Key Takeaways
- Administrative fellowships serve as a critical pipeline for developing future leaders by providing structured mentorship and exposure to complex operations.
For aspiring healthcare administrators, the journey from graduate school to a leadership position often involves critical decision points. One such pivotal stepping stone is a healthcare administration fellowship, a structured program that allows recent graduates to gain exposure to the multifaceted world of hospital administration and healthcare operations. Recently, we had the opportunity to learn about this process and the rich experiences it entails through the lens of an administrative fellow at CommonSpirit Health, Rasika Mukkamala, MHA. Her story provides valuable insight into the decision-making process, the importance of varied experiences, and how to stay true to oneself amid an often intense and competitive application cycle for admin fellowship jobs.
Rasika's journey into the realm of healthcare administration began with a background that was anything but one-dimensional. Born and raised in the Denver suburbs, she ventured to Omaha, Nebraska, for her undergraduate degree at Creighton University. There, she pursued Healthcare Administration and Policy with minors in Public Health and Biology. Following that, her path led her to the University of Iowa, where she earned her Master of Health Administration (MHA).
This layered educational background introduced Rasika to a broad spectrum of healthcare disciplines. She gained firsthand exposure to primary care and ambulatory operations through a graduate internship at UCHealth, nurturing a passion for improving access and quality care delivery. This diverse foundation enabled her to discover a crucial realization: depth in one area can be enhanced by breadth in many, setting the stage for her future in healthcare administration fellowship programs.
Rasika's early internship experiences helped shape her approach and career ambitions. One noteworthy internship took place within the women's service line at CHI Health (now part of CommonSpirit Health) during the pandemic. In that role, she learned how to navigate COVID-19 protocols, personal protective equipment (PPE) needs, and patient and employee education around vaccine options. Seeing how rapidly the organization adapted to unprecedented challenges taught her the importance of responsiveness and innovation in healthcare administration.
She also had an opportunity to briefly explore infection control. There, as a budding professional still weighing possibilities—MHA, MBA, or MPH—Rasika examined what it might mean to become an infection preventionist. Though she eventually chose the MHA route, this experience honed her appreciation for epidemiology, patient safety standards, and continuous quality improvement. Ultimately, observing the meticulous work that goes into infection prevention efforts heightened her respect for all the behind-the-scenes roles that ensure patient and staff well-being.
Furthermore, Rasika's research exposure, from cancer studies to investigating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cultivated a deep respect for the scientific rigor and contributions of academic medicine. Although she ultimately found herself more drawn to the business and strategic side of care delivery, these varied encounters made her more empathetic and knowledgeable about the full spectrum of healthcare services.
Another pivotal internship experience took place at UCHealth, a large system known for its commitment to innovation and high-quality care. This 12-week, rotational administrative internship at a community hospital highlighted the critical role these facilities play. Often overshadowed by academic medical centers, community hospitals are vital access points for patients, delivering exceptional care closer to home.
During her rotation, Rasika spearheaded a project centered on streamlining new employee orientation. Through this human resources-related endeavor, she gained a profound appreciation for the complexities of workforce management—a topic more pressing than ever amid national staffing shortages. Learning to care for clinicians and operational staff from an administrative standpoint underscored how the well-being of the workforce directly influences patient outcomes. This experience proved that human resources and personnel strategy are essential levers in the broader mission of improving patient care.
The decision to pursue an administrative fellowship was never far from Rasika's mind. Even before solidifying her choice of an MHA, she had encountered alumni and mentors who spoke highly of fellowships as a critical transition point between classroom learning and leadership opportunities. For her, a healthcare administration fellowship represented a chance to affirm her interests, gain structured mentorship, and refine the skill sets necessary for effective healthcare leadership.
But what is an administrative fellowship? It's a program that allows both clarity and exploration. For individuals like Rasika, who find many aspects of healthcare administration intriguing, a fellowship offers exposure to multiple domains—operations, ambulatory care, strategic planning, human resources, and beyond. It provides the space and support to discover not only what excites you, but also which areas might be better left to other specialists within the organization.
For many aspiring fellows, the application cycle for administrative fellowship programs can feel overwhelming. Tight timelines, multiple rounds of interviews, and quick decision-making can create high pressure. Rasika's experience, however, underlines the value of thorough preparation, introspection, and authenticity.
