Jeffrey Simms, HPM’s director of professional development and alumni relations, is the 2018 recipient of the John E. Larsh Jr. Award for mentoring. The Larsh Award “recognizes an established, long-term faculty member who has spent several years of their career mentoring students for which Dr. Larsh was well known and valued highly.”

The Office of Professional Development exists in part to assist students in the residential Master’s programs in the Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) with the transition into the professional workforce upon graduation. The necessary linkage between professional preparation and successful practice in healthcare administration and policy is facilitated by this office and its staff. Services provided include:

Job Seeking Process/Skills

• Workshops and seminars
• Achieve smooth transition to professional life from “day one” in the department
• Counseling, goals examination, career match, marketability
• Employment recruitment program and networks
• Understanding of significant trends in the healthcare job market
• Placement and compensation database development
• Broader understanding of various professional disciplines in healthcare

Field Experiences

• Improving field experience content, matching, advising, quality
• Better integration of field experience and academic content
• Closer partnership with internship preceptors and sites
• Broaden opportunities for post-graduate employment options

Professional Outreach

• Maintain active and growing number of professional healthcare contacts
• Network personally with senior and mid-level executives in diverse and influential positions
• Active involvement in a number of professional associations and networks
• Look for linkages to other professional schools within UNC-CH and to other departments within the School of Public Health
• Develop conferences and other professional development programs
• Maintain close affiliation with ACHE, MGMA, AcademyHealth, NAHSE, THEF and others

Contact

Jeffrey Simms
Director of Professional Development and Alumni Relations
117 Rosenau Hall, CB #7411
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411
919-966-7380
jsimms@email.unc.edu