Alumni Profile: Nathan O’Hara

Nathan O’Hara

Class of 2013

Clinical Research Manager at University of Maryland, School of Medicine

UBC’s Master of Health Administration expanded my managerial skill set and opened an array of professional opportunities. The program structure integrated my course-work into professional projects while the weekend schedule provided valuable networking opportunities with faculty and fellow students. The program’s major research project enabled me to develop my research toolkit, learning from world-class mentors and understanding the research process from developing a research question to publication. My research project investigated the preferences of healthcare workers in South Africa towards available tuberculosis screening programs using a choice experiment. Our findings have been published in the journal PLOS ONE and I have since used this methodology in several other studies.

As part of my position with the University of British Columbia’s Department of Orthopaedics, I managed the Uganda Sustainable Trauma Orthopaedic Program (USTOP). The objective of USTOP is to reduce the burden of disability due to neglected orthopaedic trauma in Uganda through training, research, and advocacy. Many of the courses in the MHA program provided foundational skills that increased my effectiveness as the coordinator of this program. I would strongly recommend this degree to anyone interested in expanding their managerial capabilities for the healthcare sector.

Read more stories about our alumni and where the MHA can take you