Internships

The Minnesota Prepared Internship program provides students with paid opportunities to work in governmental public health agencies on COVID-19 response and emergency preparedness projects. Grant funds will cover intern wages, so there will be no direct costs incurred by public health agencies who host students for internships. Interns will be hired and paid through the University, but complete all their hours with the public health agency hosting them.

Internship Program Goals

Provide valuable learning experiences to public health students
Introduce students to governmental public health and emergency preparedness as career paths
Enhance public health agencies’ projects through high-quality student work
Build and strengthen relationships between public health agencies, students, and the School of Public Health

Benefits of Internships

Develop the skills of the future public health workforce
Introduce students to meaningful public service careers in governmental public health
Benefit the community through mentorship of the next generation of public health professionals

How to Participate in the Internship Program

For Public Health Agencies Interested in Hosting a Student Intern

If you have a project in COVID-19 response or emergency preparedness that may be appropriate for a student to work on, please complete the host site interest form. If you would like assistance developing a project, or have questions, email Kinsey Mannebach, project coordinator, at manne127@umn.edu.

MPH students can work a total of 300 hours on a project, and undergraduate students in the public health minor can work up to 200 hours on a project. The projects can be on-site, remote, or hybrid according to your agency’s needs. Grant funds will pay the student and they will be hired through the University. For more details, please reference the Host Site Internship Manual (opens in new tab/window).

Eligibility criteria to host an intern:

State, local, or tribal public health agency in Minnesota
Engaged in COVID-19 response and emergency preparedness activities
Could benefit from support with projects in emergency preparedness/COVID-19 response
Able to commit time to supervise and mentor a student intern

Process overview:

Determine a project for which an intern could be helpful
Fill out the host site interest form. Project submissions are accepted on a rolling basis.
Receive intern match
Finalize internship details such as work hours and a project timeline
Conduct orientation and onboarding
Supervise and mentor the intern throughout the project
Evaluate your experience at the midpoint and closure of internship

Between 2021-2022, 100% of supervisors who hosted a public health student from SPH were satisfied with the quality of the student’s work.

For SPH Students Interested in Completing an Internship

If you are interested in gaining hands-on, paid experience in a public health agency, consider applying for an internship. Even if you believe you know what career you want to have, it never hurts to explore something different and make connections in the field. For more details, please reference the Student Internship Manual.

Timing:

COVID-19 response and emergency preparedness internships through Minnesota Prepared will be posted on a rolling semester basis. Keep an eye on the SPHere student newsletter, and check back here for project descriptions. Spring 2023 internship project descriptions will be posted at the end of November 2022.

Eligibility:

Internships are open to all School of Public Health (SPH) students and undergraduates in the UMN public health minor. If you are an MPH student, you can use the internship to satisfy the Applied Practice requirement with a few additional steps. Undergraduate students in the public health minor can work on projects for up to 200 total hours, and graduate students can work on projects up to 300 total hours.

Benefits to participating in the internship program:

Explore a career path without the commitment of a full or part time job
Work on exciting projects in a public health agency
Learn more about public service and governmental public health
Apply your knowledge and skills from the classroom in the field
Grow a professional network
Satisfy the Applied Practice requirement for MPH students, if applicable

Features that characterize an internship:

A set start and end date (totaling up to 200 hours for undergraduate and 300 for graduate)
A defined work plan with goals and aims
Learning objectives
Supervision and mentorship
Development of both field-related and soft skills
Ongoing communication about the project with site supervisor/preceptor
Evaluation and feedback

Steps in the internship process:

Apply to the internship program.
A review committee will use a rubric to match students with internship opportunities based on their application materials. Preference will be given to MPH students who plan to use the internship to complete their Applied Practice.
Meet with the host site and SPH to confirm the internship match.
Review project details, work plan, and logistics (hours, start and end date, etc.) with the host site.
Go through applicable orientation and onboarding.
Work diligently throughout the project, maintaining communication with SPH and the host site.
Evaluate your experience through a midpoint and final electronic survey.

Applied Practice

If you would like to use your internship as your Applied Practice, you are responsible for communicating that with the host site, drafting a learning agreement, and enrolling in course credit.

Details can be found on the SPH applied practice website, and questions can be directed to Mercedes Taneja, applied practice coordinator, estra021@umn.edu.

Past Internships

Summer 2022 (pilot partnership with the Center for Public Health Systems)

Assessment of Capacity and Emergency Preparedness Plans

Student conducted an analysis of the agency’s current plans, worked on developing a plan for training key staff, and created a COVID-19 community recovery toolkit

Site: Horizon County Public Health
Intern: MPH student (Epidemiology)

COVID-19 Impact Assessment

Student reviewed the existing community health needs assessment tool and helped design and implement a new survey to assess community health needs in the wake of COVID-19

Site: Polk County Public Health
Intern: MPH student (Epidemiology)

Assessment of Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 on Health Department Staff

Student assisted with the evaluation and assessment of a staff wellbeing initiative to address burnout and used the data to create a presentation of the assessment.

Site: Pine County Public Health
Intern: MPH student (Community Health Promotion

Fall 2022

COVID-19 After Action Review

Student reviewed and organized information from COVID-19 after-action reviews and key informant interviews into a report to help determine next steps in the after-action review and improvement planning process.

