Key Takeaways
- Administrative fellowships serve as strategic talent pipelines, allowing organizations to mold emerging leaders through rotational experiences across operations and strategy.
Early career programs in healthcare administration—like administrative fellowships—can serve as pivotal stepping stones for students transitioning from academia to dynamic, real-world hospital environments. These healthcare fellowships offer a chance to explore various avenues in health administration operations, build meaningful professional relationships, and develop robust skill sets. In this interview turned reflective narrative, we spotlight Jessi Tran, MHA, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) MHA program who found her calling at Wellstar Health System. Jessi's story exemplifies how authenticity, mentorship, and adaptability can shape an emerging leader's trajectory in healthcare administration.
Originally from Kentucky, Jessi pursued her undergraduate degree in Clinical Leadership and Management at the University of Kentucky. The decision to leave her home state for graduate school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was driven by a desire for change and new perspectives in the field of health administration. Without fully knowing what to expect, Jessi jumped into the UNC MHA program—her only application outside of Kentucky.
"I felt like I needed a change—something new. And as soon as I spoke with the faculty and students at UNC, I just knew it was the place for me,"
That leap of faith paid off. Jessi not only honed her academic knowledge in healthcare administration but also stretched her capacity for adaptability, forging relationships and learning how to navigate unfamiliar settings—skills that would soon prove essential in her professional life.
During her MHA program, Jessi secured a summer internship with Wellstar Health System, one of Georgia's largest and most integrated health systems. Though initially casting a wide net, she found her match in Wellstar's burgeoning administrative internship program, which would later pave the way for her Wellstar administrative fellowship.
"From the very beginning, it felt right. I had an interview with one of the fellows, and it didn't feel like an interrogation—it was a conversation, a chance to be my authentic self,"
That authenticity blossomed into a 10-week Wellstar internship during which Jessi contributed to operational projects, learned about the system's culture, and formed critical connections in hospital administration. A defining moment came on the final day of her internship: she had poured long hours into a comprehensive Excel-based scorecard project focused on operational efficiency, only to discover a technical glitch had erased her final updates. Instead of reprimand, Jessi found compassion.
I was met with so much grace. My director assured me we'd figure it out, that these things happen. I'll never forget that empathy,"
This supportive environment and the people she met solidified her interest in continuing her journey at Wellstar and pursuing a career in healthcare administration.
Upon completing her MHA at UNC Chapel Hill, Jessi entered the competitive healthcare administration fellowship recruitment cycle. Determined to explore a variety of options, she applied to numerous administrative fellowship programs nationwide. Yet, the Wellstar administrative fellowship remained a top choice.
Wellstar offers multiple fellowship tracks—hospital operations, corporate administration, physician group practice, and service line administration—allowing emerging professionals to tailor their experience. Jessi ultimately chose a hospital administration fellowship at Wellstar North Fulton. She was thrilled to discover that the welcoming culture she experienced as an intern was just as vibrant during her fellowship recruitment process.
"When I went onsite for my fellowship interview, it was like coming home. I wasn't nervous—I was excited to see people I'd worked with. I realized how much the culture and mentorship at Wellstar mattered to me,"
Wellstar's admin fellowship program is project-based with the flexibility to rotate through different departments if fellows choose. Jessi spent the initial months rounding in all aspects of hospital operations—from patient flow to staff training—then dedicated the latter half of her fellowship to deeper project work in healthcare delivery and quality improvement.
She also had opportunities to collaborate with other administrative residents on system-level strategies and initiatives, though the cohort project sometimes gets handed off between fellowship classes due to the fast pace and changing needs of the health system.
Throughout the year, Jessi immersed herself in:
Today, Jessi is an Operations Manager at Wellstar North Fulton, continuing to build on her fellowship experiences in hospital administration. In this role, she collaborates closely with the facilities director on everything from minor renovations to grand plans for potential hospital expansions, always keeping an eye on operational efficiency and healthcare innovation.
She also taps into the strong professional network she developed during her fellowship, staying connected with fellow alumni and current administrative residents alike. This networking has proven invaluable in her journey through healthcare administration.
