Archive for month: November, 2018
Don’t miss these top questions to ask hiring managers in your next interview
We all know that moment an interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” It can be a tricky one! Asking the right questions can be tough, but it’s a necessary part of ensuring you learn about your prospective role and employer. The right question can earn you insight into the company culture, career growth opportunities, and position expectations.
And since our employees are our greatest hiring success stories, we asked them to share some of their best advice on what to ask hiring managers. With their help, we gathered the top questions you should ask in your next interview below!
1. What keeps you passionate about going to work every day?
Gerard Halfpenny, a registered nurse at Northwell suggests a question like this to help give you an idea about corporate culture, along with a sense of how long the interviewer has worked there and their passion for their work.
2. How is Northwell different from other places you’ve worked?
This question allows you to hear from hiring managers on their previous work experience and learn how they adapted to a new workplace. And more importantly, it also helps you find out what sets Northwell apart from the competition!
3. Could you tell me about an employee that you feel is a role model?
Evan Feuer, a program manager at Northwell, recommends the above question and expands on this thought by encouraging candidates to ask about what the hiring manager sees as going above and beyond in a job and what qualities successful employees have that leads to their success.
4. What are your team’s goals?
Asking this question allows you to see what a team’s upcoming goals and initiatives are to align your talents. Learning a team’s goals also helps you see how you can help accomplish their mission in your new role.
5. What motivates your employees to stay with your department?
This question from Denise Walker, a supervisor at Northwell, shines a light on an important aspect of culture. Hearing why employees choose to stay in the department allows you to discover what makes your department truly special.
6. Where is Northwell headed in the next five to ten years?
You know where you want to be in the next five to ten years. It should be more about your career goals and ambitions aligning with the company’s. This question delivers insight to where the overall organization is going and where your goals align.
7. What are three adjectives you would use to describe the workplace atmosphere on a given day?
Kathleen Jaeger Phillips, an RN at Northwell, suggests this question to give hiring managers a question with a structure for their answers that can yield telling, helpful, and fun results. Additionally, it gives you an insight on what an average day in your future workplace might be like!
9. What are some ways I can help improve this department in my new role?
Tanya Fontes, MBA and admin manager at Northwell knows that not every day at work is going to be easy, breezy. This question allows you to see how you can impact positive change for the specific department and gives insight into how the department overcomes every-day challenges.
10. How do you measure success for your team?
Asking a question like this gives you an idea of a team’s goals and how you can best achieve them as a member of the department. Knowing how your team is looking to meet their goals helps ensure you best know how to set yourself up for success.
11. As a candidate, how can I incorporate my previous experiences to promote creativity, growth, and teamwork in the position I am interviewing for?
The specificity of this question from Julia Suklevski, MSW social worker at Northwell, is fantastic! To answer it, hiring managers must assess your experiences and imagine how you will succeed. It’s exactly what you want: hiring managers imagining you in the role!
12. If there was one thing you wish the person who filled this role knew, what is it?
This question can help you clarify what the most important thing you’ll need to know in this position. Now, you can emphasize how your experience and personality are a perfect fit.
13. Are there are any mentorship opportunities available within the department?
Shawna Vernisie, creative arts therapist, loves this question because she knows that “it’s great to have someone that’s experienced in your potential department to mentor a new employee!” Making sure there are opportunities to learn in your new role helps ensure you’ll continue to grow your own skills.
14. Are there growth opportunities to continue my career within the organization?
This question will help you figure out how you can continue to progress your career. Finding out what educational opportunities are available to you will help you see where your career can continue to develop. It’s also a good way to discover how your skills can be refined in your new position.
Think you’re ready to impress one of our hiring managers? Explore our jobs page and find a position that you’re Made for.
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Meet Andrew Gomez! A Northwell Health employee who adds to our Culture of C.A.R.E.
Patient experiences are defined by each moment they spend at Northwell Health. Moments they share with family, friends, doctors, nurses, and staff. Some of our employees make a lasting memory from the first impression – employees like Andrew Gomez, a security officer at Southside Hospital.
Andrew came to Northwell Health over 15 years ago looking to find a fulfilling career. Every day, he protects and serves visitors and workers with great honor and pride at his local hospital. Andrew loves the people and patients he gets to interact with. He finds that “lending a helping hand to someone in need whether it’s a patient, visitor, or worker is extremely rewarding.”
The entire team at Southside Hospital appreciates Andrew as an exemplary member of the Northwell Health family. With his amazing personality and willingness to go the extra mile, he truly lives the Culture of C.A.R.E. in his work. Andrew puts Northwell’s values at the forefront of everything he does, “Northwell Health’s Culture of C.A.R.E. is extremely important to implement when interacting with patients and coworkers. It teaches different methods and tactics to improve your everyday skills and abilities inside a hospital setting.”
