Summer Internship: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
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| University of Iowa Health Care interns (from left, Kim Ogden, Kylor Sorensen, Collin Carroll, Mitch Billimack, and Nora Kopping) viewing UIHC's tubes system while rounding with Engineering Services. |
By: Nora Kopping, MA (MHA ’18)
Given
my passion for academic medicine and curiosity about how administrators can
collaborate more effectively with health care providers, I was thrilled to
accept an internship this summer with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). UIHC’s CMO is Dr. Theresa
Brennan, and in my opinion, Dr. Brennan oversees some of the most exciting
areas of UIHC including Clinical Quality, Safety, and Performance Improvement
(CQSPI), Operations Excellence, the Office of the Patient Experience, and
Clinical Documentation Improvement.
Over
the past few weeks of my internship, I have had the opportunity to be involved
in impactful projects that touch all of these areas. As a Graduate Research Assistant
this past semester, I became interested in how allowing Advanced Practice
Providers (APPs) to practice at the top of their licenses can positively impact
access, patient care, and physician burnout. This summer I have been able to dive
deeper into this topic through projects aimed at expanding APP roles and
establishing expectations for APP practice. Through my involvement in the
implementation of a new coding process, I have learned about the central role that
proper clinical documentation plays in both the delivery of quality patient care
and in accurate reimbursement for that care. I have even directly applied what
I learned in last semester’s Healthcare Quality Management course to the development
of a house-wide quality improvement curriculum for faculty
The administrative areas overseen by Dr. Brennan have a direct, often immediate impact on patient care, and so physician leadership is essential. As Dr. Brennan’s intern, I have had the unique opportunity to regularly attend high level, physician-led meetings where strategies, protocols, and benchmarks that impact patient care originate. I have witnessed tough conversations about the impact of resource scarcity on patient care, as well as the dedication of physicians who refuse to accept anything less than excellent care, every time. Through Dr. Brennan and other physician leaders, I am starting to internalize some of the questions most important to providers: Is this safe for my patients? Is this the best standard of care that I can provide? Will this take away from the time I spend treating patients? I know there will be times in my career when it will be easier to ignore these questions than to grapple with them, and my hope is that I never forget what I have learned from listening to the dedicated team of health care providers at UIHC this summer.
The administrative areas overseen by Dr. Brennan have a direct, often immediate impact on patient care, and so physician leadership is essential. As Dr. Brennan’s intern, I have had the unique opportunity to regularly attend high level, physician-led meetings where strategies, protocols, and benchmarks that impact patient care originate. I have witnessed tough conversations about the impact of resource scarcity on patient care, as well as the dedication of physicians who refuse to accept anything less than excellent care, every time. Through Dr. Brennan and other physician leaders, I am starting to internalize some of the questions most important to providers: Is this safe for my patients? Is this the best standard of care that I can provide? Will this take away from the time I spend treating patients? I know there will be times in my career when it will be easier to ignore these questions than to grapple with them, and my hope is that I never forget what I have learned from listening to the dedicated team of health care providers at UIHC this summer.
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