New career prospects with the old employer

Daniel Glückschalt wanted to pursue a new career path when he decided to study health management part-time at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. A good decision, as it turned out. "I wanted to open up new perspectives for myself and develop professionally and personally," he explains.

The fact that the combination of studies and career worked out smoothly is mainly thanks to his employer, Barmer GEK, one of the largest health insurance companies in Germany with 8.6 million insured. He already got to know the company better as a trainee during his technical baccalaureate in economics and administration and successfully applied for an apprenticeship as a social insurance clerk after graduation. The native of Hanau completed the training in 2011 and worked as a customer advisor for the health insurance company. "I always enjoyed the close contact with the customer, as I was close to the concerns, wishes and problems of the insured. But I wanted to go beyond my position at the time and acquire other key qualifications that would allow me to reorient myself professionally."

New perspectives

The decision for the Bachelor's programme in Health Management was obvious: "I wanted to take off the glasses of the health insurance company for once and get a different perspective. Especially because I worked a lot in direct customer contact, it was important to me to understand the interests of the insured even better. The Health Management degree programme gives you a comprehensive view of the entire health system." Before deciding on Fulda as a place to study, the 25-year-old informed himself extensively. He took advantage of university information days at various universities and the information offered by the student advisory service. The overall concept of Fulda University of Applied Sciences was convincing. "I particularly liked the combination of science and practice. The distance between Fulda and my workplace in Hanau was also an advantage," says Daniel Glückschalt, explaining his decision. He found it particularly exciting to meet fellow students from other professions: "During my studies, I met students who had the same training, but also nurses or health care clerks. I benefited a lot from the exchange of experiences," says the graduate.

From Monday to Wednesday, Daniel Glückschalt spent his time studying; on Thursdays and Fridays, his clients met him as usual at his workplace in Hanau. His employer was very flexible about this. "Fortunately, Barmer GEK fully supported my desire to study. Especially during the exam period, my superiors and colleagues responded accommodatingly, so that I always had enough time to study."

Investment in the future

While still studying, Daniel Glückschalt became a sales representative in 2013. Since February last year, he has been working at the regional office in Frankfurt as a staff member for political tasks. A position that his studies made possible for him. "As a staff member for political tasks, I deal with questions and problems of health policy. As a health insurance company, we want to actively participate in the further development of health and nursing care for the insured in Germany." To this end, he is in constant contact with all departments of the health insurance fund, such as nursing or prevention. Information is bundled, processed and passed on to him. "Together with the technical officers of the individual departments and the management, I initiate projects that deal with the current situation of health policy and work out strategies for laws. A multifaceted task with responsibility," says Daniel Glückschalt. For this, he always has to deal with current health policy events and their effects on the insured, whose interests are always in focus. "Every day brings new challenges. It is a lot of fun. I'm working on a health policy screw that I can actively turn and help shape," the young man says enthusiastically.

He is positive about his professional future: "Thanks to my studies, I was able to take part in an internal assessment centre for junior executives right after my studies. I successfully completed this and am currently going through the management programme at Barmer GEK. In February, I will take on a new challenge and assume the position of regional manager in Neu-Isenburg. At Barmer GEK, many doors are open to you. Lifelong learning plays an important role - and is often the key to success."

Info on the study programme
If you want to rethink, redevelop and also implement concepts and structures in health care, the Bachelor's degree programme in Health Care Management is an ideal career qualification. The programme can be studied full-time (six semesters) or part-time (nine semesters). Prerequisites include training in a health profession such as medical assistant, nurse, midwife/delivery assistant, health care clerk or social insurance clerk. In order to meet the requirements of the constantly changing structures in health care, special competences of the employees are required. The Health Management degree programme qualifies students for this. Typical occupational fields for graduates are human resources departments of health care facilities, quality assurance, health insurance companies or controlling in clinics, medical centres or health care networks.