Andrew saw this culture on full display after Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island. It was an extremely hard time for Long Islanders but the men and women of Southside Hospital stayed extremely strong and focused as a whole for the community it serves. Andrew was there to witness it, “It was an amazing sight, seeing everyone work together for hours, days and weeks at a time. I can say without a doubt, that it’s a great honor to wake up and work amongst such a strong health care community.”
Andrew understands the important contribution he’s making to patients, families, and employees in his role. “There are small ways to improve a patient’s experience and I’ve found that one only needs to have an open ear and heart to their every need. Though a gesture might be considered small to us, it could mean the world to somebody else.”
Are you Made for exceptional patient experience? Explore open positions at Southside Hospital today.
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My Journey to Northwell Health’s Healthcare Management Program
Written by: By Hannah Friedman, 2018 HMP Intern
Northwell Health has been a part of my life since the day I was born…literally. I was born at North Shore University Hospital in December of 1996. Growing up on Long Island, I always felt the presence of the system around me. I grew up inspired by its tremendous reputation throughout my community, but I was unaware of all of the different career paths that could lead me to be a part of it.
As a Biometry & Statistics major at Cornell University, I have taken many math and statistics classes that have applications to both medicine and business. I was always interested in the healthcare industry, but I was also searching for a field that would allow me to apply both my analytical and leadership skills. During my sophomore year, I spent a day shadowing an associate executive director at Lenox Hill Hospital. My fate was sealed as we walked through the halls of the hospital, and he exchanged warm greetings with every employee we passed. That day, I saw firsthand how strong business and interpersonal skills, as well as a desire for helping others, uniquely combine in the field of healthcare management. The following summer, I decided to pursue my interest in this type of work as an administrative intern for Patient Care Services at Lenox Hill. My experience demonstrated how analytics can be translated into meaningful and tangible results that serve to improve patient care. I finally felt like I had found my calling.
There are no words to describe how excited I was when I was offered a position as a summer associate for the Healthcare Management Program at Northwell Health. When I found out that my placement was with the Emergency Medicine Service Line, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To be completely honest, I didn’t even completely understand what it meant. From the very first day, nonetheless, I was immersed as a member of the very strong team that worked in this quick-paced environment. It was so interesting to learn about the service line, which consists of 18 different Emergency Departments. The Emergency Medicine Service Line also partners with Northwell’s Center for Emergency Management and Northwell’s joint venture, GoHealth Urgent Care (GoHealth runs over 44 urgent care centers!). Together, all of these teams are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to the surrounding communities. I participated in many site visits and worked on a variety of projects with the Service Line Development and Clinical Operations teams. We collaborated with IT to help create an app to standardize the flow of the Emergency Departments throughout all of Northwell’s hospitals, performed an operations review for Nassau University Medical Center’s Emergency Department, helped develop a plan to encourage philanthropy, and more.
My favorite project as a summer associate involved helping to prepare the service line for American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation. I did research on the factors that most significantly impact the quality of a geriatric patient’s Emergency Department visit. I then learned how to use Tableau to perform an analysis on the top diagnoses and admission rates for each particular Northwell site, so that they could develop specific policies and protocols that focus on the geriatric population. The team and I also used these analyses to explain the importance of geriatric care to each site’s leadership team and helped them to complete the application. Northwell Health could be the first system in the country to have Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation at all of its sites.
Throughout this summer, I learned so much about hospital finance, operations, and management through the hands-on projects, many networking events, and Lunch and Learn sessions. Leaders inspired us through their stories, taught us valuable lessons, and reminded us that they were once in our shoes. Furthermore, I was able to see the skills and qualities that make people successful in the field. Through Northwell Health’s Healthcare Management Program, I know that I truly learned from the best. I am so grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait to apply all I’ve learned as I continue to develop my career in healthcare management.
Submit your resume to become a Summer Associate in the 2019 Healthcare Management Program Internship.
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Hiring for success at Northwell Health’s Veterans Day Interview Day
In honor of Veterans Day, Northwell Health recently hosted a Veterans Day Interview Day: Hiring for Success. This event was to honor and give back to veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country. More than 40 veterans were invited to attend this event to hear from senior leadership, meet with hiring managers to discuss potential job opportunities, and network over lunch.
