From Nurse Practitioner to Healthcare Administrator, Nurse Pursues MBA at Otterbein

Posted Jan 04, 2022

By Catie Duzzny ’21, MBA’23

Nursing and business may not seem like a natural pair, but in reality, the two go hand-in-hand. That’s why Sarah West, an acute care nurse practitioner, wanted to take on a new challenge and made the decision to get her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Otterbein University.

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Sarah West

West is from a family of nurses, so becoming a nurse was always encouraged. After earning her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2006 and master’s degree from Wright State University in 2011, she certified as a nurse practitioner.

She currently works as an acute care nurse practitioner at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center. Recently, she stepped into an administrative role at the hospital. In this new position she knew she needed to know more about business in order to understand her new role better.

“In my current administrative role, I manage a group of about 50 nurse practitioners. I quickly realized in the administrative world that my background in nursing I was not as prepared as I would have liked. I know healthcare, I know patient care and medicine, but business in healthcare was very outside of the box for me,” said West.

She enrolled in Otterbein’s MBA program in 2021. For West, it was the perfect fit. She has a family in Westerville, and the in-person classes and personal attention offered by Otterbein sealed her decision.

“The MBA program so far has been stimulating and worthwhile and applicable. I can sink my teeth into what they’re teaching me and use it in real life now,” said West.

Getting her MBA will allow West to explore the business side of healthcare and continue to create new and exciting opportunities. She hopes her story can inspire other nurses to challenge themselves in the same way and it could open more doors for opportunities.

“Eventually you find where you want to be and when that gets routine you need to challenge yourself, seek out new opportunities, and take on leadership opportunities. What you get out of your career comes from what you put into it. If you try, it can become everything you want it to be and more,” stated West.