Angie Dunst has her hands full. As executive director of nursing for St. Vincent Women’s Hospital and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, she oversees about 1,400 associates and is responsible for all nursing and operational issues for both hospitals. As a single mother of two children, ages 4 and 7, her home life is a daily blur.
Despite her hectic schedule, Dunst would like the opportunity to further her career. Thanks to Purdue’s Executive MBA (EMBA) Program, she’s getting that chance.
"I love the business aspect of healthcare," says Dunst, a 1992 graduate of Indiana University’s School of Nursing. "I was looking for a school with a comprehensive overview to management, one that covers many factors, including finance, marketing, human resources, and operations. And that’s the approach that Purdue offers."
Thanks to the blended-learning format of the Purdue EMBA Program, combining distance learning with limited on-campus time, Dunst is able to juggle her work and home schedule while earning her degree. Participants in the program come to campus for two-week sessions six times over the two-year duration. The sessions provide face-to-face instruction with Purdue faculty and an opportunity to network with and learn from fellow classmates. Away from campus, EMBA students manage their course work and interact with classmates and faculty through a variety of e-learning tools.
"I think the class composition is great," says Dunst, who held nursing positions at hospitals in Denver and Philadelphia before joining St. Vincent in 1999. "I specifically wanted classmates who didn’t have the same background. And I can tell you that nobody else in my class works in a hospital."
Dunst has high praise for the "interactive and engaging" Krannert School faculty, as well as the staff associated with the EMBA Program, particularly JoAnn Whitford, the admissions coordinator for Krannert Executive Education Programs. "I called and talked to JoAnn, and she answered all of my questions. She even followed up with an e-mail less than five minutes after I got off the phone with her," Dunst says.
For more information about the Purdue EMBA Program, click here.