What organization did you intern with? What was your role?
I interned with Emory Healthcare as a graduate summer administrative intern.
Where was your internship located?
Atlanta, GA.
What is your career goal?
After graduating from the Yale School of Public Health, my goal is to complete an administrative fellowship at an academic medical center. I'm passionate about research, education, strategy, and clinical operations.
What was your internship funding source?
Paid internship.
What were your duties/responsibilities during your internship?
My main project focused on system-wide hospital policy standardization. Through this work, I learned a lot about clinical operations, patient safety, and technical writing. I was also fortunate to have participated as a medical scribe in the Joint Commission survey for hospital accreditation, which sparked my interest in policy work within the hospital setting. Some other projects I collaborated on included an accountability matrix revision and assisting with the response to a worldwide computer outage. Additional training included Epic reporting and PowerBI for data-driven clinical decision-making.
What did you take away from your experience as an intern? What was the value of the internship to you?
Overall, my internship was a tremendous learning experience. Some of the overarching takeaways from this summer were to always align projects with an organization's mission, be proactive, know when and whom to ask for help, be open-minded, and welcome opportunities that support your professional growth.
What was the most rewarding aspect of your internship? What was the most challenging aspect? The most surprising aspect?
The most rewarding aspect of my internship was the trust of the senior leadership in me to work on complex projects. Also, the support I got from both the administrative fellows and my preceptor was unmatched. Emory's administrative internship is cohort-based, and all of the interns provided support to one another. The most challenging part of the internship was getting every stakeholder on the same page. Specifically related to my project, finding time to bring together VPs and directors of specific departments, getting them on the same page, and prioritizing policy topics was an intricate task, but it also helped me improve my communication and public speaking skills.
How has YSPH prepared you for this internship?
I am grateful to our Career Management Center. Felicia [Spencer, executive director] and Kelly [Shay, senior associate director] provided timely and comprehensive help with interview preparation, as well as with revising my résumé and cover letter. The health policy classes at YSPH gave me a strong understanding of the U.S. health system and the economic implications of health care delivery. Moreover, the unique Health Care Management program, in partnership with the Yale School of Management, significantly enhanced my analytical skills and provided me with valuable insights into strategy and operations, which I effectively applied in my day-to-day work last summer.
What would you say to a student who’s considering a similar internship?
Start working on your application process early – schedule meetings with the career management center, work on your elevator pitch, fine-tune your résumé, and start drafting your statement of interest.
Make sure you build rapport with your professors. First, this will help you succeed in class. Second, you might also need an academic letter of recommendation, depending on the specific internship program requirements. Be authentic, and apply to the programs that speak to you and your interests.