Kaiser internship preps area students for healthcare career

An annual paid professional internship program through Kaiser Permanente Northern California once again attracted hundreds of high school and college students eager to get a head start on a healthcare career, including 21 students from Roseville. This is the 58th year of the KP LAUNCH program, which offers students practical job skills in Kaiser hospitals and medical and administrative offices to help them pursue careers in healthcare. This summer's program wrapped up July 30. In Roseville, 21 high school and college students took part, according to Kaiser officials. The program entails students working 32 to 40 hours per week for eight weeks, mostly in non-clinical settings, including accounting, human resources, information technology, administration and support services. Eight hours a week are also devoted to professional development. In recent years, specialized internships dedicated to engineering and mental health have been added. Kevin McGoldrick, support services administration officer for Kaiser Permanente Roseville, said he has three students this summer working under managers in support services, which is responsible for facility operations. The students learned about cleaning efficiency, campus wheelchair access, operating room turnaround time, plumbing safety and customer service. "Our interns are very bright and curious, and most have not worked in a large healthcare system before," explained McGoldrick. "We tried to expose them to what it's like to work in hospital operations or patient services and ignite their passion to pursue a future career in healthcare." Students in the program say this is a rare opportunity to get hands-on experience. Anna Maxwell, 18, a graduate of Washington Middle College High School who plans to attend UC Davis and study neurobiology, said she's working in the Kaiser Permanente Roseville environmental health and safety department. "Some of my jobs (during the internship) included reviewing job safety with department managers, directors and staff. I also created educational tools for training and awareness. I worked with my supervisors to ensure safety and proper procedures were followed," said Maxwell. "I applied for a KP LAUNCH internship because it was the only accessible opportunity for me to learn more about the field of healthcare. I couldn't afford to not work over the summer, and I had no other way of getting experience within the medical field. I am getting to see healthcare first-hand and contribute to how the non-clinical and clinical parts of healthcare work together." Another student, Annie Hong, recently graduated from Bella Vista High School. She plans to attend Vassar College in New York this fall with hopes of becoming an oncologist. "Getting into KP LAUNCH was a goal I've had since sophomore year of high school," said Hong. "I've always heard amazing things about the program, and I felt that this would give me first-hand experience about what it would be like to work in the medical field. I love the community that KP LAUNCH provided. From fellow interns to those I work with in my department, I've learned new skills and created memories that I'll cherish forever. "One of my favorite experiences was when I got to see a bone marrow biopsy, as I've only read about the procedure in textbooks and it was cool to see it done in person." added Hong. To learn more about the KPLAUNCH program, including the application process, visit https://kplaunch.kaiserpermanente.org/learn-more/#application-process