Freshman Earns Spot in Prestigious Health Care Institute
Freshman nursing major Hope Daga has earned a spot in a leadership institute aimed at developing the next generation of leaders who can address disparities in the delivery of care.
The Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute is a two-phase program — the first consisting primarily of education, the second an internship at one of a number of health care-related sites, from hospitals to insurance providers to the Centers for Disease Control.
Daga said he hadn’t actually heard of the internship program before getting an email from the program’s coordinator, notifying him that he had been recommended by Kris Vacek, OTD, dean of the Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
“My adviser reassured me that it seemed like an awesome program and told me that if I was feeling more excited than nervous that I should totally apply for it,” he said.
The founder of the institute, John Bluford III, a former CEO of Kansas City’s Truman Medical Center (now University Health), is considered a trailblazing Black health care executive. The institute’s mission is twofold — to prepare a pipeline of leaders from underrepresented backgrounds for the health care field and to help reduce health disparities in minority and vulnerable populations. Daga said he’s excited to start the first phase, which begins in May. The second phase, an internship, will take place the summer after.
“It seemed like just the program I needed to prepare me for nursing school and the experience I was looking for to prepare me for what I could expect,” he said.
As a freshman, Daga said he’s still deciding where he wants to take a career in health care. But the opportunity to meet peers and those already working in medicine provides an opportunity to sponge up knowledge and learn about the paths in front of him.
“I think the experience will definitely help me build and solidify skills I'll need but also network for the future,” he said. “I also hope the experience helps me decide whether or not I want to go ahead with nursing and if so, what specific position in nursing whether it be emergency room nurse, pediatric nurse, intensive care, or wherever else I may find an interest.”
