My journey in the Healthcare Management Program Internship

Written by: Jimmy Yoder, 2017 HMP Intern

I got the call I would be working in the Big Apple this summer in the middle of my finance class. Filled with excitement, I was practically squirming the rest of class. Needless to say, I didn’t do too well on the quiz that day. Four months later, I was on the way to my dream city for the summer to work at Northwell Health in the Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiology Service Line.

I’ve always had this obsession with living in a big city. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a boring suburb or maybe I just love breathing sub-par air. Regardless, I was made for New York. Northwell Health was the perfect internship for me. However, Healthcare Administration hasn’t always been my path. The majority of college was spent preparing for medical school. This let me dip my toes in the water and see if this is the right choice for me.

Day 1 at North Shore University Hospital rolls around and it was a whirlwind. For starters, my boss LOVES the stairs and my body does not love the stairs. The campus was and still is, so incredible. Almost a tiny city filled with thousands of employees and patients surrounded by world-class healthcare. From the get-go we had assignments. Whether it was data analytics, operations or marketing, we were pushed out of our comfort zone. I literally spent a week staring at excel trying to figure out that beast. The panic of not knowing a single thing about what I was doing began to hit. I sat down with one of the Management Associate Program associates and she told me you’re not growing if you’re comfortable. So I kept on trucking and utilized all the people around me. We were given work that actually means something and can benefit the service line, which not a lot of interns at other companies can say.

My Northwell Health experience has been one for the books. Aside from learning perhaps more information than I have in the classroom, the other interns have pushed the experience from great to incredible. A group of us, the out of state “commuters”, have gotten so close. From after work dinner, Broadway shows, happy hour and so much more, we became closer than ever. I think that is going to be the hardest part, going back to our respective universities and not seeing each other for an absurd amount of time. You know us millennials though; we will stay in touch through one of our 20 social media platforms. Lastly, I am so thankful I had such supportive preceptors pushing me to grow and challenging me, but most importantly helping me learn.

Whether my journey with Northwell Health continues or I end up someplace else, I’ll look back and know I was Made for this.

Update: Jimmy has been offered and accepted a full-time position at Northwell Health after he graduates from the University of Texas in May.

Submit your resume to become a Summer Associate in the 2018 Healthcare Management Program Internship.