Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108077

Jessica Riccio, BA and John Loeb, MSS. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 260 South Broad Street, 18th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-985-2518, jessica@phmc.org

Sustaining a strong public health workforce is dependent upon agencies' ability to bring well-educated, well-informed and strategic staff to public health. The Philadelphia Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health agency that has served the community since 1972, accomplishes that by coordinating an intensive and broad-based internship program for Master's level social work and public health students. In addition to completing specific assignments under a supervisor at PHMC, each month the interns meet with PHMC's senior vice president to discuss non-profit management and organizational dynamics. Using case studies and discussions, the students are encouraged to analyze and explore organizational challenges facing public health agencies. During these meetings, vice presidents from the various direct service and administrative components such as research, human resources and communications also meet with students to discuss their role in the agency's work. Preliminary focus group findings suggest that the PHMC internship program encourages students to seek employment at the organization. Some former interns currently hold senior level positions at PHMC.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to

• Identify elements of a successful interdisciplinary internship program that engage master’s level public health and social work students in a public health agency
• Describe a range of graduate-level internship projects applicable to public health
• Evaluate the mutual beneficence of establishing such a program for students and the public health agency

Keywords: Students, Public Health Careers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.