Student interns leave projects of lasting value
Your main investments? Supervision and space
You could bring a wellspring of energy and creative talent into your facility as early as next summer if you start planning now. Dust off that must-do list you set aside every time a crisis comes up and consider which items would offer ideal learning experiences for a student intern. The cost can be far less than that of creating a staff position.
Among today’s college students of diverse ages, you’ll find dedicated, hard workers eager for real world experience.
"Students bring a freshness and excitement to projects that I sometimes lose in the daily grind," says Beth Brown, MA, research specialist for both the national women’s center of excellence and the medical effectiveness research center for diverse populations at the University of California at San Francisco. Brown observes that interns devote intense concentration to their tasks. She says a job might be "just a tiny dot on my radar screen, where it’s half of [the intern’s] radar screen."
Your key to success: Make sure everyone benefits. "We always approach it so the intern can meet his or her educational goals," explains Jamie Haeuser, vice president of operations at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, LA. A clear understanding of the educational institution’s terms is fundamental. These might include, for example, an orientation to each part of your operation and periodic progress reports to the school.
To enlist enthusiasm and cooperation from your staff, identify small projects, visible enough to demonstrate progress. If you can credit your intern with a resource library, for example, it will please everyone. Tie the projects into your overall mission. Don’t make it all busywork and, Haeuser insists, don’t extract slave labor such as courier service from your interns.
Haeuser and Brown help interns integrate their skills and interests with operational needs. And they’re always alert to serendipity. Brown had bilingual high school student who translated a patient education pamphlet into Mandarin (Chinese), expanding the scope beyond the planned English and Spanish versions. A public health student at Woman’s Hospital attended a well-community conference and wrote detailed briefings for each department. "Ordinarily you would spend your conference budget on staff," Haeuser says, "but this student was interested, he paid part of his expenses, and his terrific reports amplified our scarce employee resources."
Other internship projects at Woman’s Hospital and the University of California at San Francisco include:
• writing a business plan for new women’s service program;
• conducting a survey of Russian-speaking women’s health needs;
• designing health outcomes measures;
• collecting demographic patient data;
• conducting/summarizing literature reviews.
Interns generally report to their project’s manager. Haeuser says it’s important for interns to have a supervisor who likes to coach. Some days, it takes a lot of patience, Brown admits.
"I have to keep in mind when she [the intern] interrupts me, that at the end of the day, I’ll not only have my work to show for it, but hers, too," she says. "This makes it easier to spend 10 minutes out of a busy day showing her how to do something."
Haeuser says that beyond daily supervision, she spends two to three hours a week in conferences and planning sessions with interns..
Some schools require that hosts pay stipends to interns, Haeuser explains. These can reach $8,000 a year, although that’s usually the exception. Typically, the expenses involve a desk, supplies, phone, and, if necessary, a computer. Notes Tracy Weitz, MPA, center manager for the University of California at San Francisco National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, "You’ll probably want to show your appreciation for your interns by sending them to a women’s health conference or presenting them with a book or taking them to lunch."
Look nationwide or close to home. Whatever you do, get your bid in early. Many schools confirm placements a semester or two in advance, especially when a student has to relocate. Survey colleges and vocational programs.
"Don’t restrict yourself to health care interns," Haeuser suggests. She explains that colleges with master’s degrees in business administration or health administration also are good choices.
Consider female high school students, especially the good students, Weitz urges. "We tend to care about young women when they get into trouble and forget about those who are getting straight A’s," she says. "There are plenty of them out there searching for ways to develop their talents and make a contribution and a living. We could be more proactive in giving them opportunities to look at career paths in health care."
As soon as you offer excellent experiences to a few interns, you’ll be able to relax your recruitment efforts and let word of mouth take over. Don’t relax your effort to give interns the best experience you can. Haeuser notes, "I never forget that my intern today might be my boss in the future!" ß
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content