She started by building a list of fellowship programs based on geography, organizational mission, and personal values. Critically, she asked herself a key question for every option: "If I get an offer from this program, will I accept it?" This mindset helped her refine her choices, ensuring that every application she submitted was genuine. It also positioned her well when offers arrived, as she had already done the mental homework of truly wanting each role she pursued.
Rasika also emphasizes the importance of early preparation—front-loading application materials, researching organizations thoroughly, and connecting with current or former administrative residents. By doing so, she reduced stress later in the process. She kept notes on each program's mission, the projects discussed in informational interviews, and the values that resonated with her. This careful cataloging meant that when interviews came, she was ready to show a deep understanding of the organizations and how her skills aligned with their goals.
Ultimately, Rasika accepted an admin fellowship at CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit integrated health systems in the nation. The CommonSpirit Health administrative fellowship program offers an 18-month system-wide fellowship often divided into hospital administration, ambulatory care, and a period of interim management. Although structured, the fellowship also allows fellows to tailor their rotations based on personal interests. Rasika's focus on ambulatory care, supported by her preceptor and leadership team, reflects the organization's flexibility in meeting the fellow's developmental needs.
Crucially, CommonSpirit's longstanding history with administrative fellows has fostered a supportive environment. Leadership, staff, and mentors were prepared even before Rasika's arrival, welcoming her with a calendar of meetings and projects. The robust mentoring culture at CommonSpirit ensures that fellows receive guidance from senior executives, preceptors, directors, and a network of alumni fellows. This multi-tiered mentorship model acknowledges that career growth isn't one-dimensional—every individual can offer unique insights and expertise.
When asked what advice she would share with future administrative fellowship applicants, Rasika is clear: authenticity matters. Instead of joining activities solely to strengthen one's resume, she recommends pursuing projects and engagements that genuinely spark interest and joy. For her, participating in a podcast during her graduate program—simply because it seemed like fun—sparked great conversations during fellowship interviews. It showed who she was beyond the academic transcript, highlighting creativity, initiative, and communication skills.
She also advises future fellows to resist comparisons. Each applicant brings a unique background and perspective to the table. Just because a peer takes a particular route does not mean it's the right path for everyone. By staying true to personal values and trusting in one's distinct attributes and experiences, candidates can present a richer, more compelling story.
Finally, flexibility is key. In her fellowship, Rasika found unexpected fulfillment working on business development projects. This unanticipated area turned out to be a source of excitement and career growth. Keeping an open mind ensures that fellows can discover new passions and refine their professional identity.
The administrative fellowship application cycle is short and intense. One day might bring multiple interviews, the next day a job offer, and a week later, the start of a whole new professional chapter. Rasika emphasizes that it all works out in the end. By focusing on thorough preparation, personal authenticity, careful program selection, and embracing mentorship, candidates can navigate this process with confidence.
Her journey offers a valuable blueprint for early careerists considering a healthcare administration fellowship. For those contemplating a career in healthcare operations and hospital administration, Rasika's experiences underscore the importance of meaningful engagement, strategic exposure, and staying true to one's personal and professional goals. The CommonSpirit Health Administrative Fellowship, with its rotational program structure and emphasis on leadership development, provides an excellent platform for growth.
In a field as complex and evolving as healthcare, future leaders who approach their growth with authenticity and openness will be better equipped to drive positive change for patients, clinicians, and communities alike. Whether through project management, clinical exposure, or participation in senior leadership meetings, administrative fellows at national health systems like CommonSpirit Health gain invaluable experience that shapes their future careers in healthcare administration.
