The health services management internship allows students the opportunity to use course knowledge to gain valuable skills and professional experience in the field while completing their education. An internship allows for experiential learning, is for a limited period of time, can be paid or unpaid and is a combination of education and actionable work. The intern will work under close supervision of existing staff and will not displace regular employees or perform duties a regular employee would be responsible for due to their experience/expertise.

General Requirements

  • Minimum of 200 hours of applied leadership/management experience at a health care/services related organization or department that: 
    • Provides healthcare services (e.g., hospital, clinic, long-term care facility)
    • Oversees or regulates healthcare services (e.g., government regulatory agency, department of health)
      Pays for health care services (e.g. HMO, PPO)
    • Other health-related organizations (consulting, risk management, accounting firm, marketing, etc.)
  • Start and end dates must align with academic term dates (September 5-December 13, 2023, January 16-April 29, 2024, or June 3-August 9, 2024)
  • Assigned mentor at internship site
  • Roles/responsibilities aligned with health services management (see next page)
  • Completion of 1-credit HSM 4596: HSM Internship course during same term
  • Final presentation reflecting applied skills and their impact in internship role 

Roles/Responsibilities

The activities that HSM interns perform vary widely based on the needs of the organization and the skills and interests of the intern. These may include, but are not limited to:

  • Participate in professional development activities (e.g., attending conferences, observing staff/committee meetings, informational interviews)
  • Assist in revising and/or creating health-related policies or procedures
  • Develop or coordinate a strategic action plan; work on health care/services related data for community reports
  • Engage with human resources related topics including job analysis procedures, formulation of job descriptions, staffing needs, recruitment procedures, etc.
  • Assist with quality improvement surveys and participate in evaluation of results
  • Engage in development and/or rollout of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
  • Assist administrative and/or clinical support team members in documenting workflows
  • Recommend improvements for operational efficiencies and/or cost savings
  • Assist in the creation of communications, grant applications, and fundraising materials
  • Assist with completing change management workbooks for projects to create a solid change management action plan
    Support staff with marketing and/or public relations campaigns
  • Assist in the analysis of IT infrastructure / software effectiveness as it relates to healthcare operations, including databases, reporting systems, etc.
  • Engage in activities related to healthcare insurance requirements, regulations and compliance for improving healthcare access 
  • Complete tasks related to medical sales (e.g., health insurance, durable medical equipment) 

What does not qualify for an HSM Internship?

Direct patient care or any internship that requires direct care hours to obtain internship
Administrative support roles (typing, filing, scanning, scheduling patients, etc.)
Positions at non-healthcare related organizations
Faculty research
Current job role


For additional information, contact the HSM internship coordinator, Alissa Bigelow, at hsminternships@umn.edu or 612-625-5276.