presentations. We did another great job, and I could not be more proud of Parker and Alicia. We didn't advance, but the eventual 1st place team was in our group.
The actual competition for the two days in Birmingham was fun, but the process in the three weeks leading up to that was more what I will remember. After you spend so much time with two people, it is inevitable that you become better friends. Parker, Alicia, and I have so many inside jokes now, and we all learned more about what we brought to the table in a team project. I thought we worked extremely well together.
I got a trophy! Emmy was super proud of me. I was only gone for three days, but I really missed my girls.
