I am a medical doctor (M.D.) from Indonesia who moved to Canada with my young family in 2019. After doing a bit of research, I decided not to go through the pathway to get a license to practice in Canada, at least for the time being. Instead, I decided to apply to the MSQM: Health Analytics program at Duke. I wanted to reinvent myself and create a new career pathway.

Why MSQM: Health Analytics?

While working as a program manager remotely from Canada for a non-profit organization with a mission to advance education and health care for marginalized children in rural Indonesia, I realized that health data had not been captured and utilized optimally. I was frustrated that medications, like epilepsy drugs for individuals with intellectual disability and mobility challenges needed daily, were not available on the island. Ultimately, I ended up shipping the drugs from the capital city.

I was curious about the problem of such common drugs not being available on the island. Was it a supply chain problem? Was it inaccurate demand data? I thought if policymakers and the Ministry of Health were provided better health data, they probably would have made better data-driven decisions.

I think capturing and leveraging health data is the key to improving health care. This is the reason why I chose MSQM: Health Analytics program.

Why Fuqua?

I like the culture and the time/location flexibility that Fuqua’s MSQM program offers. I particularly like the emphasis on decency quotient (DQ) at Fuqua, in addition to the Team Fuqua culture. According to Bill Boulding, Fuqua’s former dean, DQ has four leadership components which are value, respect, and care for others, using your role to elevate others to bring out their best, humility to learn from others, and integrity to be honest, transparent, and accountable to self and others.

A 19-month online program with weekly live classes, MSQM: Health Analytics at Fuqua provides me, as a mother of a 10-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, with time flexibility, opportunities to invest in myself while raising my children, and stability because I did not need to uproot my family and move to Durham, N.C.

How was my experience during the program?

I think the program was very organized and holistic. I felt very supported by the Fuqua staff and happy I made many meaningful friendships. The program materials, assignments, and links are very well-organized on the Canvas site. It is helpful in navigating the program.

The program’s focus is not only on quantitative subjects, but also on other things such as strategy, navigating organizations, and business communication. Communication is a skill that is very important but is often overlooked. Professor Mark Brown rigorously trained us to communicate effectively. He gave each student personalized feedback via video recording. I think the feedback is very useful and is something that I can revisit anytime in the future.

The Fuqua staff has been very supportive and kind from the get-go until the end of the program. Several program staff continuously offered me their support and assistance when I was faced with family health problems and personal problems. I am grateful for their kindness.

During the program, I made many meaningful friendships with my classmates. The multiple in-person weekends have been my favorite parts of the program because I could meet my friends in person.

After finishing the program, I know that I have fulfilled my vision to reinvent myself because now I am not only a doctor with clinical knowledge and program management skills, but also a doctor with data analytics skills. It opens other doors for me.

I hope my children, especially my daughter, and other mothers read this blog and understand that we can always reinvent ourselves. Being a mother does not stop us from chasing our dreams.