Andrew Lillie - University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics - Inpatient Operations

Hello from Iowa City! This summer I am working as an administrative intern for inpatient operations at UIHC. So far, my experience has exceeded my expectations. I have been fortunate enough to work on a lot of projects in the month that I have been working here so far and I have already experienced tremendous personal and professional growth in that time. Having so much exposure to the executive-level leadership at UIHC has given me a renewed sense of determination to accomplish my goals in healthcare administration.

While I am technically the intern for Greg Kirkman (Executive Director of Adult Inpatient Operations) I have been fortunate enough to support many people at the hospital including Dr. Theresa Brennan (Chief Medical Officer). I even had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Brennan as she performed rounds in the CVICU which felt like a rare opportunity to really observe someone of that experience level as they engaged in patient care that I will never forget. This broad experience with a lot of different people has made me more of the “intern to the CMO office” which I have found incredibly valuable and rewarding as I continue to grow and find my place in health admin in my early career.

I have been fortunate enough to work on several projects, some of the smaller ones include coordinating ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE) for advanced practice providers (APPs) for Joint Commission requirements, auditing unit huddles to optimize efficiency and patient throughput, and tracking medical director meeting attendance over the previous fiscal year for Joint Commission. These have all been valuable experiences for me to gain additional perspective into the work of clinical staff at a large academic medical center that I did not expect to get so much of when I began my internship. My big project for the summer, however, is working with our radiology team to reduce the number of inpatient PET scans being performed to optimize patient length of stay and increase reimbursement. This project has given me the opportunity to really take charge of something on my own and get that invaluable leadership experience that can be hard to come by as an early careerist just breaking into healthcare work. Greg has put a lot of faith and trust in me to do right by the radiology department and UIHC with this project and I could not be more honored to take on the challenge.

Outside of my internship this summer I have been spending a lot of time with my 3-year-old blue heeler, Ace. Additionally, prior to the start of my internship, I went on a trip to Amsterdam which was incredible. I have been fortunate enough to have traveled to many different countries over the years and now I can tick the Netherlands off my list as well. If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it!