Internships, co-ops, clinical and field experiences, client-based projects

Off to Law School with A Deepened Appreciation
by Grace Ward

I interned at Mifflin County Children and Youth Services in Lewistown, PA. I worked as a caseworker assistant, doing most of the daily tasks a caseworker does in their day-to-day. My supervisor, Dana Bubb, is the Administrator of MCCYS, and my mentor is a supervisor of the in-home unit.

I sought out an internship with Children and Youth because I knew that I would be attending law school in the fall to pursue a career in family law. This experience has equipped me to serve families better through the law. It has prepared me to work more productively with social workers and approach family law from a new light. I believe I aided the agency in becoming more organized, creating a more efficient mentoring and on-boarding process, and bringing a new energy to office culture in the midst of difficult and emotionally tasking work.

My Human Development and Family Studies major gave me the necessary skillset to be a competent helping professional. I memorized best therapy practices and gained understanding in child and adolescent development. In classes fulfilling my Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor, I learned what it meant to think from the perspective of an individual of a different race, gender identity, physical ability, sexual orientation, and class status, which all came into play as I interacted with and served the families of Mifflin County. Lastly, I learned from my Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies minor differences between discipline and abuse and how to best advocate for a maltreated child. I took this knowledge and could more easily apply it as I navigated the child welfare system as a young professional.

In my few internship experiences in social work, I have noticed a gap in understanding between social workers and the attorneys they work with. Attorneys often lack education in child development, understanding of complex family issues, and knowledge on how to appropriately discuss sensitive topics with clients. They don’t always have complete understanding of what it is caseworkers do for the families they serve. As a future attorney, I now have a deeper appreciation for all child welfare professionals and will be more inclined to use an interdisciplinary approach to my work. I am heading to Penn State Law in the fall and hope to maintain the connections I have made through my internship experience in Mifflin County.

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Understanding Complexities in Healthcare
by Anish Ari

I was fortunate enough to have spent my last semester as a 4-month Administrative Intern with the Mount Nittany Physician Group. MNPG is a multispecialty group of providers across 18 practices in Centre County, Pennsylvania. This fall, I was placed in the Department of Surgical and Specialty Operations under the leadership and support of Traci Evans, FACMPE. I was given numerous opportunities in this role to interpret CMS insurance proposals/reimbursement models, assist in implementing a new system-wide EHR platform, contribute to Rapid Improvement Events (RIE’s) with lean/six sigma training, and collect/analyze CAHPS metrics on practice efficiency, among others. On average, I worked on 3 to 4 projects simultaneously, while reporting to my supervisor and the Chief Operating Officer. It was particularly exciting to contribute to executive team meetings with the COO and CEO, among other administrators with updates on my progress.

As a BS/MBA student, I’ve coordinated my curriculum around a career in healthcare operations, however, this opportunity was the first I had to leverage both science and business acumen in the professional setting. That being said, there was a lot of initial learning and subsequent potential to influence patient care. I liked that I was given independence in my role, as the work ethic allowed me to quickly learn and adapt to rising expectations. It was equally rewarding to know that the work I did truly improved the care being delivered to patients. For example, the lean/six sigma and RIE events I participated in led to streamlining the patient registration and check out process. This would ultimately reduce the time patients spent in pre-treatment by over 30%, leading to higher quality care, and more effective coordination between providers and clerical staff.

While reflecting on the contribution Penn State had on my role at MNPG, two courses come to mind. Accounting 211, an introductory accounting course, helped me understand the relationship between operating costs, profit/loss margins, and deviations in revenue, all which I’d analyze frequently in my role at the hospital. Another class I’d taken concurrently with my internship, BA 301 (Finance for non-business majors), was also very helpful. It provided me with insight on financial market analysis, and outlined how non-compliance from entities such as HIPAA, OSHA, and JACHO could lead to fines. I observed this firsthand in my role, where malpractice RVU’s and patient confidentiality reports were regularly managed at the administrative level to ensure safe and regulated care.

I came into this role initially unaware of the many complexities within healthcare sourcing and billing, as most students are. I learned that healthcare operations as a whole is a rapidly developing sector that requires continuing education, a self-motivated ethic, and strong communication skills. In my exposure to insurance reimbursement and federal proposals, I also learned to coordinate multiple projects and delegate tasks to offsite managers. While I gained valuable experiences at MNPG, I still intend to continue diversifying my strengths. An additional computer science and supply chain course (CMPSC 203 and BA 303 302) for example, could provide me with the necessary skills to develop macroscale data charts and sourcing/procurement expertise, as related to diverse patient populations. Ultimately, my positive and rewarding experience has inspired me to continue pursuing healthcare operations, while keeping an open mind to all that I can learn in the process.

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