Dusadee Sarangarm, MHCM ’26, is learning key management skills—and making friends

In medical school, Dusadee Sarangarm, MHCM ’26, learned to save lives in the emergency room, but she came to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health to learn about key elements of health care management that aren’t taught in clinical training, like financial analysis, negotiation skills, and quality improvement.

“The focus of medical school is on clinical care—and that’s important,” Sarangarm says. “But then there are all these other components that are so important to physicians. And if we don’t understand how health care is structured or how to converse with leadership or how to become leaders ourselves within our very own industry, then how can we ever hope to change it?”

Sarangarm is an emergency medicine physician and faculty member at the University of New Mexico (UNM). After rising through the ranks to become the chief medical information officer for UNM Hospitals, she realized that she wanted to build her leadership skills further. She applied to the Master in Health Care Management program at Harvard Chan School, a low-residency program designed for mid-career physicians and dentists.

“It was an investment in myself. And through that, it was also an investment for my patients and my team. I think I am a better leader because I have more training,” says Sarangarm.

Now in the second year of the program, Sarangarm says she’s learning “from the best.” She has also formed close bonds with her classmates, despite only seeing each other in person a few times a year (MHCM students spend three weeks on campus each summer and return for five four-day weekends each year). When her cohort is on campus together, they plan social outings in Boston. And, throughout the year, they provide each other with emotional support and share career knowledge and resources. Building tight friendships with her classmates has been a highlight of the program for Sarangarm.

“I did not realize that that was a benefit of this program. I knew that I was going to learn about [health care] finance in this program,” Sarangarm says. “I did not know that I was going to build this huge network of people that I think will support me for the rest of my career.”

Sarangarm recalls that she was initially nervous to apply to Harvard, but an encouraging conversation with an MHCM program coordinator helped convince her to take the leap. She says program staff have been supportive through every step as she approaches graduation.

“If you’re thinking about doing the program, just do it. It’s transformative,” Sarangarm says. “It the connections you build, the knowledge you gain, the experiences you’ll have. It’s just life changing.”