Ingrid Nembhard

Ingrid Nembhard
  • Fishman Family President's Distinguished Associate Professor
  • Associate Professor of Health Care Management

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    3641 Locust Walk
    207 Colonial Penn Center
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: organizational behavior, organizational learning, teamwork and coordination, implementation, quality improvement

Overview

Ingrid M. Nembhard, Ph.D., M.S., is the Fishman Family President’s Distinguished Professor, Associate Professor of Health Care Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the faculty at The Wharton School in January 2018, she was the Ira V. Hiscock Associate Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, Associate Professor at Yale School of Management, Associate Director of the Health Care Management Program at Yale, and Director of the Yale Training Program in Health Services Research.

Professor Nembhard’s research focuses on how characteristics of health care organizations, their leaders, and staff contribute to their ability to implement new practices, engage in continuous organizational learning, and ultimately improve quality of care. She uses qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine health care delivery from provider and patient perspectives, and to evaluate organizational performance. She is currently studying the implementation of care coordination in primary care groups, including the effects on patients and clinicians, organizational learning from different types of experiences, the use of patient feedback via narratives to drive quality improvement by clinicians and administrators, and the contributors to high performance in challenging work environments. She maintains an interest in studying how health care organizations most effectively learn and implement new clinical and operational practices, teamwork within and across organizations, and strategies for improving the patient experience.

Professor Nembhard received her Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management, with a concentration in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University through a joint program between Harvard Business School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She received her M.S. in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University School of Public Health, and her B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics and in Psychology from Yale University.

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Research

Current research projects (a sample):

  • the implementation of care coordination in primary care groups, including the effects on patients and clinicians

  • organizational learning from different types of experiences in health care delivery

  • the use of patient feedback via narratives to drive quality improvement by clinicians and administrators

  • the contributors to high performance in challenging work environments

Past research projects (a sample):

  • the influence of leadership, organizational climate and learning strategies on the success of improvement projects conducted in hospital units

  • the antecedents and consequences of organizational learning in the context of quality improvement collaboratives

  • the implementation of evidence-based practices in hospitals

  • the role of staff voice and psychological safety in health care improvement

  • the impact of national quality improvement campaigns on hospital processes and patient outcomes.

Teaching

Past Courses

  • HCMG860 - MANAGING HC ORGS

    This course aims to improve enrollees' ability to effectively manage and lead health care organizations (HCOs, including hospitals, medical groups, insurers, biopharmaceutical firms, etc.). The course is designed to integrate previous course work in general managment, health care, and health policy to further participants' understanding of organizational, managerial, and strategic issues facing HCOs and the health care workforce. The course will provide participants with a foundation for developing, implementing, and analyzing efforts to improve HCOs' performance. A major objective of the course is to sharpen the leadership, problem-solving, and presentation skills of those who aim to hold operational and strategic positions in health care organizations. Another objective is to introduce enrollees to leading HCOs. Through case studies, readings, in-class exercises and class discussions, particpants will learn analytic frameworks, concepts, tools and skills necessary for leading and managing organizational learning, quality improvement, innovation, and overall performance in HCOs.

  • HCMG904 - SEM IN OBT IN HEALTHCARE

    This course introduces students to organizational behavior and theory (OBT) by examining key issues in OBT, different perspectives on key issues, and how OBT informs health services research and practice. This course examines "micro" theories (i.e., social psychological theories of organizational behavior) and "macro" theories (i.e., theories focused on the structural and environmental aspects of organizations). We will examine the strengths and weaknesses of various theories, how they can be used as a foundation for research, methods used to study them, and the implications for health policy and management. Examples of published health services research grounded in OBT will be discussed so that students become familiar with the theories-in-use and various publication outlets for health care management (HCM) research.

Awards and Honors

  • Best Paper, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management (2017)
  • Best Paper Proceedings of the Academy of Management Meeting (Top 10% of submissions) (2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2010)
  • Finalist, KSG Best Paper Award, Annual Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Conference (G-Forum) (2014)
  • Best Abstract, Science of Quality Improvement, AcademyHealth Meeting (2012)
  • Finalist, ISA-INFORMS Best Industry Studies Paper Award, Industry Studies Association (2011)
  • Runner-Up, Health Care Management Division Best Paper Award, Academy of Management (2011)
  • Most Outstanding Abstracts, Organizational Performance and Measurement, AcademyHealth Meeting (2009)
  • Best Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) Paper Award, Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (2008)
  • Alfred P. Sloan Industry Studies Dissertation Award, First Prize (2007)
  • Best Paper Based on a Dissertation, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management (2007)
  • Harvard Business School Wyss Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research (2006)

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