At Northwell, we’re committed to providing veterans with opportunities to make a successful transition to a rewarding civilian career. Veterans align to our values and bring strong skill sets from their experience. Being mission driven, knowing the importance of community, thinking strategically and working closely on a team are important skills for all Northwell employees to possess. “I am so proud to work for an organization that is committed to helping veterans who have sacrificed so much. Hiring Veterans is the right thing to do, plus the great skills they possess are an asset at Northwell,” said Cheryl Davidson, MPS, senior director of Workforce Readiness, one of the teams who helped to launch the event.
The day started with a keynote from Mark Solazzo, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Mark thanked the veterans for their service and commitment to our country, while also speaking to the importance Northwell places on hiring veteran employees. Veterans were even surprised with a visit from our president and CEO himself, Michael Dowling! Michael spoke at the event and met with the attendees during the networking session.
After hearing from Mark, Michael and Lyndon Chichester, Northwell’s veteran inclusion specialist and United States Air Force Veteran, veteran attendees were invited to network with Northwell leadership over lunch. Attendees also met with our recruiters who then matched them to speak directly with the appropriate hiring managers and regional leadership to discuss job opportunities.
“Our Veterans Interview Day was an amazing event,” said Lyndon, “We had 43 very sharp veterans attend, all excited to join the Northwell Health team. This event and others like it will hopefully lead to more Veteran hires throughout our award winning health system and it also strengthens our relationship with Veteran student organizations and Veteran service organizations throughout the region.”
Northwell Health is committed to our veterans, their career transition, and their growth. If you’d like to learn more about our veterans programs, please visit jobs.northwell.edu/veterans.
Check out some more pictures from our event!
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Photo: Northwell Health supervising nurse practitioner Sheila Davies (pictured center) with her Follow Your Heart team members. Deciding to transition from a registered nurse (RN) to a nurse practitioner (NP) is a big decision. The commitment to obtain the additional education and training for this prestigious designation is significant. And while it may not be for every nursing professional, those who take the step to become an NP gain many new opportunities. For Sheila Davies, a Northwell Health supervising nurse practitioner, the decision to become a nurse practitioner was made early in her nursing career. She started her career with Northwell as a surgical intensive care trauma nurse but wanted to continue her education after receiving her bachelor’s degree. “I knew I wanted more,” says Sheila. “Health care is continuously changing, and I realized that becoming an NP would open up more doors for me and better prepare me for those ongoing changes.” She enrolled in day classes at Stony Brook University while continuing to work nights at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH). She completed the NP master’s degree program in two years and immediately accepted a position in NSUH’s open heart intensive care unit. Like Sheila, Peggy McCormack also launched her healthcare career as a registered nurse. With an associate degree from Nassau Community College, Peggy continued to work full time while attending Columbia University for a dual BSN/MSN degree, and graduated as an adult NP. At the time of graduation, Peggy already was working on NSUH’s cardiothoracic service team, which was expanding. She interviewed for one of the open positions and was hired as a NP on the post operative cardiac surgery floor. For both Sheila and Peggy, mentors were very important to their career development, helping to orient them in their new roles. They knew that surrounding themselves with skilled and experienced professionals would help them achieve their own successes. “It was hard work but exciting, challenging and rewarding,” says Peggy. “I was fortunate to work with a team of dynamic practitioners who were clinically outstanding, took pride in the care they provided, had strong work ethics, and on top of all that, they were funny.” For Sheila and Peggy, their focus on education didn’t stop after they became NPs. Sheila continued her education by earning a doctorate in nursing practice. This has enabled her on her path of becoming a change agent in healthcare. She currently leads the Follow Your Heart team who were finalists for the 2018 President’s Award for Teamwork. The program is one of a kind and provides essential follow-up visits for cardiac surgery patients at their home or post-acute care location. Peggy’s pursuit for personal and professional growth led her to obtain a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Hofstra University with a subspecialty in quality management. The program helped her gain greater insights into the business side of health care. With her additional education, Peggy became a clinical liaison, helping with improvement projects. She advanced to the role of supervisor of medicine advanced clinical providers and helped to develop a structured orientation program for new hires at NSUH, which has resulted in improved employee engagement, recruitment and retention rates. For both employees, the support that Northwell provided was pivotal to their success.
Making a shift in your nursing career: How to become a nurse practitioner
Ongoing education
“I was given the flexibility I needed to pursue further education and achieve in my career,” says Sheila. “I’ve been able to constantly improve my skills and knowledge.”
Interested in joining our team of nurse practitioners? Explore our open positions.
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We’re helping employees to understand the facts about their own health — and improve it!
