Key Takeaways
- Leveraging fellows from non-traditional backgrounds like engineering introduces fresh analytical perspectives to healthcare administration challenges.
In this review of the Penn State Health Administrative Fellowship, we'll explore the experiences of Austin Snyder, MHA, a current fellow. Austin's journey from civil engineering to healthcare administration showcases the program's ability to nurture talent from diverse backgrounds. Located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, this fellowship provides a comprehensive view of healthcare operations in a growing system.
Austin's positive experiences highlight the fellowship's strengths, including exposure to various departments, hands-on projects, and mentorship from seasoned healthcare leaders. The program's emphasis on process improvement and data analytics aligns well with the evolving needs of modern healthcare systems. For those seeking a challenging and rewarding start to their healthcare administration career, the Penn State Health Administrative Fellowship offers an excellent opportunity to learn, grow, and make a meaningful impact.
Austin Snyder, MHA's journey into healthcare administration is a testament to the diverse paths that can lead to this field. Initially pursuing civil engineering at Brigham Young University - Idaho, Austin was at a crossroads. After some soul-searching and guidance, he discovered healthcare administration – a field that perfectly blended his interests in business and science.
This transition highlights an important lesson for aspiring healthcare administrators: finding the right career fit often involves exploration and self-reflection. Austin's story demonstrates that it's okay to change course and follow a path that aligns with your passions and strengths.
Austin's educational journey continued at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he pursued his Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA). During his time there, he gained valuable experience through an internship focused on patient experience.
This internship provided Austin with insights into:
Understanding patient experience metrics
Analyzing trends in patient feedback
Identifying barriers to care
The crucial role of frontline staff in healthcare initiatives
Austin's experience underscores the importance of internships in bridging the gap between academic knowledge and practical application in healthcare settings.
After completing his MHA, Austin chose to pursue the Penn State Health Administrative Fellowship. His motivation stemmed from a desire to gain broad exposure to all levels of healthcare administration. This approach allows fellows to explore various aspects of the field and identify their areas of interest and strength.
Penn State Health's unique position as a growing healthcare system was a major draw for Austin. The system's relative youth (about seven years old) presents both challenges and opportunities, including:
Standardization efforts
System integration initiatives
Opportunities for process improvement
These factors make the fellowship an exciting prospect for those interested in shaping the future of healthcare delivery.
One of Austin's key interests lies in process improvement and data analytics. During his fellowship, he's had the opportunity to pursue this passion through:
Obtaining a Yellow Belt certification in Six Sigma
Working on projects that apply lean principles to healthcare operations
Balancing efficiency improvements with patient-centered care
Austin's focus on these areas reflects the growing importance of data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency in modern healthcare systems.
Throughout his fellowship, Austin has been involved in several impactful projects:
Analyzing and understanding hospital key performance indicators (KPIs)
Collaborating with service line leaders on data-driven decision-making
Applying lean principles to improve cancer institute scheduling
These projects have provided Austin with a comprehensive understanding of hospital operations and the challenges faced by healthcare leaders. They've also allowed him to apply his skills in data analysis and process improvement to real-world healthcare scenarios.
As Austin nears the end of his fellowship, he's gained valuable insights into potential career paths in healthcare administration. His experiences have helped him narrow down his interests, with a focus on:
Project management roles
Operational excellence positions
Continuous learning and skill development
Austin's journey highlights the importance of ongoing education and adaptability in healthcare leadership. As the industry continues to evolve, successful administrators must be willing to embrace new technologies, methodologies, and approaches to healthcare delivery.
The Penn State Health Administrative Fellowship has provided Austin with a strong foundation for a successful career in healthcare administration. For those considering a similar path, this program offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience, develop critical skills, and contribute to the improvement of healthcare delivery in a dynamic setting.
The Penn State Health Administrative Fellowship is a one-year program that provides comprehensive exposure to various aspects of healthcare administration.
The fellowship is quite competitive, with approximately 60-70 applicants vying for a single position each year. The number of applicants has been increasing, making the selection process more competitive over time.
While specific requirements may vary, most fellows have completed a Master's degree in Healthcare Administration (MHA) or a related field prior to starting the fellowship.
Fellows at Penn State Health work on a variety of projects, including analyzing key performance indicators, collaborating with service line leaders, and implementing process improvement initiatives across different departments.
