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, she was the Ira V. Hiscock Associate Professor (with tenure) 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 - LEADING 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.

  • HCMG899 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

    Arranged with members of the Faculty of the Health Care Systems Department. For further information contact the Department office, Room 204, Colonial Penn Center, 3641 Locust Walk, 898-6861.

  • 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

Research-Related Honors:

  • Runner-Up, Best Paper in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Stream, Industry Studies Association Conference (2018)
  • Best Poster Award, Organizational Behavior and Management, AcademyHealth Meeting (2018)
  • Runner-Up, Best Paper Award, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management (2018)
  • Best Paper, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management (2017)
  • Best Paper Proceedings of the Academy of Management Meeting (Top 10% of submissions) (2018. 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)

 

Teaching-Related Honors

  • E-MBA Class of 2016 Faculty Teaching Award, Yale School of Management (2016)
  • E-MBA Class of 2014 Faculty Teaching Award, Yale School of Management (2014)
  • Nominee/Finalist, Teacher of the Year, Yale School of Public Health (2013, 2009)
  • Highest Overall Course Ranking, Yale School of Public Health (2012)
  • Teacher of the Year, Yale School of Public Health (2010)

    In the News

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    In the News

    Pandemic Playbook: What Health Care Leaders Can Learn from Management Research

    Wharton’s Lawton R. Burns and Ingrid Nembhard have co-authored a five-point strategy guide for health care leaders during these uncertain times.

    Knowledge @ Wharton - 5/12/2020
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    Ingrid NembhardProf. Ingrid Nembhard Discusses Team Dynamics in Health Care Coordination

    A panelist at the 2018 Penn Health Policy Retreat, Health Care Management Prof. Ingrid Nembhard discussed her new research on how a new role for nurses may be one way to address care coordination failures in health care. …

    Wharton Stories - 03/30/2018
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