Every day, Northwell Health employees work to improve the health of our patients and communities. But who is looking out for their health? The Northwell Health Employee Wellness team is spreading the word about myWellness, an online platform for employees (also available on the Virgin Pulse mobile app). The tools on myWellness help employees build personal healthy habits, manage stress, sleep better, plan care for long-term illness, and so much more… Here’s a snapshot of this robust tool that’s Made for supporting our employees’ well-being:
Health Risk Assessment Tool
The Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is open to every Northwell Health employee who joins myWellness, not just those with the company’s health insurance plan. The HRA asks about current mental and physical health, family history, habits, and nutrition to determine a lifestyle score and heart age. The assessment is then broken down to show where someone is doing well, where caution is needed, and where it is time to take action. There’s real value in taking this assessment, since both the lifestyle score and heart age provide a snapshot of overall health, a snapshot that can help determine what kind of health plan works best, what lifestyle changes should be made, and what can be done to seize control of personal health and wellness.
A Personal Experience with Northwell Health’s Stress Management Tool
Stress can be a major driver of how we make day-to-day decisions that ultimately impact our health. Often, we develop unhealthy habits as a way to cope, such as overeating or excessively worrying. That’s why we incorporated stress management tools into our health benefits. This includes a guided meditation program, where employees can create a playlist, save favorite sessions, and set goals. Sessions on Mindfulness 101, Emotional intelligence 101, and Yoga 101 can also be taken through this platform.
Here’s AR Clerk, Patient Accounts China Lankford on her experience with one of our stress management tools, guided meditation:
“First, let me say that I have never done meditation in my life. I needed to find a way to release elements of stress and anxiety hurting my body and mind, and the meditation class helped me. I felt so relaxed and my body was at ease. In other words, I felt like a new person. We go through so much on the job and meditation helps me to get through my day — I feel more relaxed than ever at my desk doing my work.”
In-Plan Benefits
Employees* enrolled in the Value, Buy-Up or High Deductible employee medical plans have access to:
- Wellness Credit Program
- Northwell Health Solutions
- In-system providers, services and facilities at a low cost
And the benefits are always growing! In 2019, several new well-bring programs will be launched for medical plan participants to support physical and emotional growth.
Learn more about what else we’re doing in wellness at Northwell Health here.
*Union employees will receive benefits based on their CBA.
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From exams to important meetings – my journey to becoming a Healthcare Management Program associate
Written by: Ryan Ott, 2018 HMP Intern
Coming into college, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do. I chose to be an Economics major because I knew that it was broad enough, and it allowed me to explore exactly what my passion was. Being from Long Island, I had always been surrounded by Northwell Health. However, it never crossed my mind what a job in healthcare would really look like. How could you work for Northwell without a MD or Nursing degree? Fortunately, my friend’s father is a Cardiologist in the health system and strongly suggested that I look into healthcare administration.
During the summer of 2017, only a couple of months later, I was set up to shadow 5 different administrators in Cardiology, Internal Medicine, and Business Development. Upon starting, I immediately recognized how special this field was. I grew a passion for the behind-the-scenes work that needed to be done for a physician’s appointment to take place. It was something that I knew I needed to be a part of. After a little over a month of attending meetings, visiting practices, and soaking in the day to day operations of healthcare leaders, I set out to find a way to continue to work with Northwell.
I was briefly told about the opportunity to apply to be a Healthcare Management Program associate. After extensive research, it seemed as if the program was a perfect fit for me. I wanted to continue my healthcare experience, and I yearned for the ability to actually contribute value to a team. After a number of interviews, I finally got the call. I had just gotten out of soccer practice when I saw the voicemail left on my phone. Needless to say, I called back half a second later. I was ecstatic that I was going to have the opportunity to come back to Northwell and be a part of such a highly regarded internship program.
Fast forward to today, where I am just starting my eighth and final week of this program. This program far exceeded my expectations. I had anticipated performing all the stereotypical intern duties, such as running to get coffee and doing work others didn’t want to do. I was blown away by how welcoming the staff at the Clinical Call Center (within Health Solutions) was. Within the first few days, the Director gave me important responsibilities and allowed me to initiate my own projects. Some of my responsibilities ranged from drawing up project plans to designing workflows to be presented to leadership. Looking back on the past 2 months, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I was constantly challenged to step outside of my comfort zone. In doing so, I feel like a more well-rounded professional, and more importantly, a well-rounded person. I can confidently say that this program solidified my goals to become a future healthcare leader
Update: Ryan has been offered and accepted a full-time position at North Shore University Hospital once he graduates from Bucknell University in May.
Submit your resume to become a Summer Associate in the 2019 Healthcare Management Program Internship.