"I'm still learning every day. Right now, I'm the 'catch all,' helping with construction projects, space planning, analyzing data, and supporting frontline staff so that nurses can be nurses and doctors can be doctors"
Jessi remains active in the healthcare leadership community through organizations like the National Administrative Fellowship Network (NAFN). NAFN unites current and former administrative fellows nationwide, creating a space to share experiences, mentor incoming fellows, and discuss emerging trends in healthcare management, including digital health and healthcare technology.
"Fellowships are increasingly seen as a great way to start your career if you're not entirely sure where you want to focus in healthcare administration. It's a chance to explore, discover, and really see how you can make the best impact"
Reflecting on her own fellowship cycle, Jessi believes one of her biggest lessons was to be kinder to herself during the stressful recruitment season for healthcare administration fellowships.
"With every rejection, I was so hard on myself. I wish I had celebrated my small wins—like making it to an interview round. Everything is practice and exposure that clarifies what you really want in an organization. Ultimately, you will end up where you belong"
In an industry as multifaceted as healthcare, early career opportunities like administrative fellowships offer invaluable room to grow, learn, and refine leadership skills in health administration. Jessi Tran's path—from Kentucky to Chapel Hill and ultimately to a managerial role at Wellstar Health System—illustrates how authenticity, resilience, and a nurturing organizational culture can illuminate the way forward in healthcare administration.
For those considering a healthcare administration fellowship, Jessi's journey serves as an encouraging reminder to step outside comfort zones, embrace each learning opportunity, and, most importantly, trust that the right place will feel like home—even if it's hundreds of miles away. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, with increasing focus on areas like ambulatory care, diversity and inclusion, and healthcare policy, these post-graduate opportunities in healthcare administration become even more crucial in shaping the future leaders of our health systems.
Vrushangi Shah, MHA is a senior contributor to the American Journal of Healthcare Strategy. She focuses on interviewing emerging leaders in healthcare administration, spotlighting their journeys, insights, and the evolving landscapes of hospital operations and healthcare delivery.
<p>get an early start in their career without knowing exactly what they want to do yet but giving having some time to explore and figure out ex really exactly what it is that they [Music] want good evening everyone it's rangi sha with the fellowship review through the American Journal of healthcare strategy I am so excited to connect with Jesse Tran today for our episode Jesse thank you for joining us thank you so much for having me I'm so excited that this is my second time on this podcast yeah absolutely welcome back um I think it's always great to touch base with people who are now you know out of their fellowship and have experienced being an early careerist so I'm excited to dig in um but for our new listeners or those who may not have gotten to your episode previously um would you please give us a brief back ground on where you're from where you are now and kind of your educational Journey so far yeah of course so uh again I'm Jesse TR I'm originally from Kentucky I went to University of Kentucky for my undergradu for my undergrad I studied clinical leadership and management um at right after undergrad I went to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where I pursued my mha um right after my mha I got a fellowship at WellStar Health Systems um I was the hospital operations fellow at North fton Medical Center and I am now I think around two months post fellowship and I've been an operations manager since then what a nice journey and and great institutions and a very unique major in your undergrad so Props for that um but let's you know let's take a step back and first talk about your graduate school journey of course Chapel Hill such a great campus and area to be in um you know what maybe made you pick UNC Chapel Hill and more over you know um what was that experience like for you overall honestly truly I never had any intention of leaving Kentucky and I'm going to give a shout out to the University of Kentucky mha program as well they're growing very rapidly and doing really well um but I I thought that I wanted to stay in Kentucky but I felt like I needed a change um I didn't know what but I felt like a a great way to get some a different perspective a change of scenery if you will um was to look into other programs outside of Kentucky um where I that's when I came across um UNCC um I was just honestly researching mha programs and I made I made a list and um I got to talk to some alumni um I even talked to a lot of mentors about where you know where I wanted to go um and I I actually only applied to UNC that was very risky um I didn't even have the time to really tour it because by the time I made the decision that I wanted to apply it was cutting it really close so I kind of just left it to the universe which I don't recommend doing for everything but it worked out in my favor um I only applied to uncc's program I had a great interview experience the faculty and the first year mha student who interviewed me were phenomenal I felt like I showed up as myself I felt like I honestly felt like I had nothing to lose um and I was just myself um and then from then I I even remember this I bought um a UNCC sweatshirt right after my interview just to like put it out there into the Universe um and I got in I