Internship spotlight: MBA student Emily Skiles, LMH Health

MBA student Emily Skiles spent the summer working for LMH Health as an intern in the operational excellence department.

Tell us about your internship — where did you work and what did the position entail?

This summer I worked at LMH Health as an intern in the operational excellence department. The position entailed working with clinical and administrative departments all over the hospital to help them streamline their workflows and processes to reduce waste and become more efficient. As part of the internship, I became Yellow Belt certified in Lean Six Sigma and am currently working toward my Green Belt certification.

How did you get connected with this opportunity?

I heard about this opportunity from my supply chain professor — the OpEx director had reached out to the KU MBA program to let them know about an internship position in the department, and the professor passed the information on to the class. I thought it sounded like a good opportunity that aligned with my interests and career goals, so I applied.

What were your favorite parts of the internship experience?

My favorite part of the internship was learning about all the different areas of the hospital and how they work together to provide quality care for patients. This internship allowed me to see both the clinical and administrative sides of the organization and challenged me to use my creativity and problem-solving skills to help them overcome the unique barriers they experience while providing patient care.

How do you feel like you benefited from the position?

The Lean Six Sigma certifications that I earned through this internship will help me stand out in my future career. These skills and tools can be help me be successful at any company or in any position I may have in the future.

How did you feel like the internship related to your experience in the MBA program?

This internship tied together concepts that we covered in finance, marketing, and supply chain classes in the MBA program. Seeing how the theories and tools we learned about in class can be applied in a real business really helped to solidify my understanding of them, while also giving me more context in which to apply the concepts I will learn later in the MBA program.