Munson Healthcare Manager of Clinical Education Barb Slagel learned a lot during the COVID pandemic. It resulted in a Doctor of Health Administration degree from Central Michigan University.
Slagel took advantage of Munson Healthcare’s educational benefit program that provides financial assistance to staff seeking higher education. That doctorate degree also opened the door to giving a presentation at the 17th annual World Congress on Public Health in Rome, Italy, that occurred from May 2 - 6. The theme was “A World in Turmoil: Opportunities to Focus on the Public’s Health.”
“It was impressive to get a perspective on public health challenges across the globe,” Slagel said. “Misinformation, the infodemic, is plaguing every country and causing public harm. We need to take action to ensure that we continue to promote wellness and prevention in our communities, including vaccination.”
“My systematic overview of research from 165 countries over two pandemic years suggests opportunities for public health researchers to engage in multidisciplinary studies, building upon the contributions of other disciplines and international scholars involved in disparities research,” she wrote in her conclusion.
Slagel said the interesting part is the data visualization using VOSviewer to show the interconnectedness of articles, entities, and terms. Once completed, her dissertation adviser suggested that her topic would have worldwide interest and recommended she submit an abstract to the World Congress on Public Health.
“It’s a ‘hot topic’ right now with over three new peer-reviewed research articles being produced per day on the topic,” she said. “I am very honored to have been selected from hundreds of submissions. I really was excited to represent Munson Healthcare on the world stage.”
In her role at Munson Healthcare, Slagel and her team of educators oversee a program of clinical education for nursing and other clinical staff. Learning has been a big part of her life. She also has an MBA degree from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from Saginaw Valley State University and an associate’s degree in industrial chemistry technology from Ferris State University.
Slagel is married to Steve Slagel who holds a doctorate in ministry, and they have three grown and married children and three grandchildren as well as two dogs, a cat, and a horse. She is also an adjunct professor for Grand Valley State University where she teaches graduate courses in bioinformatics and health informatics.
“Right now, in my spare time, I am working on a publication with my dissertation chair,” she said.