Greetings from Phoenix, AZ!
A few months ago, I packed up my life (minus my cat) and moved nearly 1,500 miles away to Phoenix for the summer. This summer, I am completing my administrative internship with Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company (HOPCo), a healthcare organization focused on transforming musculoskeletal care through integrated delivery models, data, analytics, and value-based care. I came to Phoenix hoping to better understand healthcare administration in practice. Instead of simply observing it, I have been given the opportunity to participate in it.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that healthcare administration is not always about having the answer. More often, it is about asking the right questions. I’m reporting to you all with over 13 projects under my belt. The most meaningful part of my internship has been the level of trust I have been given. I have not spent the summer simply shadowing or completing hypothetical assignments. I have been trusted to lead my own projects, solve real problems, present recommendations, and create systems that will continue to be used after my internship ends.
One of my largest projects has been standing up an entirely new accreditation effort. I have worked to translate dense standards into actionable requirements, reconcile policies, identify stakeholders and deliverables, develop credentialing and approval processes, and create the infrastructure needed to keep the work organized and sustainable. A significant portion of my internship has involved working with data, reporting, and visualization. I have supported the migration and redesign of Power BI dashboards, working through the challenge of turning large amounts of information into tools that are both functional and easy to understand.
Moving to Phoenix for the summer meant entering a new organization, a new city, and a new routine all at once. It has pushed me outside my comfort zone and given me space to think more intentionally about the kind of healthcare leader I want to become. My internship is not over yet, and I know there is still much more to learn. But so far, this experience has given me something more valuable than a list of completed projects. It has shown me that I do not want to simply understand healthcare systems; I want to help build better ones. I’ve been given opportunities to present my own work to C-suite executives, lead my own projects, take initiative, and watch a total knee replacement.
Somehow, this is only part of the story. I have joined a book club led by my infamous preceptor, Kevin, where we meet every week and engage with important material from a variety of books. I have spent time with coworkers outside of work and made new friends in a city where I arrived knowing relatively few people. Those relationships have been an important reminder that some of the best parts of an internship are the conversations that happen between meetings, over lunch, or while spending time with people who make a new place begin to feel familiar.
Outside of work, my summer has been filled with swimming, finding new coffee shops, spending time with my cousins and their children, and exploring as much of the Valley as I can. No matter how many times I see them, I never get tired of driving through the mountains. I have explored Jerome, Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona, and even made my way to San Diego. Each trip has made this summer feel bigger than an internship. It has become a season of saying yes to new places, new people, and experiences I could not have had if I had stayed where life was comfortable and familiar.
When I moved to Phoenix, I expected professional growth. I did not fully anticipate how much personal growth would come with it. This summer, I have learned that I love being close to the work. I want to understand what happens in the operating room and what happens in the boardroom. I want to work with data, but I also want to understand the people behind it. I want to be in conversations about strategy, but I also want to be the person who rolls up my sleeves and builds the system that turns strategy into reality. I have learned that I am most energized when I can take something complicated, understand the people and processes behind it, and create something better.
But so far, this summer has given me much more than professional experience. It has given me a glimpse of the healthcare leader I am becoming, and a life in the Valley that I am going to have a very hard time leaving behind. P.S. Thanks to Dr. Anderson for the recommendation to see the musical instrument museum! What an amazing and unique experience!
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