Key Takeaways
- Administrative fellowships serve as immersive launchpads for recent graduates, offering essential mentorship and rotational experiences to fast-track leadership development in healthcare.
Deciding on a career path in healthcare management is no simple matter. The choices often span from traditional hospital operations and consulting to government roles and public service. Among these avenues, healthcare administrative fellowships stand out as a uniquely immersive launchpad into healthcare leadership. But what is an administrative fellowship exactly? It's a structured program that provides recent graduates with hands-on experience in various aspects of healthcare management, often including rotations through different departments and mentorship from senior executives. In this article, we delve into the journey of Cassandra (Sandy) Amorado, MPH, an administrative fellow turned associate government consultant, whose path included an undergraduate and graduate education at Saint Louis University, a meaningful health administration fellowship at Hartford HealthCare, and a subsequent transition into healthcare consulting. Sandy's story illustrates the variety of options within health administration and, just as importantly, how to cultivate confidence and direction along the way in the dynamic field of healthcare management.
Sandy's educational background laid the groundwork for her multifaceted career in healthcare management. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies at Saint Louis University (SLU) in St. Louis, Missouri. Her undergraduate major in Psychology gave her insight into human behavior, which later proved valuable in patient care services and nursing operations. Afterward, she continued at SLU to obtain a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Management and Policy, setting the stage for her future in healthcare policy and strategy.
Notably, Sandy's choice of an MPH instead of the more typical Master of Health Administration (MHA) or MBA exemplifies the flexibility of healthcare administration fellowships. People often assume that hospital administration fellowships cater primarily to MHA programs, but Sandy's acceptance into a fellowship program underscores the reality that many organizations welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds—whether MPH, MBA, MPA, or other related fields. Her story reaffirms that if you have a strong grasp of healthcare systems, plus the initiative to learn and grow, health administration fellowships can be well within reach.
Before embarking on her healthcare administrative fellowship, Sandy gained crucial experience through a graduate administrative internship at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. This internship introduced her to hospital operations and pediatric healthcare. Working closely with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), she contributed to projects involving patient wayfinding, signage, and nurse-patient engagement, all of which are critical aspects of healthcare quality and innovation.
This experience reinforced her desire to stay within the hospital sphere, focusing on the improvement of clinical practice management and healthcare operations. As Sandy puts it, the time at Cardinal Glennon "really brought to light pediatric healthcare" and helped her realize she enjoyed seeing the tangible impact on patient care services.
After completing her MPH, Sandy felt certain about one thing: she wanted to pursue a career in hospital administration. Rather than immediately entering the workforce or academia, she sought a role that would immerse her in real-world healthcare leadership while still offering mentorship and structured learning opportunities. This led her to explore health administration fellowships as a pathway to professional development.
During her application process, Sandy cast a wide net—applying to about eight administrative fellowship programs. Although rejections inevitably came her way, she persevered. One of her key pieces of advice for prospective fellows is to remember that rejections are part of the process: "Wherever you end up is where you're supposed to be," she says. Ultimately, Hartford HealthCare in Connecticut, one of the region's prominent academic medical centers, recognized her potential, offering her a fellowship with a focus on nursing and patient operations.
Hartford HealthCare, one of Connecticut's largest health systems, offered Sandy a one-year, project-based administrative fellowship program alongside seven other fellows. Each person operated in a different specialty area—some worked on neuroscience or bone and joint initiatives, others on patient engagement or healthcare technology projects—but they often found ways to collaborate. Sandy particularly valued the cohort model: "We created a community together. If any of us needed help, we were there for each other," she recalls. This solidarity eased the transition into a new health system and a new state, while providing invaluable insights into healthcare strategy and organizational dynamics.
While Hartford HealthCare's robust organizational structure and reputation in healthcare innovation attracted Sandy, she also found surprises outside of work. Connecticut, though small, presented a range of activities that she relished. She immersed herself in quintessential East Coast experiences—apple orchards in the fall, breathtaking hikes, and quick weekend getaways to states like Rhode Island and New York. Sandy believes exploring the surrounding area is crucial when relocating for a fellowship: "If you get bored, you can always travel to other cities close by. Everything is so close on the East Coast."
Embracing a new setting turned into a rich cultural experience. Hartford became not only a workplace but also a home base for Sandy and her cohort to grow personally and professionally, enhancing their understanding of the healthcare workforce in different regions.
