UW Master of Health Administrative (MHA) students can choose to complete a full-time internship position during the summer between years one and two of the program. Most students work in a health services organization, under the supervision of a member of that organization.
Internships are an extremely valuable means of focusing career plans and establishing connections in the job market. They provide an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills from the classroom to a professional setting.
Internship Spotlights
Internship Spotlights are presented courtesy of the MHA Student Association.
Luisa Kwok – MultiCare
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship
- Organization: MultiCare
- Location: Tacoma, WA
- Preceptor: Tim Holmes, President of Behavioral Health Network
- Projects Involved In:
- Behavioral health patient access redesign
- Marketing and engagement for new outpatient clinics and programs
- Shadowing hospital operations, surgeries, and site compliance
- Favorite Summer Memory: Taking naps on my picnic mat at the park
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “You will seldom be the expert in the room, yet you are often responsible for leading and making improvements.”
Ngoc-Vy Mai – Seattle Children’s Hospital
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship
- Organization: Seattle Children’s Hospital
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Preceptor: Alicia Tieder, Chief Diversity Officer
- Projects Involved In:
- Developed and delivered an implementation plan to standardize collection of patient SOGI data in regional and sub-specialty clinics across the system
- Created career ladders for the Patient Access Center, showcasing different pathways to help with employee retention and career development
- Conducted initial research and market analysis for a new service within the Patient Access Center, to present to the Director of System Access
- Favorite Summer Memory: Observing a procedure at Seattle Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Make yourself heard and be confident in what you know. Knowledge is power and no one can take that away.”
Julia Garcia – Zócalo Health
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship > Job
- Organization: Zócalo Health
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Preceptor: Mariza Hardin, Co-Founder & COO
- Projects Involved In:
- Launch of virtual primary care services in the state of Washington
- Marketing and growth efforts
- Community engagement
- Favorite Summer Memory: Seeing family and friends
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Lean into it.”
Regin McLane – EvergreenHealth
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship
- Organization: EvergreenHealth
- Location: Kirkland, WA
- Preceptor: Juan Aragon, Director of Strategic Growth, Partnerships, and Innovation
- Projects Involved In:
- Co-led the creation of MQIP Health Disparities Action Plan
- Conducted data analysis for business cases in Hospital at Home and Advanced Remote Patient Monitoring programs
- Co-led surgery preauthorization process improvement project
- Attended Financial Recovery Incident Command meetings and Board Committee meetings
- Favorite Summer Memory: Welcoming the arrival of my baby niece and camping in three national parks
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Lean into risk-taking by building certainty through trust, and learn what refills you and prioritize it in your work.”
Tyler McKlosky – Fred Hutchinson & New Mexico State University
- Type of Learning Experience: Health Equity Field Experience
- Organization: Fred Hutchinson & New Mexico State University
- Location: Las Cruces, NM
- Preceptor: Dr. Mary Alice Scott, Professor at NMSU
- Projects Involved In:
- Immersed in border health, access of vital services, food security and mental health
- Meeting strong women at La Mujer Obrera who fight for clean air and water
- Witnessing sustainable agricultural work done on La Semilla to address food challenges
- Shadowing Dr. Lara at Chaparral Family Health Center, who showed commitment to providing affordable and accessible care
- Visiting Borderland Rainbow Center, a space for safety and healing
- Favorite Summer Memory: Seeing the closed loop with food security when distributing the food boxes to families through Casa de Peregrinos
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Create a safe space through compassion and empathy. That type of setting allows people to find strength in themselves to grow, thrive and bounce back from the hurdles life tends to throw at us.”
Claire Hallock – MultiCare
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship
- Organization: MultiCare
- Location: Tacoma, WA
- Preceptor: Dennis Kolb, Chief Medical Officer Quality, Safety and Clinical Integration
- Projects Involved In:
- Worked on a system-wide project aimed at optimizing the clinical governance that serves to standardize care across MultiCare Health System
- Conducted 40+ informational interviews
- Addended 10+ learning sessions held by MHS leaders
- Shadowed operational leaders
- Favorite Summer Memory: Visiting Lake Crescent with my husband and son
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Spend as much time considering how you want to be led and managed as you would on considering your own learning style. With the right leader guiding you, you can achieve anything you set out to achieve.”
Vanesa Ramos – Kaiser Permanente
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship
- Organization: Kaiser Permanente
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Preceptors: Christina Farinelli, Product Manager, and David Williams, Director of Product Development and Management
- Projects Involved In:
- Market research and competitor analysis for services including:
- Fertility
- Hearing aid and vision
- Accidental dental injury
- Market research and competitor analysis for services including:
- Favorite Summer Memory: Exploring the New England coast
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Continue to stay connected with mentors and those I have networked with, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
Sujeena Badal – Sea Mar Community Health Centers
- Type of Learning Experience: Shadowing
- Organization: Sea Mar Community Health Centers
- Location: Marysville, WA
- Preceptor: Kush Doshi, Clinic Manager and Medical Residency Program Manager
- Summary of Experience: Received an overview of daily clinic operations, individual roles within each department, and types of services provided by the clinic to the Hispanic population and other populations
- Favorite Summer Memory: Traveling for work and visiting Nepal
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Collaboration is key. No matter what your job role is, always help each other out at work.”
Micaela Vaughn – Proliance Surgeons
- Type of Learning Experience: Internship
- Organization: Proliance Surgeons
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Preceptor: Devan Baker, Executive Director
- Projects Involved In:
- Expanding marketing efforts to potential new patients in Eastern Washington
- Implementing virtual reception at smaller clinics
- Expanding services to include physical therapy
- Favorite Summer Memory: Exploring different areas of Washington and enjoying the sunny weather
- Best Piece of Advice Received: “Do the work of your people to gain the respect of your people.”
Internship Opportunities
Securing an internship is a competitive process. However, with our decades-long service to our local health care communities, the UW MHA program is unique in its ability to support our students in securing internship opportunities locally and throughout the greater Puget Sound region.
Health care organizations begin posting summer internship openings as early as fall quarter. The MHA graduate program advisor and practitioner-in-residence work closely with students to share available internships, provide resources for securing an internship, and ensure students have competitive application materials that stand out in the application process.
Recent Internship Sites
Here are a few places where UW MHA students completed a summer internship:
- Aegis Living
- Avamere
- Community Health Plan Washington
- Cigna
- Confluence
- Eastside Health Network
- EvergreenHealth
- Health Facilities Planning & Development
- Kaiser Permanente Washington
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Oregon Health & Science University
- Overlake Medical Center & Clinics
- Pacific Medical Center (PacMed)
- Providence
- Samaritan Health
- Seattle Children’s Hospital
- Skagit Regional Health
- SutterHealth
- UW Medicine
- Valley Medical Center
- Virgina Mason
- Washington State Hospital Association
- Western Washington Medical Group