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An Appointment With: John Bosco, SVP and Chief Information Officer
The role of Information Technology in healthcare is ever more important in delivering outstanding care that patients can trust. Whether it be delivering real-time access to patient information or helping consumers access Northwell services in a convenient mobile environment, Northwell’s IT department is leading the way. As a leader within Northwell since 2004, John Bosco serves as the senior vice president and chief information officer. Overseeing the information technology function of the largest integrated healthcare network in New York is no small task. We caught up with John to hear about how the IT department is continuously growing and how it’s a department that’s Truly Innovative.
How has Northwell’s IT department grown over the past few years and how will it continue to grow?
Northwell’s IT department has grown and continues to adapt to the changing landscape in healthcare delivery and financing. Our priorities have shifted as a result of new care models, new payment models, the move toward personalized medicine, consumer demands, and the acceleration of new, innovative technologies that are starting to take hold. For example, we expect artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies will help drive improvements in clinical care, operations, or financial performance, providing better clinical decision support to clinicians, making the systems more efficient for them to use, and helping to automate repetitive tasks. There is a new device or app invented multiple times every day. It’s our job to understand how to take advantage of these emerging technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of care.
As Northwell continues to grow and expand, so do the technologies and staff needed to support our health system. We are very focused on building a connected, integrated health system, where clinicians have real-time access to the information they need to treat their patients. Every Physician practice, hospital, imaging center, ambulatory surgery center, and our many other care venues, are connected together through our Health Information Exchange technology so all data about a patient can be delivered where and when it is needed.
Providing easier and more convenient access for consumers to access Northwell services is a major focus right now. We have got to make consumers feel we know them and their preferences when they come to us, make it easy to get an appointment through an app on their smartphone, and reduce the burden for them to provide the information we need to collect in order to treat them and produce a bill for our services. We want patients to visit our health system from the time they are born and throughout their lifetime.
The protection and safeguarding of our patient’s data is one of our most important responsibilities as a health system. With all of the cybersecurity problems happening today that you can read or hear about in the media almost every day, we continue to invest in people and technologies that prevent hackers and malicious software from entering our networks and systems. Training all Northwell employees on safe practices, such as not responding to potentially malicious emails, is paramount to our effort to protect our technology environments.
Are there any areas in IT that are helping to drive current or future growth?
The changes and innovations taking place in health IT require me to find new skills in the marketplace. Software developers used to shun healthcare given that we traditionally purchased commercial software systems and focused on implementations -but the rapid changes in healthcare delivery, and the innovations taking place, now enable us to develop innovative software that is not available in the market to purchase. IT Security engineers are one of the hottest jobs in the market. Data scientists who can comb through large databases to find insights into how we can improve quality and efficiency are another hot, and difficult skill to find. Software developers and support people who know how to operate in the ‘cloud’ environment are also very valuable to us.
Healthcare IT is going through some big changes industry-wide. How is Northwell being Truly Innovative with technology to stay ahead of the curve?
The three vectors changing the healthcare landscape include consumerization, mobility, and “uberization” of our technology infrastructure. These three vectors are empowering the patient to manage their data, and get access to the right care giver, at the right time, and at the right place. The increase in the tech savvy consumer population has pushed technology towards a consumer model. Smart phones used to belong to a privileged few, now the value of two way real-time voice, data, and video communications has resulted in there being a super computer in the hands of every citizen. Phones have become the camera, the recorder, the guide, and a healthcare access device.
With the arrival of the ‘cloud’, transmission, storage and retrieval of information made the mobile ecosystem whole. Traditional locked-down regimented data centers and applications are in the evening of their life. Cloud is available to the consumer on an as needed basis with a pay as you use model. Uberization has engulfed the technology infrastructure.
Northwell is in the eye of this paradigm shift affecting all facets of healthcare and the care delivery model. Innovation is the art of thinking that leverages this paradigm shift and enables care delivery effectively. With consumerization, mobility, and uberization of information technology, Northwell is on a journey to be a health buddy to our patients throughout the continuum. Agility is our accelerator that enables a real time interface with our patients, providers, administrators, payers and regulators to provide actionable clinical information.
We have invested in people, tools, and new processes that will enable us to be more innovative and quicker to market with new technologies. It is hard work to shift from older technologies and ways of doing things that have existed for decades. We are deploying systems architected on open industry standards such as web, HL7, FHIR, and other standards. Handshakes with external systems are enabled by employing open application programming interfaces (API) stacks. Applications are developed using an agile framework with hybrid-cloud back end, enabling the transmission of data to the right environment to enable mobility and scalability. The overarching strategy is to move data from creation to destination to retrieval in the most effective and economical manner.
