As a graduate from the MSQM: Health Analytics Class of 2020, I’ve had four years after graduation to reflect on the time spent and what I gained from the program. I am thrilled to see my journey of growing from a tech expert to a leader with a skillset in both management and analytics. 

I have been working in clinical data management for 16 years, which was a highly regulated and more conservative area. In the first 10 years, I positioned myself as a tech expert in this area, making sure I possessed all the current knowledge and tech skills to thrive in my role.

Why Fuqua?

In 2018, when I decided to enroll in the MSQM: HA program, I was the first student from China of this program. My goal was just to further sharpen my data analytics technical skills because this program is very relevant to data science and my role. The curriculum goes beyond the basics, not just offering analytical concepts, principles and skills in R and Python. 

I was also exposed to MBA concepts such as accounting and marketing. It is truly an eye-opening program, and it equipped me with advanced analytical skills and a business mindset with a broad global view of the health care landscape. 

With these analytical skills and a business mindset, I better understand how to harness the power of data and reveal persuasive data when there is a business influence to make. I can also much better appreciate how cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing the way we are working, even in the highly-regulated and conservative health care space where I worked. I became more open as a business leader to influence people around me to be more creative, open-minded, and well-prepared to adapt to new possibilities that emerge. 

Putting My New Business Mindset to Work

This program equipped me with a new business vision and skills. Working in a China branch under a global organization, thinking and operating from a business perspective, not just a technical perspective, is something I know my employer values.

My organization is evolving from Clinical Data Management to Clinical Data Science which entails a bunch of skillsets and mindsets changes for individuals, from logic-based data cleaning to critical thinking, risk-based approach. This requires advanced analytics solutions based on statistical and ML methodologies that will generate complex data trends and signals going beyond the scope of edit checks or straightforward data reconciliation.

In this evolution process, my education background enables me always plays as the pioneer to advance the new ways of working implementation and play as the ambassador of mindset shifting in my organization.