Summer Internship: UnityPoint Health - Des Moines

By: Swati Panchal

If I had to describe my feelings on the first day of my internship, I would say I was nervous, yet undeniably excited. Now, as I approach my 6th week, I would say I am still excited and only nervous about how fast the time is going!

In the first few days, I quickly learned that meetings would be the core of my days. From senior leadership meetings to wellness committee meetings, I learned about the many roles and functions within a hospital. As I worked towards familiarizing myself with the four hospitals in our region—Iowa Methodist, Methodist West, Iowa Lutheran, and Blank Children’s—I had the opportunity to be part of some exciting events.

On June 8th, Iowa Methodist opened their brand new Emergency Department. Upon my first visit, I thought, “Wow. This looks more like a hotel than an ED. This is even nicer than Grey’s Anatomy’s!” Actually, everything I have gotten to be a part of, from patient rounds to board meetings, has shown that UnityPoint Health-Des Moines is much less dramatic than Seattle Grace. Phew. Honestly, the most dramatic moment has been the time I could not find my way to the parking lot.

In the past few weeks, I have gotten the opportunity to contribute to an array of projects, some of which include: refining our current professional appearance policy, creating time studies to evaluate the impact of FLSA changes, and analyzing data in regards to no-shows. In between project work, I have been able to gain an abundance of hospital exposure by observing an autopsy, a biopsy, and two DNV accreditation visits.

One of the reasons I was so attracted to UnityPoint Health-Des Moines was its strong culture. It has been incredible to see every member work towards incorporating our values into each decision and action. These values have also been distinct in every interaction I have had. Every member has been welcoming and appreciative of my presence. From executives to physicians, everyone has helped make this internship the best experience possible. It also helps that I have found the BEST breakfast sandwich ever in our cafeterias.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devante Davis (MHA '24): UCHealth - Southern Region

Image
Hello my name is Devante Davis I am going into my 2 nd year as an MHA student at the University of Iowa!    I am currently interning at UCHEALTH southern region in Colorado Springs, and UCHEALTH mission statement is to Improve lives through providing quality care. My preceptor is Andrew Ritchie the Chief Operation Officer of the UCHEALTH southern region. He great a developing talent while unlocking hiding potential within his interns, and fellow! My favorite project was evaluating what the rest of the world is doing to recover from this global nursing shortage. Summarizing the data and be a part of creating a valuable plan to implement into the UCHEALTH southern region. A few other fun events I attended were the pikes peak annual racing event, viper’s baseball game, the incline!  
Read more

Alexa Colella (MHA '24): revology

Image
Hello! My name is Alexa Colella and I am an incoming 2nd year Master of Health Administration student at the University of Iowa. My professional interests include entrepreneurship, workplace culture and health, holistic health, health innovation, and health technology. My personal interests include weightlifting, hiking, traveling, thrill-seeking, theatre, reading, animal documentaries, and photography. This summer, I am completing an administrative internship with revology , in the heart of downtown Iowa City. r evology is a technology-enabled revenue cycle management startup firm that helps providers get more from their revenue cycle . Our good humans and smart technology enable health systems across the U.S. to transform their revenue cycle management process , adding more to their bottom line. My preceptor this summer is Chris Klitgaard , the CEO of revology . Chris is an alumnus of our MHA program and has been working in revenue cycle for most of his career. He has started
Read more

Adriana Kotchkoski (MHA '24): Nihon Keiei Consulting Group

Image
Konnichiwa from Japan!   As I sit down to write this blog post, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and accomplishment as I reflect on my time as an intern at Nihon Keiei Consulting Group in Osaka, Japan. This summer has been nothing short of remarkable, offering me a unique blend of professional development and cultural immersion that I will cherish forever.   During my time at Nihon Keiei, I had the opportunity to engage in in-depth research and analysis, creating comprehensive market profiles for the healthcare sectors in the Philippines and India. These profiles laid the foundation for strategic expansion plans, and it was an honor to present my findings and recommendations to a senior consultant during insightful one-on-one meetings. These interactions were not only professionally enriching but also allowed me to witness firsthand how strategic decisions shape the course of an organization's growth.   One of the most rewarding experiences during my internship was the develop
Read more