Yes, the fellowship supports professional development, including opportunities to obtain certifications such as the Yellow Belt in Six Sigma. However, higher-level certifications may need to be pursued independently.
<p>hello everyone this is Cole from the American Journal of healthc care strategy joined by a fellow Pennsylvanian right now Austin Austin please introduce yourself hi I'm Austin Snider um live here in hummlestown PA which is just outside of Harrisburg and I'm currently the administrative fellow for Penn State Health [Music] pen State Health big organization important organization so we're excited to be able to talk about that administrative Fellowship there a lot of people are familiar with Penn State Health so it's it's great to be able to talk about that but when you went to undergrad of course it was not anywhere really near Pennsylvania it was kind of across the country uh you went to I think I have it written here I forgot sorry about that you which are Brigham Young right very well-known Institution what uh caused you to to go there and and kind of more interestingly what caused you to get that interest in healthc care administration where you got that Bachelor's in healthcare administration yeah good questions Cole um so yeah I went to BYU Idaho uh which is in South southeast Idaho and I decided to go to school there because I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of ler Day Saints and um our church owns the school um and there and also in Utah where the main campus is and one in Hawaii so there's three branches and uh so I went to be Idaho there and I when I started off I actually started off in civil engineering um for my bachelor's and I did a few a couple semesters uh in civil engineering and um just wanted to try it out because my dad is he's a mechanical engineer and I thought civil sounded really interesting and I uh discovered difficult engineering is um I had a really hard time with just you know kind of the basic classes and so I thought well it's going to be really really tough to get through the higher level actually engineering courses so I I wanted to make a switch um so I was trying to figure out what to do and I uh gave it some prayerful consideration talk to my mom as well and um I had this thought come into my mind to look into healthcare administration and I didn't know what it was um and so I looked at the I forgot what You' call it but it's um a list of different majors and their descriptions so I found healthcare administration and I said you know what this sounds pretty interesting it's a combination of business and science I'm going to give it a shot so I did and uh have never regretted it it's been a a really enjoyable experience so that's kind of how I came to healthcare administration I also have had an Health uh an interest in Healthcare just from you know being a patient all my life um so yeah wow excellent and good for you that you were able to find a career that you've been able to to really enjoy and and have such great success in that that's really excellent and so you decided to get your mha of course you went to the University of Illinois Chicago very well-known school again uh and then during your time there it looks like you did kind of a lot of different activities you were involved in in a lot of uh important work there with the University of Illinois can you talk about why you chose that school and then maybe highlight any of the most valuable experiences you had while you were there sure yeah um so I came to UIC uh when I finished my bachelor's at by Idaho I had an internship to do at the end which was kind of the last experience uh so I could earn my degree and um I had a family connection at UIC and was able to get in for my internship there so moved out to Chicago lived with family for a few months and worked there as an intern um and after that they offered me a just a summer kind of like a research assistant type position and then they had an opening come uh into play for a credentialing specialist um and so I just went for it it was a little different from healthcare administration but uh sort of related to Human resour resources so kind of in the healthcare admin realm still and uh ended up uh doing that for about six years and I later took on addition an additional role as the coordinator for the third and fourth year medical students who did their rotations and Pediatrics so um had a great experience there lots of uh good experiences and um lots of good interactions with the Physicians and advanced practice providers that uh that served our patients so definitely a great experience and uh even while I was doing my bachelor's degree I always kind of wanted to go back to school to do my masters um and I saw that it was kind of becoming the standard you know to get your mha to be able to ascend to the leader levels of higher levels of leadership um but I also believe that uh getting as much education as possible is uh is a really good thing and um so I was trying to figure it out and I joined a a self-reliance group through my church which kind of helped me to to determine like how do I get my application ready you know how do I prepare for grad school and so after I did that I determined that UIC was the best choice because I'd be able to get tuition reimbursement since I was an employee and um went went with it uh that way so I uh started my my masters in 2020 which was a a crazy here as you know um but had a great mha experience there excellent yeah it's it's a good school I know that a lot of people enjoy it and then of course you did that kind of that uh graduate level internship with UI Health where you worked on the CG caps and and so what was it like after you know because you're doing that what was it the second year of your mha that you did that yeah okay so towards the end what was it like getting to that internship was it really challenging I mean I know CG caps is also pretty complicated uh the guidelines are really long I think