Vic Management Interns' blog

Blog posts by Victorian Management Interns of the Australasian College of Health Service Management. Views are those of the individual authors and not those of ACHSM or management interns’ host organisations or employers.


Tais Lildaree
Tais Lildaree

Health Management Interns, ACHSM

What interns think of the health management internship program

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Dinh

17 Nov 2015

The VIC HMIP is quite different to the HMIP program in other states as interns rotate through four placements in different organisations. Having been in the program for almost a year, we would like to give you a summary of what the program is all about, things we found useful and what to look forward to.

Before the program my knowledge of health was limited. Since starting the program I have been exposed to high level discussions in health. At the Department of Health & Human Services I was the secretariat for the Public Health Services CEO and Department of Health & Human Services forum. I often think back to what positions I would need to give me this high level exposure. How many people in an organisation are able to see and speak to their CEO? I feel very fortunate to have been given these opportunities in my internship.

The College also provides a mentor which is a great way to share your experiences and reflect on your learnings. My mentor has been my pillar of support, my voice of reason and has been able to impart her wealth of wisdom. She has helped me understand and overcome the challenges faced not only professionally but personally as well. She has also helped me to network with other high level professionals in the industry.

The breakfast forums, EHM forums and Congress are all really good networking opportunities. I was able to meet and speak with my idol Dale Fisher from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She has been an inspiration to many of us particularly women in leadership positions. The best advice that Dale gave me was that “instead of thinking how lucky you are to have worked in this capacity, think about how lucky these people are to have you working for them!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above: Jane Dinh with Dale Fisher

Through this program I have also made very great friendships with the other Victorian interns. We have shared our experiences and learnings with one another and have provided immense support during difficult times.

 

 

 

 

Above from left to right: Hannah Kennedy, Laura Creaton, Rubin Ng, Jane Dinh, Nuri Besimovski, Maria Cazar and Yilin Zhang

In my current placement at Cabrini Health, I have been given so much support and the range of projects they have included me on has varied from transitioning patients to nursing home, inpatient communication strategies, updating an orthopaedic joint replacement brochure and reducing printing costs for the organisation.

The ACHSM Management Competencies Assessment Tool is very useful to guide me in competencies that I need to address. In my third rotation I will be based at SouthWest Healthcare in Warrnambool in Human Resources. This will give me exposure to human resources and financial management.

This program has been a great learning opportunity to experiment and experience different departments within health and the various health settings. I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested in a health management career.



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