Skip to main content

HBS Field Placement Journals: Megan McWright

Published

To prepare for domestic and international career opportunities in public health, all MSPH in Health Education and Health Communication students participate in a full-time field placement for least six months.

In her HBS Field Placement Journal, second-year MSPH student, Megan McWright, reflects on her field placement experience as a graduate student intern at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI/CMS).

Anticipated graduation date: December 2024
Adviser: Amy Knowlton, ScD
Field placement organization name: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI/CMS) 
Field placement  date: June 2024 to December 2024

Why did you choose your field placement experience? 

My field placement was at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which was established as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2011 to test models for improving population health outcomes and reducing health care spending. I worked on the Transforming Maternal Health Model (TMaH), which will provide funding and technical assistance to 15 state Medicaid agencies with the goal of improving access to and quality of maternal health care through prenatal and postpartum periods. TMaH was launched in January 2025 and has a 3 year model pre-implementation period and 7 year model implementation period.

Participating in the Women's Health Network at the University of Maryland and taking maternal health classes at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health sparked my passion for addressing the significant barriers and inequalities within our country's maternal health care system, particularly for pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries. Working on TMaH has provided me with an invaluable experience to learn about how policy and collaboration across diverse stakeholders can be powerful change agents in public health.

How did you discover (and land) your field placement? 

I have a personal connection with someone who works at CMS and was very excited by TMaH when the news came out about a maternal health,  model at CMMI. They connected me to a former coworker who worked in the Division of State Based Initiatives, the division that leads all TMaH related work. I did an informational interview with them and then they connected me to the Division Directors, for interviews.

What does a typical day of your field placement look like? 

My typical day included meetings with internal and external partners who are involved in the pre-implementation and implementation work for TMaH. Examples of partners include representatives from Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services, the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal Child Health Bureau. When I was not in meetings, I was working on TMaH Model communications materials including creating factsheets, talking points, and memos.

What have you found most rewarding about your field placement?  

The ability to work on an innovative model that has the potential to transform how maternal health care for Medicaid beneficiaries is provided in the United States by addressing maternal health workforce shortages and data infrastructure limitations, implementing quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and incentivizing holistic, needs-based maternal health care through value-based payment.

What advice do you have for current or prospective students as they think about their own field placement opportunities? 

Be open to all opportunities and don’t doubt your abilities! 

How has your field placement influenced (or changed) your public health career goals? 

My field placement strengthened my passion for reducing the growing racial disparities in maternal health outcomes and improving access to high quality, patient-centered maternal health care through federal government public health agencies and programs.


This interview has been edited and compressed. Views expressed are the subject's own.