During Health Business Management studies Anu found the next level of herself as a learner
Anu Karppinen studies in Master's Programme in Health and Business Management. She started her studies 2021 and plans to graduate 2024. Anu tells about her studies:
"I graduated as a Bachelor of health care (perioperative nurse) from OAMK in 2007. After that, I worked as a nurse in the operating theatre for a little over three years. During this time, I became interested in hospital supply and in the business side of the surgical instruments. After working in the operating theatre, I was selected to work for a company selling hospital supplies.
Combining sales and health care background in my current job was really interesting, and I gradually progressed in our company from sales development to sales management positions. Even though our company supports people with leadership responsibilities with their own training, I felt that my professional qualifications are not yet quite at the level required for my position. I started exploring different study options and after getting acquainted with the Health business management program, I realized that this is a study opportunity for me that I can benefit from. I applied and was selected from Bachelor of health care background.
Working life orientation has been taken into account nicely in the studies. Cooperation between companies and Metropolia is international and of high quality. For my part, I would like to promote the cooperation of health technology companies with Metropolia even more. There are certainly development projects in every sector that could be promoted alongside work.
Studying at Metropolia has been independent. All studies related to education have taken place as online studies or group work. The teachers have taken us, “working students” into account very well, and the studies have mainly taken place in the evenings, when we have still been able to attend teaching at the end of the working day. Group works have also been successful through Teams.
I have had to invest in studying mostly after work or on weekends, but luckily my employer has also supported my studies and I have been able to use working time to the studies that partly or mainly support my current work.
The teachers and lecturers have supported my studies well, even though I have sometimes felt that there is not enough time to complete my studies in a high-quality manner and on schedule. Teachers' solutions and ideas also help support the right decisions, for example, when completing a thesis.
The most meaningful thing about my studies so far is that I have been able to find the next level of myself as a student and learner. Being an adult student and studying alongside work is not the easiest path. Master's level studies challenge students to reflect and think more independently about things and to take their thoughts further than what is taught in textbooks. That has been the biggest benefit for me in these studies.
In my work plans, I thought I would continue in the Health care business and possibly still in the current company and take my own expertise forward in management positions in the company. However, with the help of education, I am also more professionally qualified to consider other options.
I warmly recommend HBM studies to healthcare professionals working in international companies who want to update their professional skills. Or health care professionals seeking opportunities in international companies.