August 7, 2000

The MGH's medical staff went through vigorous training and rotations among medical departments to learn the profession before they became full-time doctors. Many of the hospital's – and the country's – top administrative leaders learned their role in a similar manner, through the MGH Administrative Fellowship Program.

Established in 1973, the MGH Administrative Fellowship Program is one of the most prestigious and comprehensive administrative health care training opportunites in the United States. The fellowship program features the opportunity to spend two years in several areas of the hospital and the Partners system, including a rotation in a clinical patient care setting and ambulatory care operations.

Fellows are recent recipients of masters' degrees in any one of several fields, such as masters in health administration, public health and business administration.

"Each year, the MGH receives nearly 120 applications from graduating students and accepts between one and three fellows," says Maryanne Spicer, director of MGH Corporate Compliance. "Fellows participate in a structured rotation-based program carried out over a two-year period. During each rotation, the fellow is guided by a preceptor, who assigns projects and routine work experiences, and works with the fellow to enhance and develop leadership skills." Spicer, along with Jeff Davis, senior vice president for Human Resources, are program directors of the fellowship and provide continuous support and guidance to fellows during their time in the program.

"What's great about the MGH fellowship, compared with other hospital-based administrative fellowships, is that the fellow takes on project work that matches his or her own interests and has two years to really delve into this complex organization," says Greg Pauly, director of MGPO Primary Care Practices and director of Ambulatory Care Development. Pauly, who was an MGH administrative fellow from 1990 to 1992, attributes much of what he learned about management from his time in the program.

 
From left, Heidi Model, Jennifer Jackson and Matthew Girotto, this year's administrative fellows.

"People at the MGH are very bright and creative, but their management style shows that they care about the people who work here," he says. "This very 'human' treatment and method of management is what I tried to take with me to my current position, and that's what made me want to stay here when I finished the program."

Sally Mason, vice president of MGH Finance, who was an administrative fellow from 1993 to 1995, agrees that her two-year term as a fellow was helpful in guiding her current career at the MGH. "What drew me to this program was that it provided a structured rotation of the hospital's key areas, yet there was a lot of flexibility within those rotations as to what work was done," says Mason. "I feel that I have a solid foundation of knowledge about how other departments function, and that helps me in understanding what it takes for others to get their jobs done. This ultimately helps me make financial decisions about those departments."

When Kim Clarke, project manager for the Practice Support Unit, began her rotation as an MGH administrative fellow in 1995, the Partners system was just beginning to flourish. "I thought, 'Wow, what a great place to be,'" she says. "Here was a chance to become part of something so big, with two highly reputable hospitals anchoring the system. After my two years, I felt that staying in this dynamic health care environment would help me to continue to learn."

Another draw of the MGH Administrative Fellowship Program is that it helps fellows discover what their areas of interest really are. "I had no idea what I wanted to do when I got out of graduate school," says Sandra Dodge, who finished the fellowship program this past spring and recently assumed her new permanent role at the MGH as administrative director of Pediatric Surgery. "The fellowship program helped me get my feet wet in a lot of different areas. I was exposed to so much that when I began my new role, I was able to hit the ground running. It's wonderful to have learned so much and to have met so many people that now I can't walk down the halls of the MGH without seeing somebody that I know."

This year, the MGH accepted three new fellows to the program: Matthew Girotto, Jennifer Jackson and Heidi Model. Although only in their second month at the MGH, each has felt that MGHers have been friendly and helpful in getting acquainted with the large institution. "I am so amazed with how committed to the hospital and to each other everyone is," says Model.

Jackson adds: "I'm excited about the rotation process because it will help me decide exactly which direction in health care I eventually want to go."

For more information about the MGH Administrative Fellowship Program, call Spicer at 726-5109.