One important hallmark of a healthcare admin fellowship is the mentorship structure, and Sandy's experience was no different—though it took an unexpected turn. Her first preceptor left for another leadership position midway through Sandy's fellowship year. Sandy was then paired with new mentors, including hospital leaders in nursing administration and practice excellence. Despite the uncertainty, this transition taught her an invaluable lesson about adaptability and proactiveness in healthcare management:
After completing her healthcare administrative fellowship, Sandy became a Performance Analyst in Performance Savings and Initiatives at Hartford HealthCare, focusing on healthcare analytics within a value-based care model. Here, she strengthened her ability to interpret large datasets, a skill she found increasingly vital in modern healthcare finance and quality improvement initiatives.
Ultimately, she relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she took on an Associate Government Consulting role at Mercer. In this position, she delved into capitation rating and SAS programming, further honing her analytical skill set and expanding her knowledge of healthcare policy.
Sandy credits her administrative fellowship program for giving her the confidence and foundation to explore roles beyond straightforward hospital administration: "One of the biggest lessons from my fellowship was that many skills are transferable. I could translate project management and analytical thinking into my new role in healthcare consulting."
For those looking to follow a similar path, it's important to note that administrative fellowship jobs can lead to diverse career opportunities in healthcare management, from hospital operations to consulting and beyond.
Just as she once adjusted to Connecticut's tight-knit charm, Sandy has wholeheartedly embraced life in Minnesota. She praises the Minneapolis Skyway System—a network of enclosed pedestrian footbridges that make winter commutes more bearable—and is enjoying the vibrant music and food scenes. As a self-proclaimed foodie, Sandy admits her wallet feels the impact, but she values discovering local flavors. Though aware of the region's long, cold winters, Sandy jokes about mentally preparing herself for the snow.
Her reflections underscore a major reality for new fellows: being open to relocating often leads to unexpected joys and growth opportunities in the healthcare industry. If an admin fellowship or job position leads you to a place you've never considered, remember Sandy's take: each city has its own unique culture and experiences waiting to be explored.
Reflecting on her own journey through healthcare administrative fellowships, Sandy offers several key pieces of advice:
Sandy Amorado's journey testifies to the multitude of doors a healthcare administrative fellowship can open. Starting with an MPH in Health Management and Policy, transitioning into an administrative fellowship program, then moving on to healthcare analytics and government consulting at Mercer, Sandy's path showcases the versatility and evolving nature of modern healthcare careers. Through each transition—be it from St. Louis to Connecticut, Connecticut to Minnesota, or a shift from pediatric internships to hospital administration and then consulting—Sandy emphasizes staying curious, being adaptable, and trusting in the value of the experiences you collect in the healthcare industry.
For aspiring fellows, Sandy's story serves as both a roadmap and an inspiration for those interested in health administration fellowships. If you find yourself wrestling with doubts, remember that the diversity of your background can be a strength, and the right fellowship will recognize that. It is a journey marked by growth, new places, new projects, and, above all, the steady belief that your unique perspective has a place in shaping the future of healthcare management, innovation, and quality.
Whether you're considering MHA fellowships, exploring healthcare technology, or delving into human resources within healthcare, remember that an administrative fellowship can provide a solid foundation for a diverse and rewarding career in healthcare management. As you look towards the future, keep an eye out for opportunities like administrative fellowship 2024 programs, and consider long-term goals such as becoming a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Organizations like ACHE offer fellowships and resources that can further propel your career in healthcare administration.
In conclusion, Sandy's experience highlights the transformative power of healthcare administration fellowships. These programs not only provide invaluable hands-on experience but also open doors to a wide array of career paths in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape. As you embark on your own journey in healthcare management, remember Sandy's story and the countless opportunities that await in this dynamic and rewarding field.
