Amman-Brandeis-Amman
Haneen Al-Halawani, MS 05

On my birthday, July 28, 2004, I received an email from Brandeis University informing me that I was accepted into the Heller School's new Master of Science degree in International Health Policy and Management (IHPM). I highly appreciated this precious birthday gift, and will remember it always. In the beginning, I was hesitant about going to Brandeis University. I was afraid of being discriminated against because I am Muslim and wear a headscarf. Moreover, I am Arab-Jordanian of Palestinian origin. Friends and relatives in the US assured me that Brandeis University, and especially the Heller School, is highly professional and has a reputation for promoting social justice and equity.

Before leaving for Brandeis, I worked with a USAID funded health care project (Partners for Health Reform plus or PHRplus) in Jordan as a Pharmaceutical Consultant. At that stage in my career I was looking for a graduate program and believed that obtaining the MS in IHPM from the Heller School, along with my academic and professional experiences, would allow my professional and social pursuits to become a reality.

Life at the Heller School and the community of the SID Program were very interesting both socially and academically. Although the MS degree was an intensive nine-month program that required a lot of work, I enjoyed this challenging experience. The program touched on many important topics, including: leadership and organizational behavior, policy analysis, health financing, strategic management, world health, international health programs, and national health accounts. Most important was the emphasis on equipping students with the professional and ethical perspectives necessary for success in the global market place. Many classes included discussions about social justice, equity, equality, and the Millennium Development Goals.

I strongly believe that humans are the same around the globe, with no difference in their essential needs, like food, shelter, and safety. Graduate programs like SID have a responsibility to reinforce this idea and to remove any ignorance related to this matter. The success of our SID community hinged upon its open-minded atmosphere, which allowed issues to be examined and reexamined from a variety of perspectives. The diversity of the graduate students nourished class discussions, encouraged dialogue, and built strong friendships between students from many different countries. I consider the social success of the program to be as great an accomplishment as the degrees we attained.

After graduating from Brandeis in May 2005, I returned to Amman, Jordan and started working with the PHRplus team again, as Technical Coordinator and then as Technical Advisor. My team is responsible for three main activities. First is Hospital Systems Improvement (HSI), which aims to improve the managerial efficiency of Jordan Ministry of Health hospitals, develop methods to adopt and allocate hostpital resources in a more efficient and equitable way, and improve the quality of services that are delivered to patients. Second is Healthcare Accreditation (HA), which focuses on developing and implementing a program that introduces a new quality management tool, such that the safety and quality of medical services delivered at the nation's hospitals is enhanced and sustained. Our third main activity is Rational Drug Use (RDU), promoting the rational use of pharmaceuticals within the health care facilities.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my MS-SID experience at Brandeis University and work experience with PHRplus. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any comments or questions at haneenhalawani@hotmail.com.