got in and I'm so glad that I did it was a huge change for me um packing up my whole life and moving to a new state where I didn't know anybody I didn't have any friends or family um in fact the first week I moved to North Carolina it was before orientation so the only human contact I had was with other cashiers at like HomeGoods as I was trying to decorate my apartment uh but it's honestly crazy like as I'm talking about it like reflecting on it now like seeing where I am now um that was such a crucial part in my like adaptability skills and it kind of shows that these skills kind of show up in very different ways throughout your life whether it's professional or personal yeah absolutely absolutely and what's meant to be is meant to be so you obviously found a home for yourself at UNCC Chapel Hill you know um a huge part of uh graduate schools is also kind of the extracurriculars you're involved in as well as the a graduate administrative internship um so tell our listeners kind of where you landed for your administrative internship and kind of what made you choose that organization and what that process was like kind of Landing because it you know it can be a stressful time trying to find an internship while being in gr school yes it was a very stressful time I remember it very clearly I think it was around I think I was it was like March and I hadn't landed a um an internship yet and I was getting very nervous I I don't even I can't even tell you how many I applied to because I I applied to them all honestly um I came across WellStar because um we had a our director of our program he had a really good relationship with our chief of staff um and I guess our U WellStar was just starting their their fellow their internship program was still pretty new um I think I was the second or third cohort of interns um maybe and the idea behind the design of the internship was that it was it was kind of like a 10-week interview um for you to you know get get exposure to WellStar and um their practices to see if you would pursue um a fellowship I had no intention of doing a fellowship ship um I met with um I get another great interview experience a fellow interviewed me for the internship and again it was just like um it was a repeat it was where I showed up as myself I kind of just put it out into the Universe um and I guess they really liked me um I guess being myself um being my authentic self um really works um in my favor so I don't know we I just remember it being a great conversation I didn't feel like I was being interviewed I did you know take the opportunity to highlight you know my skills and my experiences but overall I just feel like I just felt like um the interviewer just wanted to get to know me like as a person as well and um I was very much embraced during my internship yeah absolutely and I think what I'd love to call out to anyone who's listening is the value of being authentic and just carrying your true authentic self thanks tend to fall in line and in place when you really carry a version of yourself that is really true to who you are um so just a little bit of my tidbit um any project or any part of the internship that was really unique that you'd want to highlight or really something that had an impact on you during those 10 weeks I have a very funny story I guess one of the biggest projects that I did was I worked with a director of practice operations on a scorecard um it was this massive Excel workbook that was for each um each primary care practice would have their own like Excel workbook at the time we we were using a different system but it wasn't very user friendly so the the director that I was working with she was like how do we simplify this to make it like a One-Stop shop where it's like a good summary that you could just look at whenever you wanted um especially for practice managers so I created multiple Giant detailed um Excel workbooks it was it was crazy it was like stuff was feeding into each other I was definitely utilizing my Excel skills for this um I even pulled an on nighter the night before my the last day of my internship because it it just so happened that my very last day of my internship was the day that I was going to present this giant project to all of the practice managers was going to be a huge deal and it was I was so excited because it was going to be such a nice like bow to the end of my internship um so I pulled an all nighter because I really really wanted to get it done um only to be around like little 6:00 a.m.</p> <p>I saw the director I was working with she was also online and she was like helping me um with doing like the final touches and then I go to the meeting place around 8:00 a.m.</p> <p>I open my laptop everything's gone everything that had worked on in the past probably like 24 like 36 hours wiped it was gone and I panicked um I called the it uh representative immediately and I was like hey this is what I this is what's happening like can you help me um a few minutes later I got a call back and he told me I have bad news um essentially my access got shut down 12 hours earlier um because then my Like official end date of my internship so my my licensing for like Microsoft Excel got taken in a way so I basically like it just everything just like stopped and I was just kind of like working in limbo I guess and I was absolutely devastated and he was explaining to me he was like there was no way you could have known and there's no way to recover it even with like our backup and there there's just no there's like nothing that you can really do at this point to retrieve it and it wasn't even your fault and he was very kind but I was absolutely devastated and I walked into the room to talk to like my director and I was like I have bad news and I I felt terrible having to like tell her this and after I explained her