The administrative fellowship program at CommonSpirit Health, as an integrated health system, offers a unique opportunity for non-clinical exposure to various operational divisions. This cohort model of fellowship allows for a comprehensive understanding of healthcare administration, fostering diversity in healthcare leadership and preparing the next generation of healthcare administrators to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
<p>and I would just say stay true to yourself stay true to your application just because it's not the same as your cohort doesn't mean that you're not a great [Music] applicant hi everyone it's rangi sha with the fellowship review through the American Journal of healthcare strategy today I am so excited to be joined by ress mukala thanks for um coming on tonight ressica yeah thanks for having me um well let's get right into it um why don't you go ahead and give our listeners a brief overview on who you are where you're from and where you're doing your fellowship I'm R mamala I'm originally from the Denver suburbs I uh was born and raised there and then I moved to Omaha Nebraska to do my undergrad studies at Katon University I got a Bachelor's uh degree science in a healthcare administration and policy with minors in public health and biology and then I moved to Iowa City Iowa to complete my master in health administration um where I recently graduated this past May and while I was at um the University of Iowa I also completed a graduate internship with the community clinics and so really passionate about Ambulatory Care and primary care and access to care as well and I moved back to Omaha Nebraska where I am currently in my third month as a fellow um in the operations track at common Spirit Health that's incredible so you've moved around quite a bit but in the midwest now which is exciting um and I think it's so incredible you know that kraton had an undergraduate healthcare administration track I don't that's not very common actually um yeah and similarly also another Jesuit institution not that far from Katon I went to slooh and was very fortunate that there was a healthcare administration track so I love that you found that um you know and in talking to you I learned before this that you have a plethora and incredible internship experience and so I really want to um have our listeners you know kind of listen in on the two that you know I feel like would benefit them a ton and and kind of show the diversity in what interns can do while they're on either an undergraduate or graduate healthcare administration track so let's start with the um the internship role that you had with the women's service line as well as infection control um with Chi could you tell our listeners about that yeah so um at kraton for our healthcare administration program you need to complete an internship in order to graduate that's part of the requirements and so I chose to do my internship ASI Health which is now part of common spirit um so I started in the women's service line and my preceptor um who still um works with me at Comm Spirit now um I worked on Pro at the time um we were really just learning about common Spirit kind of the trickle down effects to Chi they were still kind of separate entities but they were together at the time so just learning kind of those Dynamics as well as this was um right during the pandemic so just um better understanding you know um PPE for staff and um that was at the time when covid vaccines were coming out so learning about that and how do we educate our patients how do we educate our employees on what um is best for the community and so I really just learned a lot about women's health and passionate about women's health um access to care is something that I really am passionate about so just learning about both impatient and outpatient what different opportunities there are to get involved and so um I spent time there and then I actually took an epidemiology class um and that was part of the requirement for my public health minor at the time but I really just didn't know what I wanted to do and so I part of me was like okay maybe I want to be an infection preventionist when I grow up like I wasn't sure if I wanted to do an mha an MBA or an mph so I was kind of like okay I did my women's service line work where I kind of like filled out the mha bucket let me do some ma mph work and see if I want to be infection preventionist and at the time my preceptor was the epidemiology professor at kraton and she and I were still super close but um at the time they were getting ready for a joint commission visit and so it was just a lot of preparation and getting to know all the standards and doing mock surveys and all those things and I think after I left that internship I really was like wow I have a real appreciation for this work but at the same time I feel like my talents lie more on the business and the administration side so I did choose to pursue a mha but I do think that all of the experiences that I've had um prior to my time at chi I spent time researching I did cancer research I um did research on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and all of those um experiences have really led me to where I am today and I would urge listeners that just because something might not be your top choice or you might not you might not be sure how this will lead into your past I do think that now being in a setting where I have like academics as well as hospitals there's just so much going on there's research there's academics um with our partnership with kraton I just have such an appreciation for research because I myself was on the bench you know a couple years ago doing all the Western blots and all those things and so sometimes when you're in it you don't have as much appreciation for it but then when you step back and you look at how much of it impact you know research Healthcare all these things come together it really is just great to kind of hear and see all the impacts that healthc care has so I would say like all my internships have kind of led me to where I am today and I wouldn't be where I am without them yeah absolutely and what incredible experiences through all of your internships um especially with infection um control I think people people underestimate