Internships for MHA?

[sherwood222]

I'm a rising sophomore that intends to apply for MHA programs upon graduation, and will declare a health administration major at the end of sophomore year.

I have no family/friends in healthcare or medicine in general, so I have no help as to how I should go about finding relevant internships. What kind of internships/jobs should I be looking for to make me a more competitive applicant? Should I volunteer at a hospital over the summer after my sophomore year?

What should I consider doing my summer before senior year?

In addition, what skillset/knowledge is required to get internships, if at all?

I apologize if these questions are generic; I'm painfully ignorant of this information. I also apologize if this comes off as "tell me how to get into a MHA program, I don't care about the substance," I just want to make sure I have an idea of what I should be considering, and go from there.

Thank you!!!

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[sherwood222]

bump? any advice appreciated

 

[Let'sGoO's]

So I'm currently looking to apply for my MHA and from what I've found there's no real specific pathway. Some administrators I talked to started in business, some started in a pre-health field, most schools seem to value a diverse background of students. I personally started pre-med but am looking to shift gears. I doubt you could really go wrong as long as you keep up good grades and stay active in extracurricular activities (try to get some leadership experience), and you also need to take the GRE or GMAT

I'd say volunteering in a hospital would definitely be a great way to go, most schools are going to want to see that you have some involvement and understanding of our healthcare system since it is incredibly complex, and it could give you some important contacts that could give you better advice or guidance. Also if you have no real background in medicine you should show some indication of why you specifically want to work as a hospital administrator, some ppl look at the field because they see hospitals CEO's making bank and think they can cash in. It's also actually a very diverse field so you should probably have some idea of where you want to go specifically (hospital, private practice, policy, consulting, etc...), don't just say I want to get my MHA.

Best thing you could do now is look at Master's programs and see what they are looking for, some will provide specific advice on what would help you prepare for a career, maybe try contacting a few. Maybe look at dual degrees (MBA/MHA, MHA/JD). I actually have no idea about internships, I'm already graduated and working right now so I never looked.

Also, start branching out and looking for contacts. I also come from a family that isn't into healthcare at all but it's such a huge industry chances are somebody you know will know somebody who works in healthcare administration, you just have to really look for it and not be afraid to ask. And if that doesn't help there's an on line book by Cynthia Carter Haddock and Robert Chapman called "Careers in Health Care Management: How to find our path and follow it".

 

[sherwood222]

Just read your post - thank you for the advice. I shouldn't dismiss my lack of connections as a missed opportunity, but rather a different way to approach them. I just downloaded the book you mentioned, too. Hopefully I'll find some examples of internships that show interest and make a more competitive application.

thank you!