McCullough-Hyde Hospital, Oxford Rotary fund healthcare-based internship for Talawanda students

Three students in the Talawanda School District (TSD) are working at McCullough-Hyde Hospital over the summer through an Oxford Rotary funded internship.

“It gives (them) some feel for the wide range of things that they might end up doing,” Richard Norman, chair of the Oxford Rotary Healthcare Internship Committee, said.

Norman shared that interns could even have the opportunity to deliver a baby, while previous interns of the program have gone on to go to med school.

“We would like to see, at some point, some (interns) return to the community (and) they might come back to Oxford,” Norman said.  

Amanda Reiboldt, manager of accreditation, community, physician relations and quality improvement at TriHealth, said that interns will focus on nonclinical skills during their time working at the hospital. This includes supporting clinical staff by helping the transfer of patients, running lab specimens, transporting supplies from department to department, answering phones and conversing with patients and families.  

Kortana Stigall, a newly-graduated student at Talawanda High School (THS), shared her excitement as an intern at McCullough-Hyde Hospital.

“I’m nervous,” she said. “But I’m also very excited because I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Stigall said she thinks the internship will help prepare her for her potential future work in a hospital, as she plans on studying stenography at Cincinnati State.

Stigall was one of many interns chosen by Reiboldt, as Reibolt played a role in intern selection, helping them with onboarding and assigning them to different departments in the hospital.

“I’m kind of their day-to-day contact for them when they’re in the building from a resources standpoint,” Reiboldt said. 

One aspect of the internship that Reiboldt believes is special is that each intern will have the opportunity to experience all parts of a hospital and holistically learn about life as a member of a hospital.

“We give them experience in every one of the other departments (in the hospital),” Reiboldt said. “So, at least once a week, they float to another department to learn about OB (obstetrics) or go to the OR (operating room) and see a surgery or go to the emergency department and learn about that atmosphere… they get to see every component of healthcare, not just the primary position that they’re assigned.”

Nathan Simmons, director of pharmacy services at TriHealth, said that the flexibility and opportunity that interns have to see all the parts functioning in a hospital can influence their own future careers. 

“Cross-pollination is key,” Simmons said. “There’s so many different roles within healthcare and people just go in with (the) inexperience of really not knowing what there is.”

Simmons said that he “stumbled” into pharmacy after aiming to become a physician. 

“The hospital that I worked at really needed help in the pharmacy at the time, so I started out as a pharmacy technician,” Simmons said. “When I did that, I actually fell in love with that side of the profession more.”

Simmons added that keeping in contact with interns is a key part of the program.

“If you get really good people, you reach out, early in their career, then the hope is that they’ll come back and actually practice in their hometown,” Simmons said.  

Reiboldt echoed Simmons: “We get a lot of good volunteers and kids that want to come back.”

The internship, which is open to TSD juniors and seniors, requires interns to go through an orientation in early May.

Interns started work in June, and, for eight, 40-hour weeks, will work in a real hospital setting. 

Oxford Rotary funds $10,000 of the internship, while McCullough-Hyde Foundation funds $5,000. Each intern will receive around $5,000 each for their work over the summer at the hospital.

After the internship concludes, interns are asked to share their experience at McCullough-Hyde Hospital during a Rotary meeting in early August, according to Norman.

For Reiboldt, the internship is more than what an intern does inside the hospital.

“I think it is the opportunity to grow and connect our youth (and) get them excited about healthcare and what we do,” Reiboldt said. “I think it’s something special to just be able to lean into the community (and) teach our youth about how and what we do from a healthcare standpoint.”

Simmons emphasized the internship’s focus on the future of both local youth and community.

“At some point, we have to pass the torch,” Simmons said. “You hand (the torch) off to the next generation and you want to make sure that they’re amazing.”