Northwell IT is positioned to optimize opportunities resulting from these paradigm shifts in the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies. The future is exciting and holds the promise of a vastly different way of our consumers and clinicians interacting with each other.
How is Northwell IT innovating its workforce practices?
As one of the most innovative healthcare systems, we want to ensure that our technology culture is progressive and attracts and retains top talent. The workforce of the future is more mobile and want new ways to work. In response to this shift, the Information Services department has a group of leaders working on what the future of our workforce will look like and how to keep them engaged and productive.
We see more opportunities to increase collaboration and knowledge sharing across internal departments. Using more virtual workers and work-from-home programs presents an opportunity for us to bring down our labor and office space costs, while increasing employee satisfaction by providing the flexibility they may need and want for work-life balance. It’s also possible we will look toward an IT office in another state in order to find enough talent for our projects.
In addition, the jobs of the future at Northwell must become increasingly centered around the consumer, and some IT workers may not require as much healthcare expertise as they currently require.
We also see an opportunity for using external and internal crowdsourcing to solve problems and innovate.
Northwell IT is already making progress to be ready for the future of our workforce from a leadership perspective, now we are more focused from an organizational and talent perspective.
Our goal is to become an employer of choice and best place to work. In order to meet this goal, we need to respond to the changing labor demographics which in turn allows us to expand our talent pool and retain the best. It’s a win-win for both employer and employees!
What role will Data play in the future of Healthcare IT and here at Northwell?
Northwell has a long history of utilizing the vast amounts of data available to assess our performance and drive clinical improvements, operational efficiencies, and improve financial performance. We continue to grow our capabilities to enable more and more sophisticated analytics with the implementation of an enterprise data warehouse that combines clinical, operational and financial data and cutting edge visualization tools that enable both enterprise-level and department-specific analytics. The next iteration of this will be the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to begin moving toward more predictive analytics to improve clinical care and financial outcomes. Northwell will compete on our data in the future. Our ability to mine the vast amounts of data we possess will be our differentiator, very much like how Amazon revolutionized the consumer experience of buying goods online.
What is an interesting fact that people should know about you?
I don’t know that I’m all that interesting of a person! My priorities are my family, my friends and my career. I love working at Northwell with so many people who share the same passions I do for excellence in everything we do. I am thankful to work at such a great health system where helping people is always our highest priority. I’m a born-and-bred New Yorker and truly believe New York is the center of the universe! I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Think you’re Made for the innovation John is talking about? Explore IT positions here.
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Meet our Truly Ambitious Pediatric NP Andrea Orbon
This post is part of a blog series highlighting Northwell Health’s ACPs – Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Each Northwell Health employee was nominated by their manager as an individual that exemplifies one of Northwell Health’s values. This month, we’re proud to introduce you to Andrea Orbon, who is a Truly Ambitious Nurse Practitioner. Hear her story.
Andrea Orbon CPNP has always considered herself a very ambitious person. After being a pediatric nurse, she pushed herself to become a nurse practitioner (NP) so she could do even more for her patients and their families. “As an NP, I’m here not only for the patient, but for their parents as well. I’m not only the diagnostician, but I’m their friend. I’m here to listen.”
Since starting her career with Northwell Health in 2014, Andrea has maintained valuable connections with her patients and their families as they’ve grown, even caring for her former patient’s children. Andrea empathizes with her young patients and their families. Her commitment to her work is inspiring. “It takes dedication to your profession, regardless of your position, to ensure you are still there for your patients. What’s nice about our practice is your patients become part of your family,” she says.
Though she’s been in the field for years, Andrea continues to push for new ways to connect with her patients. She’s helped orchestrate visits with local offices to develop a personal connection with doctors. This opens direct lines of communication, builds relationships with other doctors and, eventually, leads to referrals. Andrea goes above and beyond when building relationships with doctors and patients, and she frequently visits the hospital nursery during her rounds, on weekends, and on her days off to provide care to newborns and their parents before they officially become her patients. Andrea says, “I’m proud of this office because most pediatricians don’t take the time to go to the nursery, but we take efforts to be there at that first moment to deliver continuity of care.”
Andrea feels that the way she makes a difference as an NP is to fight for services that children need today. These services include early intervention, anxiety management, and working with schools and psychologists that serve as the liaison between behavioral and psychological care. “As an NP, we do more because we are the connecting piece between all the care delivered. We’re nurses first, and then NPs. We’re there for the patient and the family, which helps us treat the whole picture and not just the specific case. Continuing our personalized care and taking the extra step or making the extra call that’s needed to provide the patient with what they need, especially with kids who need early intervention or have school issues, makes a big difference in their daily lives.”
