Claire Schaefer - University of Iowa Health Care Adult Inpatient Operations (MHA '27)

Hi all! 

My name is Claire Schaefer, and I am the summer administrative intern with the Chief Medical Office team at the University of Iowa Health Care. My preceptor is Greg Kirkman, Service Line Director of Adult Inpatient Operations. I write this blog as we begin Week 7 of our 10-week internship, which feels crazy—I guess time flies when you are learning so much! 

This position has presented me with opportunities to observe and participate in valuable initiatives taking place within UIHC. More specifically, some of my biggest projects this summer have lied within one of UIHC’s six priority areas within our strategic plan: Access. Length of stay is a measurement of access for Iowans and beyond treated here at the U. 

Over the past several weeks, I have attended morning throughput huddles across various inpatient units. I audit these conversations to better understand how providers are collaborating to discharge our medically ready patients. At this stage, we are working towards piloting ambient AI in the discussions to better track outcomes. I have enjoyed being at the table with our tech company partners to implement this into action. I am currently designing educational resources for the huddle rooms so teams can quickly visit the top DRG’s in their unit and better document the geometric mean length of stay designated by CMS. 

Other projects have included updating the Medical Director Resource Manual and our employee reporting system. With this position, I have enjoyed the amount of physician and front-line interaction I have had. One of my favorite activities during the week is attending leadership rounding. We travel to units to ask our staff about their day-to-day experience working at this institution. Between these projects, I have spent some time in the nursing and surgical sim-labs, as well as shadowing executive leadership in perioperative services and getting into a surgery! 

Outside of internship work, I have enjoyed the slow pace of Iowa City during these summer months. I can’t complain about Saturdays spent at the Farmer’s Market and then by the pool. 

I am grateful for this experience this summer at UIHC as I’ve been able to put the skills learned in the MHA program to use while also learning from influential leaders and staff. The deeper understanding of hospital operations and the impact our leaders have on the care of our community has solidified my passion for a career in health administration.  


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