Medical Student Summer Internship

Healthcare Quality & Safety Medical Student Summer Internship

The Penn Center for Healthcare Improvement & Patient Safety (Penn CHIPS) offers a summer internship opportunity for one Perelman School of Medicine student during the summer between their first and second year of medical school.

This 9-week program provides a structured introduction to the field of healthcare quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS). The selected intern will participate in an immersion experience within the Practice Innovation and Advancement (PIA) Team within the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). This placement offers exposure to a leading healthcare system actively engaged in QI/PS initiatives, with opportunities to contribute to analytical work, project facilitation, and team-based improvement efforts.

Although the immersion takes place within the Department of Pediatrics, the internship is not limited to students pursuing pediatrics. The skills and experiences gained, such as systems-based thinking, process improvement, and patient safety science, are broadly applicable across all medical specialties.

This is a joint CHOP–Penn Medicine internship and is designed for medical students interested in developing a foundation in healthcare quality and safety, regardless of their ultimate field of clinical focus

About Penn CHIPS:

The Penn Center for Healthcare Improvement & Patient Safety (Penn CHIPS) at the University of Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s leading hubs for education and leadership to improve the quality of healthcare for all patients. Penn CHIPS trains students in healthcare quality and safety in an inter-professional learning environment and provides mentored experiences that empower them to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in their chosen area of interest.

About CHOP PIA:

The Practice Innovation and Advancement (PIA) team provides project management and data and analytic support for quality and patient safety (QPS) initiatives in the Department of Pediatrics, as well as support for manuscript development and education/skill-building in QPS.

Education

Participate in virtual and in-person didactic and interactive learning.

Experience

Hands-on QI work on real healthcare improvement projects.

Mentorship

Partner with experienced mentors during the course of the internship.

Project Work:

Interns will be exposed to a variety of projects that may involve domains such as patient safety, operations, process improvement, quality, and strategy.

Both graduate and undergraduate interns will lead a project using the CHOP improvement framework culminating in a final presentation at the conclusion of the summer.

Duration, Time Commitment, and Format:

• 9 weeks between June and August (6/14/2027 -8/12/2027)
• Interns are expected to work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, and between the hours of 8AM – 5PM. The specific daily hours are ultimately up to the intern and their team lead/mentor.
• Interns should plan to be on-site at CHOP 1-2 days per week.

Learning Modes:

Project work, facilitated workshops, observation

Program Leadership:

The Penn CHIPS Medical Student Summer Internship is led by Neha Patel, MD, MS; Director of Resident and Student Initiatives. The intern will join members in PIA at CHOP and will have a dedicated individual from that team assigned as a team lead/mentor.

Objectives:

• To develop knowledge of and an appreciation for the clinical and the administrative aspects involved in the delivery of high-quality pediatric care
• To witness the impact of the organization’s commitment to patient-centered and safe patient care
• To assist on various projects that are of value to the organization and will assist the student in meeting the internship objectives
• To gain insight into successful personal, professional, and organizational behavior by observing experienced executives and professionals

Other Requirements:

• Interns must attend the Penn Medicine Healthcare Leadership in Quality Track didactics, a two-day bootcamp in Quality Improvement that offers exposure to models and approaches used to tackle problems in healthcare delivery systems. (two full days in the summer, exact dates will be released soon.)
• Complete the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety. We suggest that these certification modules be started as soon as the internship begins.

Application Requirements

• Applicants must be a current (year one) University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine student.
• Letter of Interest (no more than one page)
• CV
• Applicants will be interviewed by Penn CHIPS and the CHOP PIA internship leadership team.

Any internship questions should be directed to Dr. Neha Patel at neha.patel@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.