Being Truly Ambitious inside a large health system means going beyond delivering quality care. It means focus on personalized care that’s more than a quick check-up, and it’s dedicated service that accounts for patients’ whole selves, now and in the future. Andrea’s work is the definition of Truly Ambitious, and we are proud to call her a member of our Northwell Health family.
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Nursing students gain invaluable experience in eight week Nurse Extern Program
Each summer, our Nurse Extern Program provides Junior BSN students with a rewarding 8-week paid preceptorship. These future nurses gain invaluable knowledge daily to build the strong foundation necessary to launch a great nursing career.
At Northwell, we’re dedicated to helping our nursing externs develop the skills they need to help deliver the best care possible to our patients. “I learned and practiced essential nursing skills but most importantly, I gained confidence in my ability to care for and advocate for my patients,” says Toni Barbarino, an extern at North Shore University Hospital this past summer. “I will carry the lessons I learned this summer with me throughout my entire nursing career.”
The education doesn’t stop at the bedside. Throughout the program, there are educational in-services presented by our nurse educators and leadership. “Nurse externs spend eight weeks of the summer working with the best nurse educators, RN preceptors and team members gaining knowledge and confidence as the begin their Senior year,” says Ellen Lorenz, RN, BSN and program manager of nursing fellowships and recruiting. And the externs agree! Mary Ellen Zarriello, an extern at Long Island Jewish Hospital, adds, “From the first day of the summer program through the last, the nurse educators made every effort to ensure that I, and my fellow externs, had exceptional opportunities for professional and personal growth.”
This isn’t just a summer externship, it’s a stepping stone. “Our goal is to hire our externs at Northwell when they graduate,” says Ellen. Students in the extern program not only develop a strong skill set while they’re still in school, but they’re building lasting relationships with future peers. Most importantly, their passion and commitment to patients is only strengthened as they gain unique experience in real life settings.
And the program’s only growing! This year’s 2018 program hosted over 70 nurse externs at 13 hospitals, more than 2017’s 60 externs and nearly double the number from 2015. As it continues to expand, our Nurse Extern Program is helping more and more nursing students achieve their full potential to start a great nursing career.
By investing in our students today, we’re helping to redefine health care for years to come. This program not only allows for externs to learn from nurses with years of experience but introduces them to settings they won’t see in their clinical rotations. Nursing students finish their summer with a better understanding of the full spectrum of nursing, and an ignited passion to finish becoming a registered nurse.
Are you Made for the future of nursing? Learn more about our Nurse Extern Program here!
Hear from 2018’s summer Nurse Externs on why they loved our Nurse Extern Program:
“Being a nurse extern at North Shore University Hospital was truly a once in a lifetime experience. My favorite program feature was working one on one with my preceptor. My preceptor was patient with me as I learned, took time to teach me all that she could, and helped me gain confidence in my skills and myself! At the Golden Ticket Event a statement was made that this program transforms you from a student to a nurse, and that is exactly what it did! Thanks to Northwell I know that I am made for this!”
“I was a nurse extern at North Shore University Hospital for the Summer of 2018 where I worked one on one with a nurse in the Operating Room. I truly got to see what it is like to work as a nurse by working three 12-hour shifts per week for the first time. I loved being in the operating room because this area is not a part of my clinical rotations in nursing school. Being placed one on one with a nurse made the experience feel so personal and gave me so much time to ask questions. The nurse educators always went out of their way to make sure we were getting the best experience possible. This was a learning experience unlike anything else I have ever had, and I cannot be more thankful for what it has done for me. Going into my senior year of college, I feel more prepared and motivated than ever before to finish nursing school with this background.”
“The Northwell Health Summer Nurse Externship was an invaluable experience that provided me with the opportunity to work alongside and learn from the most exceptional educators, preceptors, and staff. Each shift I was challenged to grow my bank of knowledge and skills, all of which will be imperative in my future career as a registered nurse. This externship gave me the opportunity to be a part of simulation experiences, as well as be a member of the healthcare team. I am so grateful for the confidence and practical experience this program provided me with.”
“This summer I had the opportunity to be a Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center Nurse Extern. This externship provided me the skills and confidence that no other opportunity would have given me. I made amazing memories, met incredible people and worked with some of the best pediatric health care providers. Being in the pediatric intensive care unit has always been a dream of mine and this externship experience has only reinforced my dreams of being a PICU nurse. I look forward to the amazing experiences Northwell has to offer and I am extremely grateful for this past summer.”