just how important that is especially in a hospital setting and so it's really cool that you got that experience um and you know another incredible health system that you were able to be a part of was UC Health where you were an administrative intern so tell our listeners about that experience sure so um I completed a administrative internship at my hometown Hospital actually last summer um so it was 12 weeks and it was a rotational based internship so I spent time in all the different service lines support services and I really just got to know how a community hospital operates and it really gave me appreciation for you know how much a community hospital really can do I think uh I was kind of I think it's easy to kind of get in a mindset of you know people want to be at a flagship hospital they want to be at the AMC that's where people want to be but I think being at a community hospital just really made me appreciate you know what kinds of things can be offloaded from an academic Medical Center because not everything needs to be done there and you know they provide great quality of care they have great quality initiatives they have such great staff and their patient experience is amazing and you know sometimes you just have to think about where do patients want to see care and so really my internship I spent a lot of time working on projects um one of the projects that I worked on at the time was um streamlining new employee orientation so the hospital that I worked at was fairly new um I believe was three or four years old at the time um and they had undergone an original onboarding process for their new employees but after the pandemic they really wanted to revamp it and so that was one of the projects that I took and it just gave me a real appreciation for human resources and I think that sometimes not all sometimes people um they disregard Human Resources as a mha because people think you have to have a master's degree in human resources or underg God in Human Resources but you know it just gave me a real interest for that and I just I think about how you know I'm not a clinician by any means but as an administrator I take care of clinicians and Human Resources is just one part of that so I think just it gave me such appreciation for caring for clinicians caring for staff and you know employeer retention and especially you know Workforce shortages there's that's probably like the biggest buzz word in healthcare you know so just appreciating that and learning you know Personnel issues and all these things how do we really focus on patient safety patient care while also focusing on employee satisfaction and that's just something that I really enjoyed while I was at my internship yeah absolutely thank you for sharing you know a couple of things really stood out to me um when you were talking uh first I could not agree more about the value of Community Hospitals I also did an internship at a community hospital and hands down it was one of the best career experiences for me I think I totally agree you know there's a homey feel to community um hospital so I I I did love that a lot and I think you know um another thing that you said is to the HR piece I think one of my dear mentors right now is in HR and just knowing all the work her and her team put in to help our health system work smoothly and put out all the fires you know I think there is a lot more credit that needs to be given is more than just hiring um you know assisting in the hiring process so I appreciate you um kind of highlighting that and of course the UC Health is such an incredible Health System I've interfaced with a lot of leaders from um that health system so I'm so glad you had that experience um you know before we transition specifically to Common Spirits Fellowship I want I I would love for you to share why did you pick a fellowship you know there's a lot of routes you could have taken post mha so what really Drew your attention to go through the fellowship process yeah that's a great question so U I would say I knew pretty early that I wanted to complete a fellowship so because I went through kraton's hat program Health Administration um they actually did multiple panels and conversations in my undergrad about fellowships because a lot of people from my program did transition to mha or MBA program so it's kind of like a natural progression and so I became interested in a fellowship program pretty much before I decided that I wanted to do an mha so I I just heard from people's experiences saying you know it was the best way for them to kind of connect the real world experience to the book books that we learn and I knew that you know I went straight from my undergrad to grad school um I'm often the youngest in the room and it is nice for me to have this time where I'm still learning learning but I'm also doing projects and having a lot of autonomy but I just really wanted this extra experience to really solidify my interests I think it's really I I have a path that I kind of want to take and I can get into that more during when we talk about the fellowship but I think the fellowship is a great way for people who know what they want to do or people that don't know what they want to do to explore and I'm the kind of person that I really like everything so it's almost easier for me to say I don't like this I don't like that and so I thought a fellowship would be the perfect Avenue for me to kind of test the waters with different um disciplines and see you know where do my passions lie what excites me when I go to work and what doesn't excite me what can I maybe hand off to the subject matter experts and say you're an expert on this I will pass on that so I really knew from early on that I wanted to do a fellowship and I also knew that I wanted a balance of projects and rotations I would say I'm a pretty structured person and so I wanted the flexibility of being able to tailor things to my interest but also having set objectives that I need to achieve because I do better when I have like tasks and checklists and things and so I kind of wanted the best of both worlds in a sense and I do feel like that is something that I would um urge everyone that's listening if you're interested in a fellowship to really consider are you looking for something