Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Health policy
This internship experience taught me a lot, but most about how policy shapes the care provided to each patient. Every procedure, task, and interaction requires policy creation to explain what care is provided and how it is provided to ensure that the patient receives the best treatment. The skills that I have been learning at La Follette provided me the needed background knowledge on health policy to understand how regulatory bodies and third-parties influence healthcare and those that work within it. I was most surprised with how complex the behind-the-scenes work is of nursing and healthcare as a whole. I have worked on the forefront of healthcare as a certified nursing assistant for close to three years now. I don’t think that I would have ever understood the large amount of work every small change or task takes in healthcare without this experience. I would most definitely recommend this internship to future students, especially to those who are looking to become a medical provider (MD, PA, NP) or nurse because of the understanding that you get. Although I believe it is incredibly important for management and administration to shadow and experience the front lines of healthcare, it may be just as important for the front-line workers to see the work on the other side of the wall. I truly believe that this would help everyone gain more mutual respect and understanding for the other party.