“This program helped me further prepare for the transition from a nursing student to an RN. I was truly submerged into the all-around patient care from team meetings with other health care professionals, to hands on nursing care working side by side with my RN, and independently communicating with patients and families. Entering my final semester of nursing school, I am feeling most confident about my skills and feeling that I have tied together everything I have learned in school from this externship.”
“The Northwell Health Summer Nurse Externship Program can only be described in one word…invaluable. Every moment of my summer was filled with experiences that cannot be matched by any other healthcare system or clinical site. My time in the Surgical ICU at Long Island Jewish Medical Center was transformative in my nursing education. I am excited for my last year of nursing school and for my career ahead knowing that I have been exposed to such a high standard of healthcare as a part of this program. This program has transformed me from a nursing student to a confident nurse professional.”
“The Nurse Extern program was a deeply rewarding experience that has not only helped me develop and strengthen clinical skills, but most importantly taught me the value and significance of patient and family centered care. Northwell Health, especially Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is filled with dedicated employees who were beyond supportive and welcoming throughout the duration of the program. As I move on within the nursing profession, I will always value the opportunities the externship has provided and treasure the memories it has created.”
“Northwell Health’s Summer Nurse Extern program is the perfect combination of education and on the job experience. I found myself applying prior knowledge learned in school, as well as new knowledge I acquired from my amazing preceptor in the clinical setting at Glen Cove Hospital. The training and education I received completely prepared me for my future endeavors as an RN. This Nurse Externship left me feeling like I really made a difference and contributed to the well being of the patients who I cared for. The best part about this program was the one on one collaboration it offered to each and every student! I feel super confident entering my final year of nursing school, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity with Northwell Health.”
“The Northwell Health Nurse Externship was truly a life changing experience. The program has changed me not only as a nursing student, but as a person as well. This past summer I gained skills, knowledge, and developed competency as a nursing student, but what I am most thankful for is the confidence this program afforded me. With the support of my preceptors, nurse managers and nurse educators I was able to conquer competencies that I never thought possible as a student. Thanks to the Northwell Health Nurse Externship I begin my senior year of nursing school confident in my skills and with an even more intense passion for the nursing profession. This program has left me both excited and eager to begin pursuing a career in nursing and has made me sure that I am made for this!”
“I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to work as a Northwell Health Summer Nurse Extern at Southside Hospital. The guidance and clinical expertise that I received from my preceptors and educators were invaluable. I truly enjoyed my experience and I look forward to using the knowledge and skills that I learned this summer in clinical this year.”
“At the beginning of the externship program, I thought that I knew what nursing was about. Being in the emergency room opened my eyes to a completely new side of nursing, and led me to having experiences that I had never imagined taking part in. I will be a better nurse because of this. Thank you Northwell health for this amazing opportunity.”
“I fell in love with this externship as well as Lenox Hill Hospital and Northwell Health and I hope to return as an RN. It was the most educational and enlightening experience I have received throughout nursing school and has strengthened my passion for the nursing profession.”
“The summer Nurse Externship program at Northwell was a wonderful experience. The program encouraged critical thinking skills and helped me advance my clinical nursing skills. My preceptor fostered a learning environment and helped me gain confidence in the clinical setting. I had many optimal learning opportunities and by the end of the program I felt like I had become part of the Northwell nursing team.”
“Being a Nurse Extern at LIJ Valley Stream was truly an experience I’ll never forget. Before the program, I remember feeling anxious about becoming a nurse and the high expectations that are required of nurses, but after the 8 weeks, I have definitely felt more confident and excited to be an RN in the Northwell System. The entire staff of LIJ Valley Stream were incredibly welcoming and as genuine, I felt like a part of their family very quickly. This experience had validated all the information I learned in nursing school and it was awesome to see what I learned put into practice. I am truly glad I got the opportunity to be a Summer Nurse Extern at LIJ Valley Stream.”
I entered this externship knowing I would learn, of course. I learned about the nursing career, witnessed interprofessional communication, performed and observed skills, and practiced speaking to patients and professionals. But what I am most grateful for are the relationships I made with everyone I encountered at Plainview Hopsital. I am also immensely grateful for the abundance of knowledge I’ve learned about myself through bedside nursing. I’ve realized it’s not always about what you can teach patients, but what patients can teach you. I’d like to specifically thank all of the wonderful people on the telemetry unit. The experience I’ve had with Northwell are memories and lessons I will never forget, and they are helping me become the nurse I strive to be. I am honored to have been part of this program, because now I truly know I am made for this.
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If you are an individual with a disability requesting an accommodation for the application process, please click the contact us link above to request assistance.
Learn more about our hiring experience.
Read answers to common questions about the application process.
© 2021 - Northwell Health
Click here to view the “EEO is the law” poster.
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