By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

Mark Slone says he had a wonderful experience during his time at the University of Kentucky, specifically as he earned his undergraduate degree in what is now known as Clinical Leadership and Management.

In fact, he loved it so much, he’s kept a strong relationship with the program, hiring permanent employees, as well as interns, and offering advice to those who may be graduating and looking for positions.

“At the time, I think the degree was generically called Healthcare Administration, and I owe a lot of that to where I am today as well as to the UK Medical Center, where I worked while I went to school,” Slone said. “I think I worked 37.5 hours per week. So, to be a full-time student and work those types of hours, it was quite a bit, but I loved it. I love that hospital and I love the University.”

He also met his wife, Kelly, while both worked at the UK Medical Center, and discovered what he wanted to do for a career. Now, Slone is the President of Alliant Purchasing in Louisville, which serves healthcare providers across the country.

Yet he always kept a soft spot for his alma mater, and as luck would have it, Slone said he was able to get re-connected to the program via Karen Clancy, PhD, MBA, BHS, MT, an assistant professor in CLM and Human Health Sciences. He came in to speak to some CLM classes and attend job fairs. Now he says he’s opening a “pipeline” to his company utilizing the program.

“Yes, we have opened a pipeline to employing CLM graduates,” he said. “We’ve hired two so far, and I hope that number only multiplies. In addition to those two, over this past summer we hosted an internship for one of the students. And in January 2023, we’ll be attending the CLM Speed Dating Interview event looking for more interns. It’s a great investment for us.”

He says the program deserves national recognition for what the faculty and students are doing.

“These students that I’ve met in that program — they are more prepared, more professional and more work-ready to contribute from day one than others I have seen,” he said. “It’s shocking how productive they are immediately, and how well that program is preparing the students to succeed. I just think it’s so wonderful and deserving of praise.”

Slone says that in general, he looks for certain qualities in new hires — not experience, because new hires will not have a lot of experience — but other qualities, and that CLM graduates have shown they have them.

Primarily, he says, his business requires good communicators.

 “When we sit down, we don’t have expectations when we’re hiring a new graduate, like that they have experience — because they don't,” he said. “They just got out of school. We want to see that you have the ability to communicate and the ability to learn — and then you have the ability to communicate what you have just learned. That is what we look for. And the students we’ve talked with from CLM at UK have those qualities.”

Secondly, he said, they need to be prepared.

“And I don't mean prepared in a broad sense, I mean prepared for the task at hand,” he said. “When we interview these students, they come prepared with a resume. Keep in mind, they don’t have a lot of background or experience, but they have prepared an appropriate resume. They look, act and speak professionally, and they are prepared to give you examples of skills that they have. Now, what those skills are doesn’t matter. It's the fact that they are prepared, with a relatable story to communicate. Again — I’m not hiring you for your experience. I’m hiring you for your ability to communicate, learn and communicate what you have learned.”

Alliant will then immediately send their new hires out to health systems across the country to represent the company, and the new hires could find themselves communicating with all types of professionals, from administrative to CEOs. This means they could face any number of situations.

Which brings us to the third quality: Slone says the graduates must be creative.

“I realize this is a broad statement, but we look for creativity,” he said. “I don’t have an instruction manual, so we have to hire people that can be creative, people who can adapt to whatever situation gets thrown at them. To be able to think on your feet, to problem-solve, that is a quality that we find very valuable.”  

These qualities are important because, as Slone likes to emphasize to students, there are many different paths that now exist in the healthcare world.

“What’s growing in healthcare is the non-acute world, the continuum of care, alternate sites,” he said. “So, things like home care, large physician practices and outpatient diagnostics are growing every day. Things that used to be done in the hospital that are now outpatient — telehealth. Those fields are growing, and now require more professional management than in the past. I’m trying to tell these graduates that there are so many opportunities out there for them now — some that may not necessarily involve working in a hospital.”

And, if he can, he says he will continue to fill his positions with UK CLM graduates.

“The CLM program is preparing its students for the future,” he said. “That future could be working from home, or alternate care sites. And the full-time employees and intern we’ve hired understand that. And we will keep hiring them for that reason.”