In 2019, the equity and inclusion team at Children’s Minnesota worked hard to revamp the organization’s internship program. The goal of this new and improved internship program is to expose high school and college students to different career options at Children’s, as well as to allow students the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the work they’re doing. Additionally, students who are not sure of the career path they want to pursue will have a chance to explore many different employment options through an internship. On the first day of their internship, the new employees were brought together for a brainstorming exercise similar to the popular ABC show, Shark Tank. During this exercise, interns were put into small groups to brainstorm ways to improve operations at Children’s. Amina Nooh, an intern with administration, was part of a group that thought about new ways to have a different, more covered hospital gown available to patients.
“I realized that gowns at Children’s have an open back, which could be uncomfortable for people with a religious or cultural background where they tend to cover themselves more,” Amina explained. “Those patients, specifically girls, could be much more comfortable if their hospital gowns covered more.”
When Amina shared this idea with her team, another intern mentioned the need for extra Hijabs for Muslim patients, just in case something happened to their Hijab on the way to the hospital or at the hospital. So, if they needed to change their Hijab, they have extras available at the hospital.
“This exercise taught me how a team is necessary to come up with even better ideas!”
Amina attends the Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas. She found out about this opportunity through her internship advisor at school. During her internship with administrative services, Amina worked primarily at the front desk.
“I have learned a lot in my internship. I was amazed at how much really goes into hospital administration roles. I loved how everyone was very supportive. Overall, this was a great experience!”
