“We can make predictions about what will be needed in twenty years and already take action now”

Why did you choose the master’s in Population Health Management?
“I completed a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. After that, I wanted to deepen my understanding of how we can improve healthcare and develop a broad perspective on this. Population Health Management focuses on improving the health of a group of people with similar characteristics. You look at this from different disciplines. That really appealed to me.”

“There was also an opportunity to partly study at the University of Birmingham. I was able to do that. There, I learned more about public health in general and how it can be improved, for example through population screening. That is a good addition to the group focused approach of Population Health Management. While public health often focuses up to hospital admission, population health management also looks at how we can prevent readmission. For example by looking at the environment and what improvements are possible there. I also gained more insight into how public health is organised in the United Kingdom. I was able to bring many of those insights back to the Netherlands.”

What direction would you like to go in later, and how does the master’s help you with that?
“I would like to go into academia and continue with a PhD and a postdoc. That is partly because of my experience in Birmingham, but also because of the connection with LUMC. It is very interesting that you can be so closely connected to a large hospital. The topic that interests me most is interventions. How can we make sure people change their behaviour? During my bachelor’s, I also found implementation science very interesting. There is a lot of important research that does not always translate well into practice. I would really like to explore how we can do that differently.”

The master’s is partly online, combined with several on campus weeks. How did you experience that combination?
“It can be quite demanding at times. It requires a lot of discipline to stay on track with the coursework. During the weeks of in person teaching, you are expected to be up to date with the material. On the other hand, this combination also offers a lot of flexibility and freedom. For example, we have students who would otherwise have to travel a lot. You also find your own way of studying. I take a lot of notes, while others learn in very different ways. Because of this flexibility, you really learn in a way that suits you.”

There is a lot of collaboration with students from different backgrounds. What is the advantage of that, in your opinion?
“Working with different students, both international and from different study programmes, gives you many different perspectives. We often discuss how healthcare is organised in the Netherlands, but it also helps to look at how it is organised in other countries. When you work together on a case, you sometimes discover aspects you had not thought of yourself. You can combine those different approaches to get as complete a picture as possible and approach the case from a broader perspective.”

You learn many new skills in the master’s. Which have you developed most recently?
“Especially going deeper into data analysis. You need to be able to substantiate your approach and vision. With numbers, of course, but also by using that data to make predictions about what will be needed in twenty or thirty years. If we know that, we can already act on it now. I also want to go into academia, so academic thinking and writing are skills I will continue to use a lot.”

How could population health management improve healthcare in the Netherlands?
“I think population health management allows you to say: these are the figures and this is the future. Based on that, we can take a different path. If you hear that healthcare is under pressure, for example due to staff shortages, population health management could be a method to improve overall health and reduce the pressure on the healthcare system.”

How has your view of healthcare changed during the master’s?
“In the Netherlands, healthcare is well organised, but there are plenty of opportunities to learn from other countries that also use population health management, such as Belgium and Singapore. The master’s has taught me to look more critically at how things are organised, for example financially, and how complex legislation and regulations are here. There is also a lot of research that has not yet been translated into policy. I would like to contribute to improving that.”

Many people associate the Faculty of Medicine with the Medicine programme. If someone wants to work in healthcare but not as a doctor, what would you advise them?
“Look more broadly at programmes related to healthcare, such as population health management. There are many other areas where you can develop yourself while still maintaining a connection with healthcare. Just explore what is out there.”

Faculty of Medicine: more than medicine
The master’s in Population Health Management is part of the Faculty of Medicine at LUMC and Leiden University. The faculty prepares students to truly make a difference, especially now that healthcare is under pressure and health inequalities are increasing.

This requires broad expertise, from care and prevention to research and innovation, focused on societal challenges and supported by technology and data. That is why the faculty offers a wide range of master’s programmes: Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Health, Ageing and Society, Population Health Management, Technical Medicine, Pharmacy, Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Tissue Therapies, and Statistics and Data Science.  Explore which bachelor’s or master’s programme suits you best.