like 800 Pages or something of guidelines so was it was it challenging to get into that internship or was it a smooth transition what was that like it was fairly smooth um so since I was uh working in the department of Pediatrics um I was able to get connected with our Clinic manager who uh oversaw you know the ped's clinic operations and she recommended I went to her and asked ideas on an internship and she recommended that I focus on patient experience so that was my first introduction to Patient experience and you know learning what do the different metrics mean you know what is um what are the questions that are being asked on the surveys that we give our patients um why are we seeing the trends that we see and also looking at the comments that the patients leave and kind of correlating that with um the uh scores the raw scores um to try to understand the trends so it was I felt like it was a really eye- openening experience it helped me to understand you know what are some of the challenges that our our patients face um in just coming to the office for care you know what are the their barriers to care um just getting here just parking or having to take off work to take their kid into the clinic um that sort of thing so it was it was definitely um a really good Educational Opportunity um good opportunity to see the important work that the uh front office staff do um and uh learn the a little bit of the culture there um and how to effectively um I guess promote change but you have to go to your front line um because they're the ones that that need to give you the feedback and they're the ones that do the work um you can't just take some kind of change initiative and force it on people that's just not the right way um anyway so it was it was a really good experience overall very nice yeah and that's that's really important advice uh I I agree with that very much that going to the front line is really really important and so you completed this internship therefore completed your Masters but the question is is why do the fellowship right that's one of the big questions I've been asking everyone who comes on who's done their Fellowship is you you know probably could have gotten you know a job in in practice you had some experience but you did opt for that Fellowship and so what was the motivation behind that uh mostly I wanted to get a little bit more exposure to um all levels of administration so I wanted a broad experience so that I could figure out what is it that I really want to do in healthcare administration because it is it's quite a broad field um it encompasses you know obviously executive leadership Human Resources um the payer side Insurance um Administration um there's Finance there's accounting there's like all you know all sorts of things that you can do within Administration so I wanted to figure out what is my Niche what do I like um what I want to kind of steer away from and uh so I felt like doing a fellowship would help me with with that as I'm uh forming my my early career certainly I I've heard similar motivations from a lot of the previous fellows and so going into it with that motivation how many fellowships did you apply to and then why did you end up going with Penn State um I'm probably uh one of the more Uncommon Fellowship applicants um I actually only applied to three a lot of people apply to like 10 or 20 um yeah but uh I knew I wanted to come back to Pennsylvania and so I looked at three here and just said well if I get into one of them then that's great otherwise I'll figure out something else um and really wanted to come to Penn State Health I actually um discovered Penn State Health uh that they had a fellowship through Linkedin um I was just on LinkedIn one day and I looked and I saw that there was that they had a fellowship program and I said oh I didn't even know that that's really interesting and I looked at the uh who the current fellow was who was advertising for it and um it turned out that he actually uh went to the same school as me just at a different time um so we didn't we didn't know each other but uh I thought that that was an interesting connection um but really wanted to come to Penn State Health because it's still a fairly new health system compared to some others um you look at you know some pretty wellestablished systems uh like epmc and others that have been around for a long time and um Penn State Health has been around for about uh seven years as a system um so that comes with a lot of different uh unique challenges and growing pains and opportunities for standardization and Improvement um you know how do we actually become a system we're we're working on that uh it's a work in progress so I felt like that was something I wanted to be part of uh because I really like um process improv that's one of my favorite uh components of what I do and uh the way I live so I felt like I'd have a great opportunity at Penn State Health um there was also a drop because my family is uh fairly close in the area my parents uh live in separate parts of the state but they're each like two hours away and then my wife's parents are just across the river from us about 30 minutes so really nice uh to be close to family yeah that's really nice that's a good uh kind of uh you're surrounded in a way yeah for sure well so I see here that of course you you recently got your yellow belt as well that's one of the key kind of aspects of process Improvement are you working on your green belt now uh I'm not currently so yellow belts as far as as high as they go here at Penn State Health as far as the training that's being offered um but I would like to start working on my green belt pretty soon and and work towards uh black Bel at some point um I'm also interested in uh work on the PMP so the professional um project manager certification so that's something that I could see myself doing on the horizon for people who don't know why you know is someone who's in process Improvement why are you finding you