Patient Experience Spring Internship

Patient Experience (PX) Ambassador Internship for spring 2020
Application opens today, September 16, 2019 and closes October 7, 2019

Patient Experience Ambassador Program          

Banner-UMC/Pre-Health Professions Advising Center

2020  SPRING Application - Application is for ONE SEMESTER.

Please read the information about this opportunity carefully.  The application deadline is Monday, October 7, 2019 by 11:00 AM.    There is a required orientation and immunization clearances are required of the students selected.  Submission of your application is your agreement to meet these requirements. 

1.     The application for this semester-long opportunity is online and can be accessed through the link at the end of this explanation.

2.     The training and immunization clearances required for Banner-UMC are completed through an online company called myClinicalExchange (mCE) and the company will charge you directly for this service ($36.50).  Separately, you must pass a drug screening test (additional cost paid to the lab of $25.00).  Please note that neither Banner-UMC nor the Pre-Health Professions Advising Center receives any of these funds.

a.      Training modules completed for mCE will include HIPAA and professionalism among other topics.

b.     Immunization clearances involve submitting proof of MMR, Varicella (chicken pox) and 2 negative TB tests

3.     This spring internship is a 3 credit, upper division course and billed through the Bursar’s office as a regular UA course.

4.     Total contact hours you are required to complete is 120. 

5.     The course requirements involve regular journal submissions and a final reflective paper submitted through your D2L class site.  There is also a project submitted directly to the internship liaison at BUMC.

Potential PX Ambassadors may contact the Pre-Health Professions Advising Office at 520-621-7763 with questions. This internship opportunity is limited to 40 students.  You will be notified by the end of October, 2019, regarding whether or not you have been accepted for the program.

The Patient Experience (PX) Program is a patient contact experience, designed for students intending to apply to health professional programs who have completed at least one year of college (at UA or who have transferred to UA from another college/university).  There is no preference given for an applicant's particular career path within the health professions. The patient experience ambassador will be assigned to a care unit at Banner University Medical Center-Tucson, either main campus or south campus (you will be able to indicate one or both sites as preferences). Ambassadors will be responsible for rounding on patients by utilizing an established rounding process and guidelines.  Rounding is defined as the act of proactively meeting with patients and discussing needs such as communication with staff, hospitalization and stay, safety, and plan of care. After the PX Ambassador has rounded with the patients, the Ambassador then summarizes the findings and action is taken by the hospital providers. 

The role of the Patient Experience Ambassador is to enhance patient-centered care and satisfaction through facilitation of need based communication between patient, family, and staff.  Interns will gain the following: effective communication skills; a better understanding of patient satisfaction determinants; increased awareness of health care system service quality and protocols; knowledge of methods to evaluate patient satisfaction and the impact that this satisfaction has on the hospital; and exposure to health administration and other public health challenges.  PX Ambassadors will also provide valuable information to Banner University Medical Center regarding opportunities to improve care as well as analyses of needs relevant to specific health care patient populations.  

You will negotiate your shifts with the nurse/unit leader (supervisor) of the unit to which you are assigned but you will need to plan for 10-12 hours per week of time at the hospital.  If you are interested, please complete the online application.  DEADLINE TO APPLY IS Monday, October 7, 2019 by 11:00 AM.  The date stamp on the application determines its time of submission.  Please review the timeline and the steps shown above which are required to become a PX Ambassador. Preference will be given to students who have some prior clinical experience.

This application process is designed to familiarize applicants with the application process to health professional programs.  Attention to detail and ability to articulate your interest in health professions is critical. 

The PRIMARY APPLICATION FOR the 2020 Spring Patient Experience (PX) SPRING Program is available through this link: https://clas.arizona.edu/eform/submit/patient-advocacy-program

REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications include the following:

Excellent communication skills. Excellent organizational and time management skills. Prioritization of patient-centered care; excellent customer service. Attention to detail. Ability to perform routine tasks effectively. Flexibility. Good judgment.

Thanks,

Leah

Leah Martinez

Academic Advisor I, Pre-Health Professions Advisor
clas.arizona.edu  | 520-621-7763 | Bear Down Gym