what happened she was like oh it's okay it'll be fine we'll just like we'll just carry on and we'll just delay like the actual launch like we'll just Train everybody today and we'll just tell them they'll have their workbook later and I was like really like are you sure like I feel bad I'm leaving the internship I can't She's Like Jesse these things happened it was technical it was a technical difficulty there was nothing that you could do about it we will be okay and we will move on and what I want to I want to say something corny and cheesy that I learned from that day but honestly what I really learned was um making sure that I have a Microsoft license as I'm working on my projects but truly I think that being met with Grace and empathy for my director and her kind of meeting me where I was and just being just giving me so much grace and I I don't know like just that could have I don't know sent me elsewhere like I don't know that could have set my mind elsewhere I could have I could have feel it felt like I failed but I didn't I was scared that it had like a an impact on my um any considerations for like the fellowship uh but it didn't and I just I just I don't know it's like my one of the biggest failure that I had in my internship but also I guess my greatest achievement because I learned so much from it yeah absolutely absolutely what a stressful experience but what I actually want to draw attention to is the value of a good leader you said it yourself you know someone who met you where you were who didn't yell at you or you know penalize you for something that wasn't your fault I think kudos to whoever this director was because you know that the actions of and then the reaction was what kind of set your trajectory I think this experience should teach all of us that it's okay to make mistakes and to have a leader that's going to be accepting of the fact that life happens or technical glitches happen but let you grow from there um is a great sign of a good Mentor so thank you for sharing and I'm so sorry that that was your experience how unfortunate um and you know you kind of stayed WellStar through and through so talk us through your um you know moving right on you graduate you finish your internship and then you're like I'm going to do the fellowship so you know what was the fellowship process like for you interviewing finally Landing one um and just looking back what made you pick WellStar and come back to the organization so when I finally decided at the end of my internship I was like I drink the Kool-Aid I'm going to do a fellowship I knew for sure I was going to apply to wellar but I I was also thinking I don't want to put all of my eggs in one basket um and I also wanted to explore I'm like what if there's what if there's some something somewhere else that I wanted to go or where I would be um a good fit as well I probably applied to around 15 to 18 I lost count honestly there's an Excel sheet floating somewhere with every place that I applied to uh but I I was also very strategic of where I wanted to apply um I did some networking I'm talking to former fellows talking to current fellows as well um and honestly Fellowship season it it's all a blur of me because I I forgot I was a student for for a second um but honestly like our professors were just very supportive of us um you know be going to interviews and prepping and and giving us resources to do so um it was honestly a very stressful time because I was I was I was being interviewed but I was also interviewing the organization as well yeah and I was just I don't know it every interview was different was different I was trying I was like trying to connect all the dots in my head I'm like what do I like what do I don't like what what was a red flag what was a green flag what was a beige flag for me honestly and what kind of where do I want to be what kind of people do I want to surround myself with who is my preceptor going to be so it was just a lot up in the air with every interview that I did whether it was virtual um whether it was in person it was all a good experience nonetheless but when I went to WellStar um and I I truly did not think that I was automatically going to get a first and second round just because I was an intern I just hoped that I made a good enough impression during the fellowship and during the the first round interview in order to make it to ons sits when I went onsite it was like in a weird way like coming home um I wasn't nervous it was at the corporate office where I spent all summer I even went to like my old office and like took a peek it was like emptied out um said hello to some of my you know favorite work workers and employees and um all kinds of people that I met and they were excited to like see me again after like two months like that was I don't know it was just it was just really nice um and and once again like the people who interviewed me I was just myself and I was just I was just Jessie I just like talked and talked I probably talked a lot because I I was still nervous um but I feel like everyone at wstar they're very everyone is different everyone operates differently but there is a very commonality um among like wellar employees you can really see it you can really feel it when like you meet somebody from wallstar they're very welcoming and opening and and nurturing and um also the the preceptors that were chosen for the fellowship program uh stood out to me as well and um John Paul my my former preceptor he actually didn't interview me but he made sure that I um I had a phone call with him before I made my decision to accept gotcha gotcha that's incredible um and I think you know that feeling of coming home is so important and some people can do their internship in a place and then apply there for a future opportunity and feel like they came home Others May