that's strictly rotational are you looking for something that's strictly project are you looking for something that is a mix are you looking for a one year are you looking for a twoe there's a lot of discernment that I think goes into preparing for a fellowship so I would urge listeners if you're considering a fellowship um make sure you do that thinking before the fellowship cycle starts so that you kind of have a better idea of what you want to apply to when you start applying yeah absolutely and and that's definitely a similarity you and I have um as well because I also decided I was going to do a fellowship before I really even like you know applied to grad school or I was a in undergrad and you know just transition to Health Management so I totally relate to that as well um and so digging more into the fellowship cycle itself you know um how was that process for you was it intense you know um you know preparing for interviews what was that like and what ultimately LED you to pick common Spirit sure um I would say if you asked me a year ago when I was in the cycle I would tell you that it was intense Looking Back Now I actually feel like I did all the right things at the right time and I don't actually feel that it was as intense as maybe it could have been um I will say so going into it I I mean I knew I wanted to do fellowship and I knew that I wanted to kind of I kind of had geographical preferences so I was kind of thinking like I wanted to stay either in Omaha or I wanted to go back home to Colorado or maybe potentially be on the East Coast or kind of wherever I had family located I was kind of looking at that and so my first um thing that I did was I made a list of all the places that I wanted to apply to and I had that ready before I left for my internship at UC Health and every day um when I would get home from my internship I would just keep thinking to myself if I got an offer from any of these places would I go there and the minute I said no I took it off my list because one thing with the fellowship a season and you know this but um it's you know the timelines are tough and sometimes you get an offer and you have 48 hours to decide and so it really is important to for you to want to say yes to any of the programs that could offer you um admission and so that was something that I really considered long and hard and as okay if I get an offer am I gonna take it yes if no I'm not g to apply there and so I I really followed that rule true and hard and I would I would urge every that's applying to fellowships to do that same thing because it really made my decision pretty easy when I got to the end but during the fellowship cycle so I applied to I believe eight or nine fellowships and I submitted all my applications before I got back to school so that was very it was tough on the summer but then when I got back it was kind of peaceful for a couple weeks so I would urge people to apply early just because you know they it's not on you anymore it's on the reviewers so um that was very nice and you know I created kind of like a Playbook on one note at the time um just kind of talking about people that I had talked to if I had talked to their previous fellow what did we talk about what kind of projects did they discuss um if I found any information from their website if there was any alumni so I had all of that on my one note and that was kind of how I prepared for interviews just really looking at you know the the mission the vision the values of the organization as well as are there any Community initiatives that I'm interested in do I have um a specific interest or track that I'm looking at and so all of those things combined I would say just really made my application process easy because I had kind of done a lot of that leg work prior to submitting the application so then when I had the interview I was just kind of referencing my my documents as well as what I had done before so I would say the preparation itself wasn't that intense because I had front loaded myself um but I would say you know looking back it's hard to believe that that was a year ago because I feel like when I was in it it really did feel like the end of the world like every day I was just like hey is today the day that I get an offer and I get a job and I don't have to worry anymore and looking back now it it is just so hard to believe that it is a year later and I'm in my fellowship because a year ago I was like freaking out about like which first round I was going to go to because I had so many overlapping times and you know it's just so crazy how much in one year your life can really be so different yeah absolutely um I I appreciate you sharing all this and so now kind of diving into common Spirit tell our listeners first kind of the structure um how many fellows there are um you know what's mentorship like in the fellowship is it one year two years is it Project based rotational and kind of just that General overview if you could provide for this specific Fellowship that you're in yeah so um common Spirit has um I believe 12 fellows across the system we have three tracks we have the operations track which is the track that I'm on we have a it track and we have a mission track so we have different fellows that correspond to those different tracks we also have fellows across the country so we have some in our California Market um the central region which is where I'm located we we have we are split between um the Phoenix Arizona area and the Omaha area we have some people in Texas um Kentucky I believe and then um maybe a couple others but um so I will provide a disclaimer that um uh while we do have a generalized track I do think that everyone every fellow's experience is different even within the same organization so um if someone's looking to apply or du to ask the person that is in the market that you're interested in just because I think there is dis differences in projects and other things so generally for common Spirit fellows that it is a 18month rotational and Project based uh Fellowship so six months Hospital rotation six months ambulatory rotation and then six months of an intam management role within um either discipline um sometimes people will do an elective rotation if there's something that they're passionate about I believe