Daniel Caughey, MHA
After earning his MHA degree from Mount Sinai’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Daniel Caughey is prepared for the next step—a Project Management Professional certification.
What attracted you to this area of study?
I have always had a passion for helping others and feel as though good health is something people too often take for granted (myself included), which led to my decision to become a Health Policy and Management major at Providence College.
This passion grew in my experiences working at Boston Children’s Hospital in the Emergency Department and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and now at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Department of Microbiology. I have been fortunate to have had some great mentors working for two leading U.S. institutions, which has reinforced my motivation for pursuing an MHA.
Describe your current job and how an MHA can help your career?
I am an Administrative Coordinator in the Center for Vaccine Research and Pandemic Preparedness (C-VaRPP) in the Department of Microbiology at Icahn Mount Sinai. My primary responsibility is to alleviate some of the administrative burden from the esteemed Directors of the Center, Viviana Simon, MD, PhD, and Florian Krammer, PhD, each a Professor of Microbiology, so they can focus more of their attention on their groundbreaking research. They are tremendous mentors not only to me, but to so many scientists who have worked in their labs, and I consider it an honor to contribute to their work. They encouraged me to pursue my academic goals of attaining an MHA, which has provided me with the knowledge to help grow the Center and advance my career.
What, specifically, are the strong points of the MHA program?
I was looking for a program that would offer the skills needed to succeed as a leader in the health care field, and that is exactly what I found in this program. The MHA offers a diverse curriculum with courses such as Strategic Planning, Finance, Marketing, and Population Health, to name a few.
I remember when I arrived at orientation, Herb Lopez, the Administrative Program Manager for MHA, made me feel very welcomed and served as a great resource whenever I had questions related to the program. The faculty also commonly hold leadership positions within the Mount Sinai Health System and beyond, so it was great to network with and receive an education from the experts currently in the field. It also exposed me to the growing field of Project Management, which is something I plan to pursue after graduation.
What’s next?
I plan to grow in my current role and attain a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in the near future. The MHA program did a great job of introducing and preparing students to pursue a PMP alongside their MHA credential. Project Management is a growing field that can be very beneficial for leaders in all areas of health care leadership on the research and even the clinical side, if I ever decide to go back in that direction. This program has prepared me well for both paths, and I am very thankful for the new opportunities it will provide me.