<p>and so I've been telling a lot of people that you know what you just need to take a deep breath before to interview because at the end of the day you are qualified they wouldn't have interviewed you if you [Music] weren't good evening everyone it's rangi with the fellowship review through the American Journal of healthcare strategy today I am so excited to not only be joined by a friend but also a PE from my undergraduate institution Sandy thank you for coming on the show of course thanks for shangi yeah so why don't we kick it off and why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about where you're from your background your schooling and where you are currently awesome I would love to so hi everyone my name's Sandy am marado I'm currently working at um Mercer as an associate but I was an administrative fellow with Hartford Healthcare in Connecticut so I'm excited to talk about my experience with Hartford and the fellowship but also just talk about anything else Under the Sun yeah absolutely so excited I know this will be a very unique episode I actually want to take it even a step back before you get into your career Journey so tell our listeners about where you did undergrad where you did grad school and what your degrees were in yeah so I actually did my undergrad in my graduate at at the same place so I went to St Louis University in St Louis and I got a bachelor's in psychology and then I got my mph in Health Management and policy that's incredible obviously um go bills and the reason why I wanted you to highlight your graduate education specifically is because um really I think you're one of the first or one of the only people that's been on the show so far that actually has an m and really I wanted to bring to light that applying to fellowships isn't only for mha students you can apply if you're an M if you're an MBA and a similar degree um so thank you for sharing that and you know one of your experiences that I really want to highlight because it's such a cool Health System um is your graduate administrative internship with SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital so could you tell our listeners about you know how you got that internship and what that experience was like yeah so actually got the internship through my school so our director at the time Marcia Walter she helped us a lot trying to find our internships and I just saw an email and I was like you know what I want to apply how's the application process like so we went through the whole process and after I did that I got the fellowship because I knew I really wanted to do pediatrix in the beginning because I love to work with kids and so the fellowship really brought to light pediatric healthare what I can do um in my future career and the different types of projects whether that's um patient way finding so I worked a lot with signage but also getting to work a lot with the COO and the CNO there with nurse and patient engagement yeah that sounds like an incredible experience and I absolutely love Marcia I just spoke to her um a couple weeks ago so shout out to Marcia if she sees and listens to this episode um but you know you of course did your internship at SSM Cardinal Glennon um and then you know after you finished your mph you had the opportunity I'm sure to go a lot of different directions M pH students oftentimes find themselves going Consulting sometimes people get you know just traditional jobs others will go more into government or public service and then of course administrative fellowships are um an opportunity as well um what motivated you to apply to a fellow ship and then kind of what was that process like that ultimately LED you to Connecticut and ultimately LED you to Hartford yeah so I think that's a great question I think what drew me to a fellowship was I knew I wanted to work in hospital operations still and so when I was looking for fellowships I was actually looking for a lot of mentors and one of the past fellows that was at Harford Healthcare actually her name's Victoria she reached out to me I reached out to her and I told her you know what I really want to apply to a fellowship but I know I have an mph and how do I make myself competitive enough and so she helped me along the way with interviews helping with my um resume and my cover letter personal statement and so that really drew me to see okay I can do this I can do Hospital operations but also trying to find my niche in it so at Hartford I was the nursing administrative fellow but I'm pretty sure now it's restructured as a patient operations fellow so I was able to work a lot with the nurses there and get to see also expand my knowledge on patient engagement and how that worked too yeah absolutely and I really want to dig in a little bit more into Hartford and also just your experience in general I know you mentioned that you spoke to maybe an alumni or another fellow um through the interview process what was that like for you did you apply to other places as well and maybe what was challenging for you if anything during the interview process yes I think I apply to eight different fellowships so I only got called back I think to two I think the hardest part was getting the rejections because knowing that I was making myself competitive enough but knowing that there was somebody always better than me but knowing that I was doing my best throughout that so um throughout that my mentor helped me a lot to encourage me telling me you know what like you have your skills and a place is going to find you and recognize you for your skills so I think throughout that interviewing process I had to really use my impostor syndrome enough and be confident and really understand what is my why and tell my story throughout that because I think the most important question throughout it all was tell me about yourself and how does that translate to your story and why I wanted to go into hospitals yeah how incredible and I think I'm just going to emphasize the last one of the last things you said said is like knowing your why is so important especially in the fellowship process um and so I'm so glad you were able to obviously articulate that in a way that landed you a fellowship um and so then for people who are interested in the fellowship at Hartford can you tell us a little bit more about the kind of the overview of the fellowship is it one year