Administrative Internship

Overview

The Massachusetts General Hospital provides an excellent learning environment for healthcare management students interested in careers in hospital leadership. Each summer, Mass General accepts a limited number of master’s degree students for administrative internship opportunities. Selected students gain exposure to the complex operations of a major academic medical center, become engaged in a mix of observational experiences and project-based work, and receive guidance and mentorship from experienced healthcare executives.

Administrative interns join a specific Mass General department for the summer and are precepted by an Administrative or Executive Director. Preceptors provide students with a broad range of learning opportunities depending on the priorities of the department, as well as the student’s professional interests. Sample activities include:

• Attending high-level management meetings
• Observing clinical care and speaking with caregivers or patients
• Developing process flow maps of current processes and making recommendations around improving processes
• Managing and analyzing data to inform department strategy
• Supporting the capital budget process and/or evaluating prospective products or vendors
• Attending grand rounds or other medical education lectures
• Reviewing and completing financial analyses and statements
• Assessing and summarizing new business opportunities
• Supporting accreditation applications and site visits
• Participating in clinical simulations and facility tours
• Meeting with senior leadership

Interns meet regularly with their preceptor(s) to discuss their progress. In addition, interns meet with each other and other preceptors to share information about their projects and discuss current trends, issues and opportunities in healthcare.

Please note that students that apply for and/or complete an administrative internship at Mass General are at neither an advantage or disadvantage if they later choose to apply to the post-graduate Administrative Fellowship Program. 

Departments that interns have worked with in the past include:

• Center for Faculty Development
• Department of Medicine
• Department of Surgery, The Transplant Center
• Department of Pediatrics
• Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology
• Institute for Heart, Vascular, and Stroke Care
• MGH Charlestown Health Center
• MGH Research Institute
• MGH Telehealth
• Network Development & Integration
• Pediatrics & Pediatric Surgery, Mass General for Children
• Perioperative Services
• Radiation Oncology
• The Cancer Center
• Teaching and Education
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Ambulatory Operations and Services
• Pathology
• Martinos Center

Contact Us

Please send questions to MGHAdminIntern@mgh.harvard.edu.

Koren Phillips, MBA
Director, Graduate Administrative Internship

Koren (she/her/hers) is the Executive Director of Teaching and Education at Massachusetts General Hospital, a role in which she works on institutional planning, execution, and ongoing management of initiatives related to the core educational mission of the hospital. As part of this Education ecosystem, Koren has oversight of the Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Health Care, the Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation, the Treadwell Library, and the MGH Learning Laboratory and Simulation Center. Prior to her role in Teaching and Education, Koren held leadership roles in cancer administration and network development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Simmons University School of Management. Koren also serves as a course director in a master’s degree program at Harvard Medical School. Outside of work, she dedicates her time to nonprofit causes that reflect her interests in women’s leadership, addressing systemic inequities, reproductive health justice, and the arts.

How to Apply

Please note: Summer 2025 applications are now closed.

To be considered, students must meet the following criteria:

• Currently enrolled in Master’s degree program with concentration in healthcare management (MHA, MHSA, MPH, MBA, etc.)
• Able to work full-time during the summer (Monday-Friday, 8 hours/day during business hours) in Boston, MA
• Student must demonstrate clear interest in healthcare management, particularly in the academic medicine space

Students interested in a summer internship must apply electronically no later than Sunday, November 10th, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST. A limited number of applicants will be invited for initial zoom interviews in late November. Final round panel interviews will be scheduled for mid-December. Internship offers will be sent by early January. Each student’s start date will be the day immediately following Memorial Day (Tuesday). The internship length at minimum is 10 weeks (individual end dates will be identified between the intern and their preceptor). Prior to starting the internship, students are expected to provide their preceptor with any specific requirements their graduate program may require.

Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume. Other application materials will not be considered. If either one of two documents is not received, the candidate will not be considered for a position.

Students on an F-1 student visa must present their Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and visa documents to complete the hiring process.

Intern Experience

The internship program is designed to promote a sense of camaraderie among the administrative interns. Interns attend meetings and program events together, in addition to professional networking events and self-organized social outings throughout the summer. The internship offers students an invaluable opportunity to strengthen their peer professional network while also building a tight-knit community. Students have found the internship experience holistic in providing professional, educational, and social opportunities.

Our past Administrative Interns have gone on to administrative fellowships and positions, such as:

• Administrative Fellow, Cleveland Clinic
• Performance Improvement Fellow, University HealthSystem Consortium
• Administrative Fellow, Main Line Health
• Corporate Administrative Fellow, UnityPoint Health
• Administrative Fellow, Novant Health
• Administrative Fellow, UC Davis Medical Center
• Administrative Resident, Johns Hopkins Medicine International
• Administrative Fellow, Kaiser Permanente
• Administrative Fellow, Stanford Health Care
• Administrative Fellow, Indiana University Health
• General Management Apprentice, Fidelity Investments
• Administrative Fellow, Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Administrative Fellow, Mayo Clinic
• Administrative Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital

Administrative Positions

• Project Coordinator at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• Division Head of James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center
• Manager of Data Analytics and Business Planning, Business Development, and Strategic Initiatives at Mass General Brigham
• Associate Consultant at Bain and Company in Hong Kong
• Strategy and Market Development at Stanford Health Care
• Senior Associate of Strategic Initiatives at Emory University School of Medicine
• Assistant Administrator in the Department of General Surgery at Cleveland Clinic
• Managerial Consultant, Kaiser Permanente
• Clinical Analyst at the Center for Advanced Analytics and Informatics at Vizient, Inc.
• Associate Director of Transformation and Strategy Consulting at Evolent Health
• Facility Administrator at DaVita Kidney Care
• Manager of Clinical Integration at Main Line Health
• Director of Clinical Strategy, naviHealth, Inc.
• Senior Consultant at Medical Segment Strategy and Business Development
• Associate of Healthcare Advisory Services at KPMG US
• Advisory Consultant at EY
• Analyst at Abt Associates
• Director of Provider Development at UnityPoint Health
• ACO Project Manager at Baystate Medical Center

Currently Employed at MGH

Riley Orrell, MHA

School: University of Minnesota
Intern Year: 2018
First Professional Position: Administrative Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital

Melissa Machado, MPH

School: Boston University
Intern Year: 2019
First Professional Position: Project Manager, Massachusetts General Hospital

Douglas Spivak, MPH

School: Yale University
Intern Year: 2019
First Professional Position: Administrative Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital

Karan A. Patel, MHA

School: Columbia University
Intern Year: 2019
First Professional Position: Administrative Fellow, MGH Research Institute