Healthcare Leadership Practicum Prepares Students for Healthcare Industry

As a part of Valpo’s healthcare leadership program, students become well-equipped to serve as the leaders of tomorrow in the healthcare industry. Degree requirements such as the Healthcare Leadership Practicum provide students with hands-on experience in a professional setting.

During her practicum at Porter-Starke Services, a mental health center for adults, families, and children with mental health or substance abuse issues, Katherine Gates ’16 was exposed to multiple facets of management geared toward improving the center for patients and employees alike. She wrote policies and procedures, generated ideas for nursing recruitment and retention, created contracts, provided website development insight, as well as assisted with staff productivity.

“My time at Porter-Starke has been eye-opening,” Katherine says. “Their team was constantly looking for ways to improve their facility and their teamwork to ensure better care. The experience made me excited for my future in the healthcare industry.”

At Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehabilitation, Gina Testolin ’16 focused on making the healthcare process easier on parents of the children undergoing rehabilitation. With the many recent changes in the healthcare industry, parents need to learn how these changes affect how their child will receive care. Gina developed educational materials for parents so they can effectively make decisions concerning the care of their child.

“The work I am doing at Jacob’s Ladder has given me the opportunity to learn through interacting with a diverse group of parents,” Gina says. “It has given me a better understanding of the communication barriers that are present in the pediatric healthcare field and how to overcome those barriers.”