is it two-year Project based rotation based and also do you have co-fellows or do you do the fellowship on your own yeah I think also a great question because I think one thing I was looking for in a fellowship was being in a cohort so we had about eight of us so that was including me and we were all in different divisions but it was a one-year fellowship and Project based so we were all driving projects in the different divisions we were doing so I was placed um at the corporate office with the nurses at the system level but there were some people that were placed for instance I know Georgetown they recruit a lot from there and they get a lot of people from neuroscience but also the Bone and Joint and then patient engagement and then there's other different types that people can go into so I think the fellowship helped me a lot to understand Connecticut and the landscape it had and work with different hospitals there and with one of the biggest health systems that Connecticut has too yeah that sounds incredible and you know I will say I think having H at least one or two co-fellows and I mean a cohort is incredible but having other people go through that process with you is so so important because then you feel less Alone um and so building off of that I know you said that each of the eight Co fellows had kind of their own little lane um was there ever opportunity for you to collaborate with other fellows if there was an interest or if projects kind of intersected yes I would say definitely yes it depended on the project and what I was doing so um for instance I was working with nurses but I knew someone was working patient engagement so we would be on meetings together just to see how surveys worked out how also Employee Engagement so how nurses wanted their Workforce to be like and their well-being but also understanding how that translates with patient engagement too so that was really cool to be along with the fellow but also we just kind of created that Community together if any of us needed help we will be there for each other every step of the way yeah absolutely thanks for thanks for sharing that um and you know one other kind of more detailed question that I was hoping to get into with you is mentorship um you and I both know fellowships they have a huge kind of selling point for them is the mentorship they're able to offer fellows so could you maybe speak to you know who your preceptor was during the fellowship but then also how you were able to identify and create other mentors within your fellowship experience yes so my fellow ship was pretty interesting is that my mentor Amanda Richards um everyone called her Mandy left in the middle of my fellowship and she's now the CN at Inter Mountain and then I ended up getting a different Mentor a different preceptor and her name was melur skirko and then I also had a senior preceptor Ry Patel and then I had a mentor that they put me with um who was the nursing professional development practice excellent BP worle Romeo so I had a lot of people on my side and on my team that I was able to kind of span and explore my interest within nursing but also my interest within healthc care so if I want to do data how do I build a database but also getting to understand just how what nurses want and um getting to see the different hospitals within that too yeah that that is a very unique and interesting experience I think it's important to highlight that you know changes happen people do move on but it seems like you made the best of a very unique situation and we're able to identify some mentors for yourself so I'm happy to hear that um and you know one other thing that I always love to highlight before we kind of move on to what it is that you do now um so Connecticut right unique State um definitely I a big move I would say from St Louis across the country to the east coast so what do you want to highlight for our listeners that might be interested in this Fellowship you know what's life like living in Connecticut maybe something that surprised you something that people should expect O Okay so Connecticut can be a very small state but I knew I wanted to go east coast for my fellowship um I would definitely say Connecticut has a lot of unique activities for the fall so whether you want to go to an apple orchard or you want to go hiking Connecticut is definitely a place for that but also it's near a lot of bigger cities because the east coast is very close-knit so it's cool to see how it's like a family type of community there but if you get bored also in Connecticut you can go travel to other cities too like Providence um in Rhode Island but also New York and then it also has New Haven so you get to see what Yale's like and how people live within that area but also during the summer I did a whole Coastal type of trip with my boyfriend so we were able to kind of see the different beaches and how the coast is like there in Connecticut so even though you're Inland um in Hartford you can also go and see the beach on the weekends too which was pretty cool yeah how incredible um I love the east coast and I think I love that you highlighted the fall um I think you know having grown up in Michigan fall was always beautiful but east coast fall is magnificent and I can only imagine how pretty it is driving with the leaves changing colors and just the beauty um so thank you for sharing that um and you know Sandy I'd love for you to also highlight you know what it is that you did after your fellowship I you know you were you did performance um you were a performance analyst in performance savings and initiatives but now of course you're an associate government consultant um so talk to us about those two positions kind of maybe start with the first one and then we can move on to what you're doing now yeah I think that's also a great question I think as a performance analyst I kind of switched from project management to data analytics I wanted to really strengthen my data so in that position I was able to work a lot with primary care physicians and in the value based care B uh value based care space so um getting to really work with my mph in that position I think that helped me a lot to see how people see value based care and how they wanted value base care receive and also how they receive their savings because getting to work in that type of space you get to see how primary