Site: Otter Tail County Public Health
Intern: MPH student (Epidemiology)

Medical Reserve Corps. Volunteer Program Redevelopment

Students conducted a needs assessment and assisted with organization and planning for redeveloping the volunteer program.

Site: City of Bloomington Public Health Division
Interns: 2 MPH students (1 from Environmental Health and 1 from Public Health Administration and Policy)

Survey Design and Analysis of Businesses that had COVID-19 Case Clusters

Student created a survey and analyzed findings from businesses that had COVID-19 case clusters during the pandemic.

Site: MDH Center for Occupational Health and Safety
Intern: MPH student (Maternal & Child Health)

Monitoring and Evaluation of COVID-19 Community Programs

Student supported the monitoring and evaluation of community partnerships and contractor work to prevent COVID-19 infection and support community recovery.

Site: MDH Center for Health Equity
Intern: MHA student

COVID-19 Health Equity Research

Student conducted research on health inequities for communities hit hardest by the pandemic who have experienced long-standing inequities, community engagement models, and the latest equity knowledge on community recovery.

Site: MDH Center for Health Equity
Intern: MPH student (Epidemiology)

COVID-19 Response and Recovery in the Disability Community

Student planned and conducted community forums and assisted with analyzing disability data.

Site: MDH Children & Youth with Special Health Needs Section
Intern: MPH student (Maternal & Child Health)

Spring 2023

Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan Development

Student reviewed and updated existing emergency preparedness plans and assisted with building new emergency preparedness plans as needed.

Site: Crow Wing County Community Services
Intern: MPH student (Public Health Administration and Policy)

After Action Report and Improvement Plan Tracking Database

Student developed and implemented a tracking tool in REDCap to monitor after-action reports and follow up corrective actions.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: MPH student (Environmental Health)

Emergency Preparedness and Response Qualitative Research

Student collaborated with authors and researched journal requirements to submit a qualitative research article about emergency preparedness and disaster behavioral health.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: MPH student (Community Health Promotion)

Responder Health and Safety Annex Development

Graduate and undergraduate student collaborated to develop an outline for the Responder Health and Safety annex to the All-Hazards Response and Recovery Plan.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Interns: MPH student (Public Health Administration and Policy) and undergraduate student (Microbiology major with Public Health and Computational Biology minors)

Emergency Preparedness and Response Inventory and Tracking

Student created a current inventory of emergency preparedness and response supplies and developed a process to track supplies and maintain a current inventory.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: Undergraduate student (Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior major with Public Health minor)

Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps. Member Communications

Student developed communication materials for the statewide Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps. including creating a member newsletter, building a site for training and tools, and updating the volunteer handbook.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: Undergraduate student (Nursing major with Public Health minor)

Summer 2023

Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan Development

Student assessed emergency preparedness and response equipment inventory, developed interactive learning games for staff, consolidated partner contacts, and developed an emergency preparedness social media plan.

Site: Carver County Public Health
Intern: MPH student (Environmental Health Sciences)

Public Health Emergency Preparedness Community Communication Toolkit

Student developed tools and templates for local public health agencies regarding volunteer engagement, recruitment, and awareness of public health emergency preparedness, taking knowledge from COVID-19 to enhance response.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: MPH student (Public Health Nutrition)

COVID-19 School Health Website Revamp

Student updated the MDH school health website to include learnings from COVID-19 and changes since the pandemic.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: MPH student (Public Health Administration and Policy)

COVID-19 Response Qualitative Research

Student collaborated with governmental public health staff to gather information and draft emergency preparedness and response articles, primarily based on the MDH Emergency Preparedness and Response Division’s COVID-19 work.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: MPH student (Public Health Administration and Policy)

Emergency Preparedness Disability Planning Literature Review

Student conducted a literature review of disability related planning and emergency preparedness and response activities in the United States, paying special attention to lessons learned from the COVID-19 response.

Site: MDH Center for Health Equity
Intern: MPH student (Epidemiology)

Disability Data Dashboard

Student compiled disability data measures, researched data communication best practices, and developed dashboard design ideas to build off lessons learned through the pandemic and strengthen the state’s ability to more adequately serve persons with disabilities in emergency preparedness and response.

Site: MDH Center for Health Equity
Intern: MPH student (Data Science)

COVID-19 Case Research

Students collected data on long COVID symptoms and infant COVID infection to improve understanding of COVID in specific population subgroups, identify potential opportunities for intervention, and create guidance documents.

Site: MDH Emerging Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Response Team
Intern: 3 MPH students (Epidemiology)

Healthcare Preparedness Stories Collection

Student interviewed regional health care preparedness coordinators and members of health care coalitions to capture the importance of Minnesota’s health care coalitions in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities by providing firsthand accounts through stories.

Site: MDH Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Intern: Undergraduate student (BIS with studies focused on public health and medical writing)

Advancing Health Equity

Student supported efforts to address COVID-19 Disparities through data analysis, such as conducting COVID-19 and other data analysis that moves the focus from disparities to structural and systemic drivers of the disparities, including disaggregated analysis, collinearity, and intersectionality/layers of inequities.

Site: MDH Center for Health Equity
Intern: PhD student (Environmental Health Sciences)

Linked Trauma Dataset

Student worked on data analysis to create a linked dataset with all EMS, trauma hospitals, and border hospital data on Minnesota patients, the need for which arose out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Site: MDH Division of Health Policy
Intern: PhD student (Health Services Research, Policy, & Administration)