Summer Internship: St. Mark's Medical Center

By: Jamison Robinett (MHA '19)

Greetings from beautiful Utah! This summer I have been privileged to be the administrative intern at St. Mark’s Hospital, the flagship hospital for Hospital Corporation of America’s Mountain Division, also known as MountainStar Healthcare. Sitting in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, St. Mark’s was the first hospital in the state and has been providing Utahans and surrounding residents with compassionate and quality healthcare services for nearly 150 years. Today, St. Mark’s is a 308-bed community hospital which employs approximately 2,000 individuals, treats 55,000 patients annually in the emergency department, and performs 34,000 surgeries each year. 

If someone were to ask me to describe the ideal internship, I don’t think that my description would deviate much from my experience at St. Mark’s. From day one, I was adopted into the administrative team and hit the ground running. My preceptor was not one individual, but rather the entire administrative team. In turn, I enjoyed a broad level of involvement and gained a comprehensive understanding of hospital operations. My internship has been very busy and full of projects! Some of my key projects were creating a robust marketing strategy for St. Mark’s robotics program, auditing $14 million worth of contracts to ensure compliance with new corporate legal guidelines, and designing action plans with hospital directors based on recent physician and employee engagement survey results.  

I have had many experiences which I will be able to look back on for the rest of my career. One of the most memorable experiences occurred during my first week as I helped prepare each unit for our Joint Commission survey and then accompanied the surveyor during his visit. I also was able assist my CEO who is new to the hospital as he persistently worked on developing relationships with physicians. I attended as many physician meetings as I could with him (Medical Executive Committee, Credentials Committee, etc.) and dedicated significant time each week to building individual relationships with physicians. Being able to participate in those interactions and then reflect upon them with him after was invaluable. 

A summer weekend in Utah is a precious gift. Most of mine were spent with friends and family doing what I love the most – being in the mountains. Fly-fishing, riding ATV’s, being on the lake, and attending small town rodeos left me feeling fulfilled, rejuvenated, and ready to start another great week at St. Mark’s Hospital!