the it and the mission tracks are maybe a little bit different but the operations track generally follows those rotations um I am focused more on the ambulatory side I mentioned in my intro that that is kind of what I'm passionate about what I'm interested in so I um am primarily on the ambulatory side so even though common Spirit kind of has a set like 666 I am kind of more spending time on the ambulatory side and I will do a hospital rotation but I think I'll focus it more on Hospital based clinics uh but I am also spending time at the market level so we have multiple levels of governance within common spirit so we have common Spirit National and then we have the region which comprises multiple markets and then we have the market and then we have local so like if you have a clinic that's more local level so I've really been able to kind of get exposure to all these different levels and learn about different projects and different rotations within those different governance models yeah yeah that's incredible um and so to the mentorship piece you know who is kind of your preceptor what is mentorship like with the other higher um leaders executive leaders within your location sure so um common Spirits Fellowship there's there is executive champion and a preceptor and so um I believe the executive Champion um stays the same for the whole year um at least mine will um and then the preceptor may change based on which rotation you so you may have a hospital um rotation preceptor and then an ambulatory rotation preceptor but because I'm kind of primarily focusing on the ambulatory side I'll kind of have one so my um executive Champion Dr Randy pritza he is the C system senior vice president for um the the physician Enterprise in Omaha so he um actually oversees Nebraska Iowa North Dakota and Minnesota as part of his perview um and then my pre is the Vice President of Operations and development um Julie grety and she also oversees those four states as well so um I felt very supported um there are so many directors that I work with on a day-to-day basis that provide I would say more peer-to-peer support um that I do have a co- fellow um shout out Tanner Bosworth if you're listening um he is my co- fellow he is on um he has a separate preceptor but we work together we see each other all the time so I would say we have peer-to-peer support in that sense and with all of the other fellows in common Spirit we all kind of have peer-to-peer support but when it comes to project support or just day-to-day support I would say I really lean into a lot of the directors that I work with and um I'm I'm aund I'm hybrid but mostly in person and so and most of my team is as well and so I spend a lot of time you know like building community with my co-workers and just better understanding that how they got to where they are um and so it's really fun just being in in person I really enjoy the camaraderie I feel like it definitely makes my day brighter but I have a lot of mentorship from the directors I I meet with them I meet with two of them once like every other week and they really give me career advice and kind of talk through my projects and kind of help me think more about Logistics I would say and then um I meet with my preceptor once a week um but her office is right next to my office so I talk to her every day and then my executive champion and I um I see him all the time but we have monthly meetings and so I really do feel very supported I feel like everyone ultimately wants what's best for me and they've had a lot of fellows at the Legacy Chi so chi chi and dignity Forum to become common spirit in 2019 but the Legacy chi in the midwest has had fellows for over 20 years and so everyone in the omha Market at least is very aware of what a fellow is and so it's really great because even before I got to Common Spirit my calendar was full of invites because people knew that I was coming and so it was just really welcoming and you know there's a lot of Hospital leaders that I work with as well that um I've been able to work with and our previous fellows we have quite a network of fellows um that are local to Omaha but also um those who um are not local to Omaha and they common Spirit fellows we have a pretty vast network of alumni and so getting to talk to them you know hearing about their experiences has been very positive so I would say I have a plethora of mentors and sometimes it is nice to kind of go to one person for one thing and one person for a different thing so I really have enjoyed my experience so far that is so incredible to here you know I think one of the big reasons people do fellowships is for the mentorship aspect and so I always like to ask my guests about their experience and I know we chatted about this a little bit before and you're fairly new in in your fellowship but it's so good to hear that like even before you started they were welcoming you and having you on board um so I'm so happy to hear that um kind of you know the last question I always love to ask um all my guests because I think having gone through the fellowship cycle Insight that you can provide um so looking back on you know what this journey was like for you of course you successfully secured a fellowship to our listeners what would you want them to know you know what is advice that you wish you had knew or even something you would do differently if you know you got to go back and redo the fellowship application cycle yeah this is a great question um I would say I have a couple things so the first thing I would say is while you're in grad school don't do something just because you think it would look good on Fellowship application I would say the things that made me stand out in my application were things that I did because I thought they would be fun so an example was so the University of Iowa we had a podcast it was called from the front row and I just joined it because I had never been on a podcast before I wanted to kind of try out a different way of public speaking and I just needed like another extracurricular activity that was going to be low stress and so I just joined the podcast for fun and it turned into one of the most amazing things that I could have done while I was at Iowa I interviewed guests from across the world um and really just