Health Care Administration Internship Paper (HCA 425)

Internship/Healthcare Administration Program
Name
Institution
Date
Internship/Healthcare Administration Program
During the HCA internship, I participated in administrative duties implementing various activities to improve health care behavior and quality within the state hospital. I participated in offering services by discharging various duties assigned, to initiate change. With this opportunity, I was exposed to practical experience in health administration management and policies (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).
Being in the position, I had the opportunity to interact with other healthcare professionals who provided guidance where necessary. I used the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained and skills learned in the classroom setting in a hospital environment. I experienced issues and problems that the organization faces and developed awareness of my area of specialization, my abilities, and my shortcomings. The experience helped me select the appropriate coursework and training for my final year study (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).
I have since understood the pressures and other factors that affect decision-making process in the current healthcare environment. In the process, I gained additional skills needed to be prepared for my future career in health care administration. Through observation of other health professionals, experiencing my role combined with the theories, skills and health concepts I learned in class, I was able to combine all these under the guidance of experienced and supportive professionals. There were a lot of expectations from the interns including being timely, dressing appropriately, and acting professionally at all times. Furthermore, interns were expected to ensure that the entire work plan was fully completed and submitted on time to the supervisors for review.
Internship Duties and Tasks
Some of the duties assigned to me included transferring 12 patients to other rooms to pave the way for renovation within the facility. It was part of my duty to identify the levels of acuteness and the space required for individual patients before being transferred. Working in the administration section meant identifying employees’ competency and educational gaps and scheduling their work and trainings at appropriate times without interfering with the hospital daily operations (Williams, 2013). I also facilitated and organized annual in-service of all the staff. Other responsibilities included ensuring that patients records were up to date by filing in the residents document, charts, and replacing the old ones with new charts.
Part of my duty entailed placing physician orders and immunization cards as required in each chart. I also verified all immunization orders and ensured they were up to date after checking the necessary approvals. At times, I worked at the nurses' station organizing patients’ medical forms and labeling them. Once in a while, I participated in community health activities, coordinating, and assessing community health needs. Some of the community needs assessed included information gaps, resources identification, and community assets.
Being an intern at the state hospital, dealing with mental patients and other patients with disabilities, involved participating in some of the routine activities within the hospital like attending departmental meetings and making rotational schedules within the administration. I managed to attend two management seminars organized by the National Center for Disability. Working in this department enabled me to regularly interact with quality assurance commission representatives who made regular visits to the hospital.
Roles and Duties of Health Care Managers
Healthcare managers at the hospital shared their administrative knowledge with all the interns; the managers were committed to developing emerging health care professional like me. I frequently interacted with them. They provided guidance and coordinated interns programs in a supportive and professional way.
My immediate supervisor was more of a role model, as she was key in enabling me to acquire all the knowledge during the process. Through regular one on one reviews, we could share some of the challenges, reviewed my progress and answered some of the important questions. She offered adequate support upon arrival and ensured that all arrangements were communicated in advance to the human resource department. My supervisor was always supportive as she provided me with all the information helpful during my intern program. The most encouraging part of this process was that my supervisor was always accessible throughout and frequently reviewed my internship log and monitored my progress keenly. Health managers at the state hospital often encouraged us to provide constructive feedback about the academic and professional preparation offered by the hospital (Chiarella & McInnes, 2008).
Being in charge of the complex health care departments, health care managers still created time for the interns especially during the first week of orientation. All managers were involved during the tour of the facility and provided a brief overview of the facility, stating its history, policies, mission, and the overall organization structure. All interns were also introduced to key personnel and ensured that we all attended staff and specific management meetings. Managers worked together with supervisors to come up with an internship schedule, they also provided feedback on a regular basis (Chiarella & McInnes, 2008).
Approaches to Resolving Administrative and Ethical Challenges in Business Operations of a Healthcare Organization
I observed that the facility managers were keen on integrity; the managers kept on reminding interns on the importance of following the code of ethics as part of the organization requirements. During the orientation process, all the interns were given organization policy manual as a reminder of what is expected of each individual offering service at the hospital. The manual emphasizes on confidentiality and the importance of obtaining informed consents from patients especially those with mental illness (Chiarella & McInnes, 2008). The manual contained a list of ethical principles and rule to be observed by all staff; the...