From critical care to system leadership
“I’ve always known I wanted a career where I could work closely with people and support them during some of their hardest moments.” That’s how Sunita Sekhon’s story began — not in a boardroom or classroom, but beside patients in surgery and critical care units. Her career began with intensity, teamwork and the privilege of caring for people when every decision counts.
Over the years, she worked in major hospitals across British Columbia and Alberta, moving between surgical recovery, bed management and intensive care. Each role deepened her clinical expertise and gave her first-hand insight into what works and what doesn’t in Canada’s complex health-care system.
But what truly shaped her transition into health-care leadership wasn’t a single event. It was a gradual, intentional evolution.
“When we returned to Alberta, I took on my first leadership role as a bed manager. That role gave me a new perspective on patient flow, hospital operations and system-level challenges.”
Years later, as an emergency medical services director, she draws on decades of clinical experience to solve problems that span entire organizations. But getting there took more than experience — it took strategy. And that’s where the Telfer Executive MHA (EMHA) comes in!
The right format, plus substance
With a growing leadership role and a family at home, Sunita needed more than a traditional academic program. “I was looking for something that balanced academic challenge with flexibility and something that fit my life.” The Telfer EMHA checked those boxes, offering a format that worked for mid-career professionals juggling work, family and ambitions.
But it wasn’t just convenience that drew her in. It was the substance.
“The program covered everything…leadership, strategy, operations health policy. That breadth allowed me to connect my clinical background to system-level issues.”
Like many in the health-care field, Sunita had seen the gaps up close: disconnected care teams, uneven communication and policies that didn’t always translate well on the ground. What she wanted was the ability to think systemically to influence change not just on her unit, but across regions and departments.
Today, she credits the EMHA with giving her a strategic lens. And she’s not alone. According to a 2023 report from the Canadian College of Health Leaders, 80% of health executives say system-level thinking is now essential for effective leadership.
Learning about real-world leadership
One of the standout features of the Telfer EMHA is its focus on applied leadership. The program doesn't just theorize about systems change — it gives students the tools to implement it.
“The EMHA taught me to step back and see the whole picture,” Sunita says. “It taught me to lead in a way that adds value across the board, not just to my department.”
That mindset proved crucial when Sunita moved into an EMS director’s position, where decisions affect rural dispatchers, frontline paramedics and provincial-level stakeholders. Here, her ability to engage diverse groups, plan strategically and communicate across silos became invaluable.
She also credits the program with boosting her confidence. “It gave me a foundation to lead with adaptability and vision,” she says, traits that are especially vital in a sector where policy, technology and patient needs shift rapidly.
In fact, a recent CIHI analysis showed that Canada’s health-care leaders now face more cross-sector complexity than ever before, with digital integration, aging populations and staffing crises converging. Programs like the EMHA prepare leaders to manage those realities with clarity, not chaos.
A changed approach to change
Before the EMHA, Sunita approached change like most health-care managers, reactively. But through the program’s coursework on systems theory, strategic management and stakeholder engagement, she learned to anticipate, design and lead change more deliberately.
One example stands out. “We were facing a staffing issue, and in the past, I might have just filled the gaps. But I stopped and asked: Why is this happening? What’s the upstream issue? How are other departments affected?” That shift from tactical fixes to root-cause thinking is exactly what the EMHA trains students to do.
“The EMHA gave me multiple frameworks to approach change, not just one way,” Sunita says. “And I learned how to bring others into the process — frontline staff, leadership, everyone.”
That emphasis on collaboration, she says, builds trust and ensures sustainability. Change isn’t imposed; it’s co-created.
This approach echoes research in the Harvard Business Review that found that organizations are 60% more likely to sustain transformation efforts when frontline staff are involved from the beginning.
National and local perspectives
Health care may be a national issue, but it’s experienced locally and very differently from province to province. One of the unexpected benefits of the Telfer EMHA for Sunita was learning from peers who spanned the entire country.
“Learning with peers from across Canada was inspiring,” says Sunita. “You see how differently health care operates in different provinces and how different disciplines approach leadership.”
That exposure challenged her assumptions and introduced her to alternative models of care, funding structures and governance styles. It also taught her that diverse thinking often leads to the best solutions.
One thing she learned? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to health-care improvement, but there are patterns, and people who can help connect the dots. “Strong leadership doesn’t look one way,” she says. “It can come from a data analyst, a nurse, a community worker. That was powerful to realize.”
Today, she applies that lesson by actively engaging stakeholders at every level, from paramedics on the ground to executives in the boardroom.
Advice for future EMHA candidates
So what would Sunita tell someone considering the Telfer Executive MHA?
“It teaches you to think strategically without losing the personal side of leadership,” she says. “You learn frameworks, yes, but you also learn how to listen, how to bring people with you.”
Her advice: Be ready to grow. “You’ll discover strengths you didn’t know you had and you’ll probably realize, like I did, that math still isn’t your thing. But that’s okay. You don’t have to be perfect, just committed.”
She also reminds prospective students that the program is doable, even with work and family. “It’s intense, but it’s designed for people like us, people working full time, raising kids, leading teams.”
A final thought? “It’s not just a degree. It’s a mindset shift. It changed how I lead, how I solve problems and how I see the system.”
Ready to lead health-care transformation?
Explore the Executive MHA at the Telfer School of Management and gain the tools to drive real change.
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