From becoming the youngest healthcare CEO in Massachusetts at just 37 years old to becoming the longest-serving healthcare leader in the state, it's hard to believe that Christine Schuster, president and CEO of Concord, Mass.-based Emerson Health, initially had no plans to become a healthcare CEO.
Ms. Schuster started her career as a nurse and migrated into healthcare management consulting where she helped with turnaround for hospitals needing to make financial improvements. It was around this time where she felt the tug to become a leader in healthcare.
"I had the business experience, but I also understood the critical care nursing side of it because I had been in that role for a long time," Ms. Schuster told Becker's.
It was these skills that led to Ms. Schuster's first CEO role at Athol (Mass.) Memorial Hospital, one that made her the youngest hospital leader in the state. After about eight months, she moved her skills from Athol to Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center as president and CEO, where she helped the hospital break even after operating at a $16 million loss. Now, Ms. Schuster has led Emerson Health for nearly 20 years.
"People say, 'oh my gosh, don't you get tired of it? Aren't you bored of it?' But if you've really tracked healthcare for the last 25 years, it's anything but boring, it's always exciting," she said. "If you're bored by it, you don't belong in it."
In this changing industry, one of the top-of-mind challenges for Ms. Schuster is healthcare workforce. Emerson partners with technical colleges as a training site and associate degree programs for clinical rotations in an effort to expose students to the hospital's culture and recruit and retain them.
The hospital has also partnered with the Girl Scouts of Massachusetts to host healthcare career days to attract younger generations to join the industry. Most recently, it held a Taylor Swift-themed career day that featured the pop stars music, bracelets and cookies while the scouts took themed quizzes that were also based on healthcare.
When asked what advice she would give to women looking to someday achieve a CEO role in healthcare, Ms. Schuster said you need to believe in yourself.
"You have to believe you can do it," she said. "You're going to hit a lot of obstacles on the way. Regroup, find a mentor and really work toward achieving your goals."
Referencing the ongoing 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Ms. Schuster equated healthcare to a team sport and encouraged leaders to surround themselves with people who have strong ideas.
"If everyone isn't on, doing their thing, playing different roles, you're never going to win," she said. "You need such a blend of skills that no one person possesses."