know Six Sigma and the PMP valuable what is it that's drawing you to that so that maybe people early in their career can kind of you know plan that out for the future yeah great question to me um it gives me more of a framework to work off it helps to provide the tools um you know you have to have KN how in order to understand how to use the tools too but um just having a knowledge and understanding of the tools and how they work is really helpful uh because sometimes it's a matter of when like how do I get started with addressing this challenge um in the workplace how do I how do I address this operational issue and um there may be some helpful tools that can can assist in overcoming those obstacles and ultimately becoming a a more efficient and effective um Healthcare organization now it's an interesting balance because we know that Healthcare is a people business um so you know it's different from the other Industries where the Leaning principles originated and uh could maybe I guess fit more perfectly because it's like a manufacturing environment or whatever it may be so but I do feel that the the principles still have weight um and Effectiveness when it comes to their application in healthcare certainly yeah we wouldn't H want to treat Healthcare like a factory but it is very fascinating how that is where those principles initiated right so so I like how you said it's a balance there that's excellent so uh in the bullet points that you had you know in your resume you've done a lot of awesome projects already with with pan uh State and so what you know I guess if you had to pick a few what would be some of your favorite things that you've worked on that you've done while at Penn State Health yeah great question um one of the things that I've spent quite a bit of time working on is uh just understanding the our daily um key performance indicators at the hospital level and um this was something that was new to me even though I had the you know the background in healthcare administration and training um for whatever reason I don't remember learning very much about you know what the key stats are that hospitals look at uh what they mean what it means um and how they impact operations um so being able to track those on a daily and weekly and monthly basis has been really helpful to see kind of how the different operational components uh push each other and help um direct each other I guess um so that's been one of my more meaningful projects I ALS have also been involved in uh working with our service line leaders to uh use data to inform their decisions so um they're they're doing it already but I'm working with our uh chief chief she's basically helping us uh bridge the gap between our College of Medicine and the hospital side operations um to ensure that we're using data effectively uh as we're making important decisions in our service lines so I've been just kind of assisting her with that as our service lines are getting started here um and then another project I've worked on is with the uh cancer institute there's some some challenges with um the scheduling process and some access to care barriers and so I basically just introduced some uh lean uh principles and tools and have uh helped in that regard and help to basically capture like their pain points in the processes that they're they're working on so um those have been some some great projects um been enjoying shadowing uh leaders across the organization as as well there been some some really great highlights there too do you feel like after you've worked you know you've worked in across the organization a lot and you've had these you know three really impactful projects that you've worked on um among all the other ones as well do you feel like it's helped you narrow down what you want to do a bit more because I know you originally had said that was one of the big motivations right it would help you figure out exactly what in healthcare administration you know exactly where you fit in has it helped to do that yeah I think it has um I think it's reminded me I mean I'm it's interesting because I'm an introvert but I do enjoy working with people I do enjoy getting to know people um so it's helped me to see that uh I have that interest and passion for working in teams working with people um and kind of like I mentioned I think I could see myself in a project management type role um an operational excellence uh performance Improvement type roal um but I'm pretty pretty open at this point um I've never had like a clinic managerial type uh position yet so that's something that I would be interested in experiencing because you get you know a whole set of new uh new experiences with those types of goals um new skills to build on certainly that is that is very true so so it seems like it's been a worthwhile experience for you yeah definitely excellent and You' uh where where is the application process at for for Penn State's Fellowship are they you know being overwhelmed by applicants I mean it seems like it's probably pretty competitive right it is yeah we only have one fellow um and uh it's a one-year Fellowship so we cycle through pretty quickly um last year we had between 60 and 70 applicants um so we we had applicants from all over the place and and uh I think the year before it was pretty similar to that um so it's progressively been getting more competitive wow very nice so I guess we you know we encourage people to apply but they need to you know put their their best foot forward there so well thank you for for coming on and sharing this uh this information about Penn State Health but also about your your journey and your career I I do really really appreciate that and uh and thank you for for sharing your time this evening I know it's after work everybody's winding down for the day but I do really appreciate your time yeah thank you Cole I appreciate the opportunity very nice to meet you nice to meet you as well</p>
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