A 10-Week Field Experience

Health Management/Applied Health internship is a 200 hour field experience under direction of a supervisor in a health care organization or agency. The program is designed to engage students in a variety of projects and activities in a professional organization and match organizational need with a student’s interests and abilities.

Benefits to Employers

The internship program is designed to engage students in a variety of projects and activities in a professional organization and match organizational need with a student’s interests and abilities.

Employers can benefit through the internship as a cost effective screening process and training for potential recruits, an opportunity to select, train, and influence the brightest and best, a chance for training and development for managers and mentors, and enlist additional project assistance. Internships provide a source for fresh and diverse talent along with new ideas and insight. The University of Minnesota Crookston can assist with HIPAA training to provide students with guidelines promoting an understanding and compliance with applicable health information, privacy and security laws, rules and regulations.

Affiliation agreements between the health care organization and the University can be arranged to outline shared goals of education and the desire to facilitate a relationship for the purpose of providing educational experiences. The University also can assist with background checks and proof of immunizations.

Benefits of Student Internship Experience

Students benefit through the internship as a professional work experience and incorporate the learning in class in a real world setting.

Suggested internship experiences include:

  • Engaging in projects/activities in a health care setting that reflect work as a professional such as budget development, policy/procedure development, performance improvement, information technology, marketing, developing business plans, community education, scheduling and acuity systems.
  • Taking part in a special project of a longer duration such as assisting with the annual budget process, market research, resource allocation, or quality improvement.
  • Attend appropriate meetings to gain a broader understanding of the organization.
  • Gain a greater understanding of the health care organization and its structure by spending an appropriate amount of time in every department depending on the organization’s complexity and size.
  • Provide opportunities to enhance communication skills and real-world interactions in a professional environment.
  • Enhance learning through application and demonstrated professionalism.