ROLE OVERVIEW and PURPOSE
The Population Health Summer Intern will participate in a structured, paid internship program at Neighborhood Healthcare, designed to provide hands-on experience and professional development while supporting the organization’s mission of serving the community. We are looking for a research driven and detail-oriented intern to work alongside our clinical, operations, and population health teams. In this role, you will analyze current workflows, identify barriers, and propose actionable recommendations to improve patient care and access.
This is a full-time(40 hours/week), 8 week internship. This internship will be primarily based at our administrative building in Escondido, with occasional travel to our Temecula clinic required.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Internship Responsibilities
- Shadow care team members and review organizational workflows to understand day-to-day operations
- Analyze quality data and utilization data and benchmark against industry best practices
- Conduct a gap analysis and propose a future-state care team model with actionable recommendations
- Colorectal Cancer Screening
- Research peer-reviewed best practices for increasing Cologuard kit return rates
- Identify barriers to patients
- Propose a workflow design to increase the return rate of Cologuard kits
Internship Structure
- Onboarding: Orientation to Neighborhood Healthcare, policies, expectations, and professional development goals
- Rotational Assignments: Intern will complete assignment with the population health department
- Internship Review & Capstone: Final reflections, exit interview, and presentation of key learnings and recommendations
TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROVIDED
- How FQHCs operate within a value-based care framework
- How to identify and address patient care gaps through evidence-based research and data analysis
- Research, planning, implementation, and evaluation of care team models and public health interventions
- How to conduct interviews with clinical and non-clinical stakeholders to identify data and pain points within current processes
- How to translate research findings into actionable recommendations for process improvement
SUPERVISION & SUPPORT STRUCTURE
- Internship Coordinator will oversee the intern's experience, provide leadership coaching, and conduct final reflections and the exit interview
- Project Mentors will provide structures feedback twice weekly, plus informal mentorship throughout the internship
- Intern and Project Mentors will co-create goals and outcomes to ensure a meaningful and impactful experience
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
- Undergraduate or graduate students (or recent graduates) with an interest in public health, healthcare administration, health education, epidemiology, or related field
- Strong research, analytical and communication skills
- Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) preferred
- Aspiring healthcare professionals encouraged to apply
ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines
- Interest in clinical operations, care coordination, and/or preventative care
- Ability to work independently and take initiative
Compliance(Safety & HIPAA)
- Follow all safety procedures as outlined in Neighborhood Healthcare’s Illness and Injury Prevention Plan (IIPP) and report any injuries and/or unsafe conditions immediately
- Maintain privacy of all patient, employee, and volunteer information, accessing such information only on a need-to-know basis for business purposes
- Comply with all regulations regarding corporate integrity and security obligations
- Report any behavior and/or activity that is unethical, fraudulent, or unlawful
Pay Range: $21 - $27.96 per hour, depending on experience.
Compensation Disclosure: The posted salary range reflects the designated pay grade for this position. While this range represents the broader classification of the role, actual compensation will be based on several factors, including but not limited to: the candidate’s overall knowledge, skills, and experience, market data and industry benchmarks, internal equity within the organization, Budgetary considerations and organizational needs. As a result, placement within the range is not guaranteed, and the full pay grade range may not be utilized.