interview at a place and it just feels like home right from the get-go so I'm so happy you were able to find that um so now for people who are interested in WellStar would you be able to give a background on just the logistics of the fellowship itself is it one year twoyear project-based um you know uh rotation based are there multiple fellows was it just you kind of just the behind the scenes a little bit yeah of course yeah so WellStar offers um four different tracks for our fellowship program so you will you will be on a cohort we have service line operations um wellar Medical Group and Cor corate um that might change year toe depending on what the needs of the organization are sometimes we take on um a couple more sometimes a couple less it just it just depends truly um but and it but you are not limited in your tracks you can you know Branch out and explore other other avenues like for example I did a corporate project um but anyway you are in a you like I said you are in a cohort it's a year long it's Project based and what I love about well star's fellowship program is that um ask and you shall receive so if you want it to be rotational you can make it rotational if you wanted to um but majority of my uh Fellowship I spent I for the first six months I spent time rounding in every department and then the second half was very uh project heavy and um you will also get maybe get an opportunity to do a big project as a fellowship coach cohort as well which is super fun yeah absolutely absolutely um and were you able to have that opportunity to do a cohort project during your fellowship we started one unfortunately we didn't get to finish it and we we passed it on um but again it was it was just nice to spend time uh with my cohort yeah absolutely and and that's something I usually ask like when people tell me on on this show that they have co-fellows that's my next question but you kind of answer it before I even ask like is there opportunity to mingle with your cohort of fellows and is that an option for the fellowship so it's so great that you know WellStar gives their fellows not only to establish an individual identity but then also do a cohort project and really like get into that group project space again um and I kind of also want to ask you know you stayed at WellStar and retention postfellowship is something that's talked about a lot so what is it that you do now what's your role what are some of the projects or initiatives that you're handling and what what about that excites you the most yeah I'm so excited that wstar wanted me to stay or asked me to stay um so as an operations manager at North Fulton I'm barely new to my role so I'm kind of getting like integrated in um so far I've done a lot of work with our facili director um I've been learning a lot about construction kind of doing a lot of coordinating in the background for any like Renovations that we're doing um taking a look at like the master plan um also planning out for U five 10 years maybe we'll get a tower who knows uh but I'm learning a lot about like design everything that goes into like construction and space planning truly at the hospital and just like the day-to-day uh things that our maintenance staff has to go through and how to kind of streamline it make it more um Pro more proactive about um PMs and equipment and all kinds of things um our hospital is growing bursting at the scenes we are really high and we're growing in volume um but our space is has remained the same for the past 40 years uh probably so just navigating that I'm also just still doing um some data analytics for the senior team still just kind of kind of hanging on to them a little bit longer um as I'm transitioning into my new role as a manager uh but honestly like my mentor told me my first year as a manager I'm honest still learning um and as my role develops and grows I think that I'll I I will be dealing with a lot more quality and safety and hopefully credentialing and just getting North fton in a good spot um and doing what I can to support our staff um especially our Frontline staff and just let nurses be nurses doctors be doctors and do everything else in the background basically I would describe myself right now as like the catch all yeah yeah absolutely and what a great role to have right because you get a lot of experience and exposure early on in your career um and then speaking of kind of career and being an early careerist um you know how have you stayed involved involved now that you're you know in any groups or any kind of platforms post you know graduate school to kind of stay up toate and connected to other fellows around the country or other early careerists yeah so uh I'm actually a part of an organization called the national Administrative Fellowship Network or I call it naphen for short um but it's essentially an organization full of former fellows that are on The Advisory Board and also current fellows that are serve at as a regional chair capacity away from for all of the fellows all over the country to like connect collaborate um support each other talk about our experiences and we also um host events and such uh but it's just a great way to stay connected and just um giving kind of mentoring um incoming fellows and um as well as a mentoring students who are interested in fellowships because I think fellowships are getting they're getting so a nice a reputation these days I feel like more and more students are seeing that as um as a as a way to kind of get an early start in their career without knowing exactly what they want to do yet but giving having some time to explore and figure out ex really exactly what it is that they want yeah absolutely and I really appreciate you highlighting that right because it's in school there's a lot of like natural flow to the organizations and extracurriculars