Recently, two Johnson County Community College students — Ithzel Perez and Shinilja Kuttipuravan —completed 10-week fall-semester internships with the Healthcare Information Technology Services (HITS) Department at KU Medical Center. The experience supplemented their studies at JCCC; both women are pursuing Associate of Science degrees with an emphasis in Health Information Systems.
During their internship program, the students met with teams throughout the medical center and health system. They attended meetings, learned about technology projects, and toured KU Medical Center’s Simulation Lab and Proton Therapy Center. They shadowed staff members in admitting, registration and nursing, and gained valuable insights into the many ways technology integrates into healthcare and supports patient care. To cap off their internship experience, the students researched and prepared a presentation that presented real-life scenarios and proposed recommendations and solutions.
Perez was quoted in a KU Medical Center newsletter as saying, “The most interesting part of the internship is getting to meet [people who work in] different professions in the healthcare IT field as well as getting involved in meetings and projects.”
Internships like these are one of the many ways JCCC ensures students gain a well-rounded education that exposes them to the many paths and possibilities in their chosen area of study. Typically, internships provide an interactive “real-life” introduction to a business or workplace and give students an opportunity to try on a specific role or position. In this case, the students’ internship experiences expanded their understanding of how their Healthcare Information Systems education can apply to different positions and roles.
Finding information about internships is easy
JCCC students don’t have to identify internship opportunities on their own. Some programs of study make students aware of internships offered by organizations that often hire program graduates. In addition, the JCCC Career Development Center provides all JCCC students and alumni with tools and experiences that fuel personal and career success.
The Center offers interactive workshops and assessments that help students identify their values, interests, strengths, skills and even their personality types so they can choose career paths and areas of study that align with what they enjoy and who they are.
Once a student has an area of study in mind, the Career Development Center staff can guide them to explore career pathways, identify job shadowing opportunities, or apply for internships like the program completed by Perez and Kuttipuravan.
“Internships are a great way for students to experience the day-to-day work required by their chosen career,” explains Leslie Washington, Director, Career and Transfer Services. “They help build confidence by increasing the students’ understanding of what a chosen career actually involves, and the relationships they build in the workplace as interns are often helpful contributors to a student’s job search.”
Internships help the organizations that host interns, too.
“Internships are a great recruitment tool for businesses,” says Washington. “It exposes tomorrow’s workforce to their organization, which builds awareness and understanding of how the organization functions. It also brings the organizations talented students who offer great skills, information and ideas to enrich the function and support the mission of the business. And hosting an intern is a great way to foster and develop leadership skills among the employees tasked with working with them.”
Matt Smith, System Director, IT Operations and Support, with KU Medical Center, was quoted in the same KU Medical Center newsletter article about his experience working with Perez and Kuttipuravan. “This program has really opened my eyes to how important it is to share what we have learned over the years to those just getting started in the industry… . This program truly gave our JCCC interns the ability to see many different aspects of healthcare, IT across our numerous teams, and how we as IT professionals truly impact the health system, our customers, and, indirectly, patient care.”
To learn more about hosting an intern
If your business is interested in learning more about how to provide an internship to a JCCC student pursuing coursework that aligns with your industry, contact Amy Smith, Internship and Employer Relations Coordinator, at 913-469-3598 or asmit403@jccc.edu.
