Ready to transform healthcare for patients
Amina Dada, MHSA ’25
Health Management and Policy
For Amina Dada, the calling to devote her life to the healthcare profession did not come during a presentation by a high school guidance counselor, or from the desire to follow the footsteps of a relative who is a physician or a nurse.
Her inspiration originated much closer to home. As a youth, Dada had watched her parents, immigrants from Pakistan, struggle with the complexities of navigating the healthcare system. Her late father was a two-time heart transplant recipient.
“My reason for getting into healthcare administration is primarily due to seeing what my dad went through,” said Dada, who is earning a Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) from the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “I was pretty young at the time, but we were in hospitals a lot and the fact that the process was not always the best for the patient—that stayed with me.”
As an undergraduate student, Dada initially expected to pursue a field on the clinical end of healthcare, but her personal compass pulled her to the administrative side where she felt she could have a positive impact on a larger scale.
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I went to appointments with my dad, and I saw firsthand some of the barriers to patients who don’t look like their care team. I watched my dad fight and struggle on the phone for hours to get access to the care he needed. When you watch a parent struggle with that, or you watch a patient go through that, you quickly realize that the system is not built for complex care. A lot of the pathways in our healthcare system are hard to navigate.”
“I quickly realized that being hands-on with the individual patients was not for me,” Dada said. “When I looked at the health administration side, I fell in love with the field and the pursuit of solutions to the problems that are out there.”
She also saw healthcare administration as the avenue to resolving many of the cumbersome issues her parents faced during her father’s lengthy medical ordeal. Dada is intent on finding ways to smooth out the process for the patient.
“I went to appointments with my dad, and I saw firsthand some of the barriers to patients who don’t look like their care team,” she said. “I watched my dad fight and struggle on the phone for hours to get access to the care he needed.
“When you watch a parent struggle with that, or you watch a patient go through that, you quickly realize that the system is not built for complex care. A lot of the pathways in our healthcare system are hard to navigate.”
Dada, who serves as the chair of Corporate and Alumni Relations for the Michigan Healthcare Executive Student Association, said she expects her MHSA degree will position her to make a difference for patients.
“I hope to work in the provider space at a health system or academic medical center,” she said. “I see myself in a leadership position, working on finding solutions and leading teams of professionals. The ultimate goal is to help make the health system more efficient, because, deep down, our mission is about improving the patient experience.”
In addition to her Michigan School of Public Health education, Dada has prepared herself for her career with a diverse array of internships.
This past year, she worked as a graduate administrative intern at the Cleveland Clinic’s Diagnostics Institute, where she focused on enhancing vascular access workflows and improving and standardizing best practices. She also interned in 2024 with Michigan Medicine’s Department of Radiology, working on ultrasound services that impact nearly 73,000 patients annually.
In previous years, Dada interned with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Orthopedics Administration and at Henry Ford Health’s Medical Group Administration unit. She said she never turned down the opportunity to get involved with various projects during her internships
“I am grateful for all of the experiences, because when you are in these healthcare environments every day doing the actual work that’s something you could not get in a classroom,” she said.
“In a hospital or healthcare facility, you experience things hands-on. You are not only talking to the patients and the physicians, but you are also seeing what goes on when the doors are shut, what tools they are using, and what questions come up.”
She credits her Michigan Public Health education as playing a pivotal role on the path to a career in her chosen field.
“I definitely think my time at Michigan has set me up strong for the next stage in my life,” she said. “I absolutely adore the cohort model here, and with the alumni mentors, and the fact that Michigan provides us with the opportunity to do mock cases and get coached in our program as we work through different healthcare administration cases or scenarios.
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I think my dad would be really happy to see where I am now. He is on my mind every day. The work and long hours can feel overwhelming, but he is the reason I keep powering through.”
“There is also the chance to learn from real world professors—I could not get this kind of experience anywhere else. Grad school is not easy, but there was always support through the tough times.”
The internships and building on the foundation of her Michigan Public Health education reaffirmed for Dada that healthcare administration was the ideal career field for her.
“Once I got my feet wet, I knew I loved this, and I’m so glad I took every opportunity, explored new areas, and explored new systems,” she said.
As a first-generation Pakistani-American who has seen healthcare disparities firsthand, Dada said she values diverse teams that put patient needs and quality at the forefront.
She will begin a two-year administrative fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota this summer. She will join a world-class team and be able to contribute to the facility’s vast healthcare impact.
“I think my dad would be really happy to see where I am now,” she said. “He is on my mind every day. The work and long hours can feel overwhelming, but he is the reason I keep powering through.”
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