got to put my spin on you know Health Care policy Health Care ethics all these things and that was one of the most asked questions that I got in my interviews was oh who did you interview what was your favorite episode that you did what has been like one lesson that you've learned from the podcast I would say don't do something just for the resume do it because you want to gain something out of it whether that's you want to gain public speaking experience you want to have fun you want to enjoy yourself you want to like step out of your comfort zone I would say that would be my first piece of advice to our listeners because I know it's really easy to fall into the Trap of okay I'm going to do a c and d because the person that got the fellowship that I want last year did exactly these things I want to have the exact same resume but really that's not what's going to make you a well-rounded applicant it's what makes you different is going to make you a standout candidate so that would be the first thing that I would recommend the second thing I already kind of said previously but I would say when you are looking at making a list of fellowships to apply to really take time to discern can I live here do I want to live here do I want to live here long term and if I got offered this over any of the other programs would I say yes because oftentimes I think it's really easy to say okay this is my number one this is my number two this is my number three but the fellowship cycle you know there are quick turnaround times and sometimes your number one might be the following week and you have an offer from your like number two or number three and you have 48 hours to decide and so for me that was kind of the mentality I took was okay I'm going to take I whichever offer again I'm going to take it because I've already narrowed down my list to XYZ and it is hard to turn down fellowships but ultimately everyone has to do what's best for them and so just making sure that you um have a great list and you've talked through with your mentors you know is this somewhere that I could see myself living is this somewhere where I want to work do I know people there that can vouch for it so those are all um different things that I would suggest but the last thing that I would suggest and I got this advice and I didn't really listen so I don't know how helpful it will be but you know when you're in it it's really easy to get down on yourself especially you know when you're not getting interviews or you know someone else in your cohort is getting an interview for your top choice and you haven't heard back it's really easy to you know listen to that noise and get really bogged down by you know this person's going here this person going here I don't even have an interview it's really easy to get down on yourself and I would just say stay true to yourself stay true to your application just because it's not the same as your cohort doesn't mean that you're not a great applicant stay true to who you are and stay true to your application and know your worth because you wrote your application you have all these amazing things to share and it is really easy to get down on yourself but I would say find your true north and follow it because that is ultimately what is going to help you be a great healthcare administrator one day and I would also say um be open and be be willing to do some some things that you might not think are traditional healthcare administrator things for example in my fellowship currently I'm working in the business development area so building new clinics and um renovating clinics and it is the most fun I've had in a long time I love going to work I love working on my business development projects and you know you might not think traditionally oh that's like a healthcare administration path but I would just say be open because there's so many different Avenues out there and you're not going to know unless you say yes so have a True North in mind but be willing to Pivot and I hope that everyone has a Great Fellowship season if they are choosing to apply that is incredible advice and I just Echo you know location does matter I think the intentional about where you're going to go because ultimately you're going to live there also you know you're so right your advice is very practical um if you have an offer from number three but you're still waiting on number one it's something to think about because yeah you know the cycle itself is also very competitive and so and it's very short too like from August to like mid October it is it is every day you know checking that email making sure that you didn't miss any invites you know but it's only it's a month and a half you know and it is a hard time but it is so short one week you could have five interviews and the next week you could have a job offer so it's just it's so short and so it's really hard to you know people ask me all the time they're like oh well would you have done something different I no I I think I you know you have to make the choice that's best for you and I'm really grateful for the opportunities that I had and I think every interview you know made me realize what I want in a fellowship and then ultimately when I decided to come to Common spirit that was a culmination of you know me getting an offer but also realizing that it was important to me to have you know rotation and projects so I would say I totally agree with you it's such a short short process stressful but it all works out in the end yes and on that note I think that's the best way to kind of wrap up you know this incredible conversation it does all work out in the end and um it defin did in your case but R thank you so much for joining and giving our listeners such incredible advice it was such a pleasure chatting with you tonight thank you so much for having me</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
Abstract Healthcare contact centers are undergoing a structured transition as health systems move from legacy telephony to cloud-based, AI-enabled omnichannel platforms. These platforms increasingly function as centralized digital access hubs for scheduling, triage, navigation, and patient communica...
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.
Books by our podcast guests and on this topic