The Penn Medicine Administrative Fellowship
Challenge yourself and fulfill your potential in unexpected ways.
A Fellowship with a Difference
An Administrative Fellowship with Penn Medicine does more than open up professional doors in the evolving field of health care. This is an extraordinary opportunity for you to expand your skills as you build a meaningful career - a career that will impact the way in which health care is delivered.
Penn Medicine's Administrative Fellowship is an exceptional two-year program specifically designed to give MBA, MHA, MPH, MSN and other accredited master's degree graduates the opportunity for mentorship by health care executives. You will gain unique day-to-day operational and strategic insights in a fast-paced environment that supports a 'hands-on' approach to your learning. This is a fellowship that will take you beyond the ordinary; in addition to the unique opportunity to lead your own projects and initiatives, you will participate in high-level meetings and decision-making processes, at both the corporate and health-system entity level.
Take this opportunity to achieve your goals with a health system that is dedicated to developing talent and opening doors.
The Guidance of Accomplished Leaders
The two-year Administrative Fellowship is an opportunity for you to lay the foundation for a successful career by working alongside senior leadership and top management. As a fellow's strengths emerge, the executive sponsors fully support the fellow to ensure that potential is recognized and utilized. Finding the right fit is important - it is in the best interests of the fellow and in the best interests of the health system.
During the two-year program, fellows have invaluable opportunities to collaborate with members of the both the corporate executive team as well as key operational leaders across all Penn Medicine entities. You will play an integral role by participating and leading special projects and system-wide corporate initiatives, as well as focusing on day-to-day operational management within our hospitals and clinical practice environments.
Throughout the two-year program, you are well-supported by Penn Medicine Academy, our Human Resources Organizational Development area, who will provide training and education germane to your overall experience and career development. Programs include Leadership Foundations, Strengths-based Leadership, and Emerging Leaders and Fundamentals.
Why Choose Health Care Administration?
This is an exciting time for health care administration. Evolving more rapidly than perhaps any other field, health care is changing in terms of how and where health care is delivered, who is delivering those services, and how that care is financed. Health care administration requires talented people who can manage and influence the changes taking place. In their respective roles, health care executives have an opportunity to make a significant contribution to improving the health of the communities and patient populations their organizations serve.
- Today, an estimated 100,000 people occupy health management positions at numerous organizational levels - from department head to chief executive officer.
- Health care is among the fastest-growing industries in the US, expecting to reach 20% of the GDP by 2015.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, 8 of the top 20 fastest-growing occupations are in health care.
- The industry is expected to lead in new wage and salary job creation, generating some 3.6 million jobs between 2004 and 2014.
- Employment of medical and health services managers is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014, as the health care industry continues to expand and diversify.
Prestigious, Challenging and Welcoming
Achieving your goals while making a difference for others is possible when you have the experience of a preeminent health system behind you. By working with the leadership team at Penn Medicine, you will align yourself with an internationally renowned health care institution with a commitment to delivering on the promise of advanced medicine through education, innovation, and dedication. A premier academic medical center, Penn Medicine is a $3 billion enterprise that includes the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, Clinical Care Associates, and Penn Home Care and Hospice Services.
Ideal candidates for the Administrative Fellowship program have an appropriate and completed master's degree (degree must be completed by June 30 of the year in which you would like to assume the Fellowship - e.g., candidates assuming a Fellowship to commence July 1, 2014 must have completed their program by June 30, 2014). While health care management experience is not required, we do expect to see two years' health care experience, which can be achieved via internships, health care project work, and regular health care work experience.
Above all, ideal candidates have a true dedication to making a difference by improving health care and the health status of individuals, families and communities.
What Previous Fellows Say About the Program
"I started as the Penn Medicine administrative fellow in 2005. Prior to that I was working as management consultant and have my masters in public management from Carnegie Mellon University. I didn't come from a traditional MPH or MBA background.
"The fellowship provided me with an excellent springboard into the operations and dynamics of the health care system. My prior experience had been in consulting, public relations and government relations working with health care clients. I was able to apply my background, skills, and degree and combine it with a full immersion into health care organizational leadership. I had immediate exposure to senior leaders, strategic projects and current issues impacting the organization. In the two years of the fellowship, I gained contacts across the health system and was exposed to a variety of leadership areas from finance, marketing and quality to construction, community relations, and organizational development. I approached the fellowship as a two-year job interview and used every interaction and connection made as a potential opportunity to network through the quality of the work product that I produced.
"Immediately following the fellowship, I assumed a leadership position in HUP PeriOperative services and spent the last five years there. I was able to build upon my relationships established during the fellowship and the operations experience I gained while in PeriOp as I applied for this next role.
"I can't say enough good things about the fellowship. It requires an experienced candidate, someone who has had a few years in the work environment and can draw on those skills and apply them to Penn Medicine."
Alyson Getty Cole, MPM
Administrative Fellow – 2005 – 2007
Assistant Executive Director for Professional Services
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
"During my fellowship, I had the opportunity to work on several projects that provided me in-depth experience in a variety of areas. I was able to work on challenging projects in different areas throughout the health system such as PeriOperative Operations, Ambulatory Information Technology Implementation, Clinical Decision Support, and Clinical Operations Process Improvement. The guidance, knowledge and exposure to the top leaders of health care have been invaluable as I begin my career here at Penn Medicine."
Kristina Patterson
Administrative Fellow – 2009 – 2011
Director of Operations
Clinical Care Associates
"As an early careerist, the ability to work at a world-class academic medical center has been invaluable. The administrative fellowship allowed me to see the organization from a 30,000-foot view working directly with senior leadership. I had the opportunity to work with and learn from people from a variety of areas throughout Penn Medicine. The fellowship provided me with new work experiences that helped further build my health care knowledge base. My experience was instrumental in securing my role with the health system post-fellowship."
Matthew S. Goldstein, MS
Administrative Fellow – 2011 – 2013
Associate Director of Operations
Abramson Cancer Center
"Penn Medicine is one of the best health care organizations in the country. The administrative fellowship allows fellows the opportunity to be an integral part of the senior management team, working on upper-level projects and getting real exposure to senior management. Most other fellowships have a ‘learn by watching' approach, whereas Penn Medicine has a 'learn by doing' approach. Unlike many other programs, this is a fellowship for someone with solid work experience who is ready to dive into projects and not just shadow executives."
Sarah Brewer, MHA, MBA
Administrative Fellow 2004-2006
Currently with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
We are building tomorrow's health care leaders today. Why not you?
To be considered for the program, you will need the following:
- Master's degree from an accredited program with a focus on health care management or administration (e.g. MHA, MBA, MPH, MSN, etc.)
- Two year's full-time work experience, preferably in health care; can include special project work and internships undertaken while in your graduate program
- Capability of working effectively in formal and informal groups
- Demonstrated initiative along with analytical and problem-solving skills
Interested and qualified candidates are invited to e-mail any questions, concerns, or even your resume outlining your experience to david.schaaf@uphs.upenn.edu.