Summer Internship: Brigham and Women's Hospital

By: Rob McDonagh (MHA '18)
Hello from Boston!
I’m in the sixth week of my internship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a 793-bed affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Its association with Harvard has consistently made it one of the highest-ranked hospitals in the country, and the U.S. News and World Report in 2016 ranked it the 13th best hospital in America. The Brigham is always searching to improve healthcare in Boston. It is associated with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and founded Partners Healthcare, the largest healthcare provider in Massachusetts, in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital.
It’s been a wicked busy summer so far! I’ve been working in Physician Assistant (PA) Services on numerous projects, and I have been learning just how important PAs and other Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) really are in this time of physician shortages. My preceptor is one of the most ambitious people I’ve ever met, yet she is so supportive and open to granting me independence while I work on my projects.
I work out of three different locations in Boston for my projects, which gives me the ability to meet a wide variety of people working in healthcare. First, I’ve worked on standardizing the credentialing and privileging process so that by the end of my internship, each department will have the same form and process for PAs. Next, I’ve started to create an Interdisciplinary Practice Committee, which will involve the directors of PAs, nurse practitioners, other APPs, chief physicians, and the CEO. Finally, while I can’t go into details at this time, I’ve also been tasked with an innovative project related to PAs that will be the first of its kind in the country.
Outside of work, Boston is easily one of the coolest cities in the country, and everyone should explore it! Fenway Park is exactly a mile away from the hospital, and while I’ve only been to one Red Sox game so far, I’m planning to see a few more games in July. Boston is also filled with historic sites - my personal favorites are probably the JFK Presidential Library and the U.S.S. Constitution.
This is one of the best summers of my life thanks to the Brigham and the general Boston area. Still, I can’t wait to return to Iowa to see all my fellow MHA students again!

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