that we are a part of and a lot of the times after you start your full-time role whether that a fellowship or a postfellowship role it's hard to stay involved and so um because I knew that about you I really wanted our listeners to also know that there are extracurriculars and activities outside of work to stay connected to fellows and other early careerists who may have similar interests so thank you for highlighting that and you know that's a group of course there's a LinkedIn page um when I did my fellowship two two and a half years ago now at this point I also joined it just to be connected with other fellows and so I our listeners I urge you guys if you're a fellow um former or current to definitely go look at look at their LinkedIn page as well um and you know every episode I there are two standard questions no matter what that I love to ask my guests and so first I'll start with you know when people do fellowships when people are applying to such a competitive space often times they have to leave their Hometown or Leave The Familiar nature of whatever part of the country they grew up in to then go to a new state and of course you did that for grad school but then you also did that for Fellowship so for those that are interested in WellStar you know what would you want to share maybe something surprising or something you love about living in Georgia um and kind of what that experience has been like especially after growing up in Kentucky and then living in North Carolina for a while yeah so living in Georg is very different from Kentucky and North Carolina um you know being closer to the City living in Atlanta I can honestly say I love it here it does get really hot really really hot like unbearable I've gone through two summers two Georgia Summers now and it it's still it still gets me but I just love the culture here um I've also gotten involved with the community in in lot in various ways and I can honestly say I really haven't been to a chain restaurant except for Olive Garden but just there's so much like culture there's always something to do always something to see um and it was just really refreshing with this new change of scenery yeah absolutely absolutely and um I appreciate you sharing that because again it's one of those parts of the country that either you're from there or your job will take you there um you know so it's it's good to know that you've had a positive experience despite the heat but um it's good that you've had a positive experience and you know I think kind of what I love to end on and so same question for you that I'd love to kind of um end on is looking back at your fellowship Journey because of course this is a fellowship review you know what is something about the fellowship cycle that was a lesson learned or something you do differently or advice that you'd give kind of your younger self in that sense of oh oh I should have been mindful of this I think I I wish I would have been more sorry I wish I would have been less harsh on myself um cuz with every rejection I should have I should have kind of thought to myself like but I made it to the second round but I did the first round they got I I made it there I made it to that point at least and I got to where I am now because of it um everything was a learning experience it was exposure it was practice um it was also just developing skills on identifying what what my values were and what I wanted out of another organization so as corny as it sounds I would just say like be present be in the moment soak it in you know celebrate the small wins um give yourself some give yourself a lot of Grace honestly and it will be okay you will end up where you belong not only that but you also build your village that will support you as well yeah absolutely what good advice and I think kind of what I want to Echo out of all the valuable things that you said not only during the episode but during this last segment um is give yourself Grace I I agree with that so much I feel like the fellowship cycle is a roller coaster and every day comes with new opportunities but also rejections but I do believe you know rejection is redirection so it's really important to be patient with yourself and know that something will work out and what's meant for you is going to find you so I really appreciate you highlighting that valuable advice um and Jesse it's been so amazing having you back on of course last time you were with our previous host but I'm glad I had the privilege of interviewing you now that you're out of your fellowship in a manager role um thank you so much for your time this evening and just all the valuable stories and lessons that you shared with our listeners thank you so much</p>
Want to reach healthcare executives and decision-makers? Join industry leaders like HealthMap Solutions on our podcast.
Become a GuestDiscover related content across the AJHCS ecosystem
Articles on the same topic in AJHCS
This article argues that today’s healthcare challenges—burnout, disparities, and AI integration—require a new kind of leadership that goes beyond traditional management. It proposes an integrated framework combining structured problem-solving (MAEM), modern competency-based education through micro-credentials (4Es), and character-driven leadership grounded in courage, discipline, justice, wisdom, and humility. The core message is that healthcare transformation is not just technical but systemic and ethical—requiring leaders who can redesign systems, guide responsible AI use, and intentionally improve health outcomes and equity.
ArticleThe article argues that AI’s real impact in healthcare depends less on the technology itself and more on how it is governed. Strong oversight, leadership understanding, and coordinated systems are essential to ensure AI improves outcomes rather than creates new risks.