Over the past 10-weeks at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I have had the opportunity to grow both individually and professionally. I am very grateful to have interned at one of the most prestigious Children’s Hospitals around the world. I was able to participate in projects in a wide array of sub-units within the Office of Safety and Medical Operations, including Performance Improvement, Patient Safety, Behavioral Health, and Emergency Preparedness. For example, I gained hands on experience with work flow process mapping for a behavioral health intake project, as well as the planning and development of an active shooter plan.
Overall, the most rewarding part of the internship was connecting with many different individuals throughout the hospital. Between meetings, rounding, and projects, I got to meet a diverse range of people, from doctors and performance advisors to the Chief Operating Officer of CHOP. Connecting with all of these individuals allowed me to work on projects that reached many different corners of the hospital, as well as receive valuable professional advice about my future career in health care. One of the most challenging parts of this internship was identifying CHOP’s culture and communication style. Every organization has a different culture, and trying to understand it and integrate it into my own work style was a challenge. However, the ability to recognize and work within different professional cultures is a valuable skill that will serve me well in my future.
Overall, this internship at CHOP was one of the best opportunities of my life thus far. Being exposed to so many different aspects of hospital operations and healthcare administration helped to give more direction to my career path and goals. This internship has solidified my interest in health care and I am so excited for the future of my career in the field!
Sarah Novak
Health Administration
As a major in Health Administration, the variability of career outlooks must be great so it’s fantastic that this internship provided opportunities for you to work in so many different sub-categories of the Office of Safety to get experience with those different goal-oriented offices. Adjusting to a company’s culture is a universal problem that we, as students, will have to face in the future whether in Health Administration, Marketing, Education, really any field. It’s great that you were able to learn so much from this internship and CHOP is a great organization. I wish you luck in the future!
As a major in Health Administration, the variability of career outlooks must be great so it’s fantastic that this internship provided opportunities for you to work in so many different sub-categories of the Office of Safety to get experience with those different goal-oriented offices. Adjusting to a company’s culture is a universal problem that we, as students, will have to face in the future whether in Health Administration, Marketing, Education, really any field. It’s great that you were able to acquire an internship at such a prestigious hospital. I wish you luck in the future!
As someone who is not a Health Administration major, I never considered how the culture of a particular hospital could have such a large effect on patients and doctors. I think this internship sounds incredibly interesting and it must be such a unique experience to observe the intricacies of such a prestigious hospital!