Summary Report of Externship

SUMMARY REPORT OF EXTERNSHIP

By

Michele Knorr

Alison Webster

National American University

May 8, 2012

My externship began with some complications. I found out the place I was to do my externship at did not have the department necessary for me to complete my externship. I was in a frenzy not knowing what to do or where I was going to complete my requirements for my degree in Medical Staff Services Management. Luckily, I found an excellent site to fulfill my requirements, and found an awesome organization that I would love to work for. This organization was Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center. This site was located in Sioux Falls, SD; a four hour drive each day.

I began my hours on March 26, 2012 in the Medical Staff Support Department, under Rhonda Roesler, Executive Director Medical Staff Support & Compliance. Rhonda and I developed a learning plan that would give me a look at all the Medical Staff Services Professional opportunities. It all started with Rhonda and development of the annual budget for the Medical Staff Support Department, Compliance Department, and Education Department. I then spent some time with the Quality Manager, Lannette. I was able to learn about Crimson, a type of software to collect data for quality control. I worked with Glenda on a small quality data project for tracking influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines in the hospital medical records. I was also fortunate enough to sit in on a quality meeting to review the quality data that each member of the quality team had been tracking.

Next, I was able to spend time with the Credentialing team. Janet was responsible for the new credentialing applications, and Nancy was responsible for the re-credentialing of applications. During my time with Janet, I was able to access the Practitioners Data Bank, Office of Inspector General, and other websites used to verify information on each application for privileges. Janet also had me write the verification letters for work history and personal and professional references for both physicians and allied health professionals. While with Nancy, she showed me her system of