As we wrap up summer, our Healthcare Career Exploration and Health Management interns are wrapping up the summer of a lifetime. Where else can a high school or college student get to observe an open-heart surgery, work in a busy trauma center, watch a baby come into the world, sit in on meetings with CEOs, CFOs and other high-level administrators, and then have the opportunity to give a presentation to those administrators and to directors to advise them on what they could be doing to better care for and serve their patients?
For the past seven to 10 weeks, depending on the program, interns at all three of our HCA New England Healthcare hospitals have been doing just that. Each was assigned a mentor, who then guided them on a final project which they presented to senior leaders.
This is the third summer for the Healthcare Career Exploration program at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, the second year for Parkland Medical Center and the first for Frisbie Memorial Hospital.
It’s a competitive program, this year the hospitals received more than 200 applications for these coveted internships. Students must be in good standing at their schools, complete an application, write essays about what they hope to gain from the internship, and provide letters of recommendation from teachers and/or community leaders.
“Many of these interns come into the program with a pretty good idea of what direction they want to go in professionally within healthcare,” said Amy Lester, market director of volunteer services, who runs the internship program. “But when they experience how vast and varied health care is, it’s not unusual for them to change their minds, or at least realize that they don’t have to decide just yet what they want to be when they grow up.”
One of the many benefits of the program is the relationships they build – with their mentors, with directors, managers, employees, administrators, and each other. Many of the interns have come back to the hospitals for other extended learning opportunity programs, and many have become employees, working as unit coordinators, lab assistants, LNAs, transporters, or patient sitters. In fact, their continued participation in the programs has spurred further growth, including the upcoming launch of Alumni Healthcare Career Updates, a quarterly webinar which will feature topics such as the medical school process, the latest and greatest tools and techniques for treating trauma patients, and other clinical and non-clinical healthcare topics.
“We all know that hospitals are hurting when it comes to staffing shortages,” Lester said. “Nursing, radiology, environmental services, food and nutrition, the laboratory and many others. These programs are giving these students an inside, first-hand look at what makes these departments work, helping them to better understand the needs of a hospital, and often makes them think of career opportunities they never would have considered.”
During the six-minute presentations, each intern shared a bit about themselves – where they go to school, what year they’re in, their favorite part about the internship – and then presented on topics such as addressing the national blood shortage; creating a plan for service line growth; improving communication between staff and patients; improving the patient experience; reducing waste in the ORs; new resources for pediatric behavioral health patients; employee engagement; and many others.
“Each year we’re more and more impressed with the group of students we bring on,” Lester said. “We see their growth in just a couple of short months. They could be out at the beach, going to parties, kicking back during the summer, but instead they are coming to our hospitals every day, developing new skills, observing things they may have never imagined, and gaining invaluable experience to help them move forward in their health care career journey.”
Applications for the summer 2025 session will open in late February 2025.
Visit our website if you or someone you know is interested in one of the internship programs.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Healthcare Career Exploration Program
Sam Aiken, Portsmouth High School
Catherine Benjamin, University of New Hampshire
Declan Hochheiser, Newburyport High School
Rithika Rajavel, Portsmouth High School
Celeste Siecke, Berwick Academy
Sachin Sastry, Philips Exeter Academy
Leah Pinkowski, University of Vermont
Eve Young, Endicott College
Gannon Ritter, Dickinson College
Kathryn Demarest, Oyster River High School
Natalie Nice, Newmarket High School
Maddie Mason, Connecticut College
Zachary Hooper, University of New Hampshire
Health Management Program
Madeline Glenn, Salve Regina University-
Maddie Vangellow, University of New Hampshire
Crystal Perham, University of New Hampshire
Alexa Hayden, University of New Hampshire
Parkland Medical Center
Healthcare Career Exploration Program
Alex Labrake- UNH
Anna Bastille- University of Vermont
Celine El Hariri – Methuen High School
Chris Dukas- Windham High School- going to Boston College
Erin Stariknok- Pinkerton Academy
Ian Sotis- Pinkerton Academy
Madelyn Donohue – Raymond High School
Matthew Mussen- Londonderry High School
Health Management Program
Meredith Buckley – UNH
Ashylnn Leclair- UNH
Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Healthcare Career Exploration Program
Brian Rothstein- Univ of Denver
Gabby Scott- St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Olivia Metivier- Spaulding High School
Sebastian Gannon- Oxford College of Emory University
Health Management Program
Taylor Kinsman- UNH
Hunter Camire- SNHU
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