care physicians especially independent ones work but also how they see value based care and I think that's what drew me to my next position um I got to now I get to work in capitation rating so as an associate with Mercer I get to work a lot um strengthening my data but also learning how to do SAS I never knew how to do SAS um and so getting to work on the Fly and getting to learn as much as I can in this position I think is a great experience because um that's something I learned in my fellowship is that at the end of the day you're going to learn so much from your job and there's going to be so many transferable skills too yeah absolutely and it seems like this role that you're currently in you know in Minnesota um is really building a very unique skill set that not a lot of other people may have so I think that's something I'd love to highlight to our listeners of like what the jobs that you take after your fellowship really be mindful of what skill set you know is being built for you and how that can help you grow in advance to whatever your next goal is um I do want to dig in also a little bit into your current role I know you said you just moved there but again um you know what's it like being in Minnesota how is it different than being in Connecticut and what have you enjoyed living uh what have you enjoyed about living there so far yes so I think Connecticut and Minnesota are very different states but I enjoy living in both um in minap olis there's so many activities for young people um for instance I can walk through a Skyway so that's like our tunnel system I never have to really go outside but I try to go outside as much as I can because it's G to get cold here in Minnesota too so they understand that the business people have to stay warm to work um there's a lot of concerts I've been to a few here so that was really helpful because I love a good music scene and then there's also a good food scene here and I'm a foodie so I love to eat as much as I can and I think my bank account is seeing that now but at the end of the day I've been enjoying it and I love Minnesota I think the fall here is great I'm excited for the winter but also mentally preparing myself for a lot of people been saying it's going to be a brutal one so we will see if I am covered in snow by the end of the year no I appreciate you highlighting this um having grown up in a very wintry state it is it does get really cold but I appreciate you highlighting um you know and why maybe you're probably like why are you asking me all these living questions about living in certain cities and states I think important to highlight that for fellowships people often times will move cross country or hundreds of miles and even for jobs so it's very important highlight you know what lifestyle outside of work is like um so I appreciate you kind of highlighting that and you know kind of the last the last amount of time that we have together what I really want to spend it on is your advice for people who um want to apply to fellowships um you know if you're looking back on your fellowship cycle is there something you would have done differently and then what general advice do you want to give early careerists interested in this path yeah you're making me think um I think some advice I have is to just I know a lot of people say this but it's to just be yourself throughout the process I think a lot of times I was trying to read the room too much in my interviewing especially because my interviews and you understand this a lot of our interviews were through Zoom so it's was in this climate where we didn't understand if someone was really understanding that we W what we wanted out of them but they just wanted to get to know us and get to know us as people and at the end day they knew that we were human so I think that's something that I needed to just like wrap my head around and so I've been telling a lot of people that you know what you just need to take a deep breath before the interview because at the end of the day you are qualified they wouldn't have interviewed you if you weren't and so you have to turn on that impostor syndrome as fast you can but also understand that you are the candidate and they're just trying to see if you are a good fit and so I think that's something that I also learned is that wherever I ended up was the place I was supposed to end up um there was a lot of disappointment I know throughout the fellowship and like it's a very emotional process because you always try to like rank your first but I am very happy where I ended up and I think Harford Healthcare really gave me the confidence to go through a lot and to just be myself and to understand what I wanted out of my career as I move forward yeah absolutely and you know I really want to hone in on a couple of things that you said that really resonated with me um and and just so our listeners really take it home with them um first you're so right having gone through the fellowship application cycle during a a covid postco era was very interesting because prior to that people were flying people out everywhere and then for me you know most of my final rounds except one was all over Zoom so I think navigating that such an interesting experience but um you know one thing that you said that I really want to end on is the sentiment of you're going to end up where you need to be and if you're in that interview room there's a reason for it and you know I think for me uh sometimes with the identities that I hold impostor syndrome is so real and you're kind of like how did I get here do I belong here like what is going on you know um and so I just I want to thank you for highlighting that because that's a feeling that so many of us I feel like go through and it's not talked about enough um but you know you did it you got a fellowship and obviously you yeah we yes exactly and we've moved on past our fellowship roles as well um but I just want to thank you I think you know you highlighted some incredible advice throughout this episode and I know it's going to be valuable for people trying to a first of all right off the bat apply to a fellowship with an m and then second going through that process and then Landing somewhere post Fellowship as well so really enjoyed catching up with you and thank you for coming on thank you</p>
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