Mikayla Seiter was a Continuous Improvement Intern at Intermountain Health during Winter 2026.
Briefly explain what you did and the result of your internship.
I had the opportunity to lead continuous improvement projects across a few different hospitals in Utah County and coach cavegivers in completing their own continuous improvement projects. In one project, I worked to improve turnaround times for certain tests in the inpatient laboratory at Utah Valley Hospital, while on another, I worked on creating a nurse staffing calculator with anticipated savings of over $300k each year for the hospital and decreasing overstaffing by up to 8 FTEs. All of the projects I worked on allowed me to understand the healthcare industry better and put strategy and process improvement skills to use in a real-world setting. I really appreciated the opportunity to practice what I've been learning in classes and also the chance to network with so many incredible healthcare executives during the internship.
What did you learn on your internship that you were not expecting to learn?
I came into the internship knowing that I was being thrown into deep waters. I knew that there was a lot I didn't understand and my goal was to learn what I didn't know I didn't know and to get some guidance for my career path. I learned SO much. It was really cool to be exposed to all the healthcare language and processes that I didn't know about and to realize what areas I can explore in the future to learn more.
How have your future plans changed because of what you learned from your internship experience?
During the internship, I learned a lot about how a hospital works. I learned about a lot of the moving parts in healthcare administration and on the clinical side and was exposed to roles and departments I didn't even know existed. It helped me see what my interests are in healthcare and has allowed me to pursue those interests by talking to professionals in those areas who work for Intermountain.
Please share how your experience led to personal inspiration or insightful revelation.
Some of my projects were really challenging, and I found myself praying for inspiration and for guidance as I tried to figure out the root causes and solutions to the issues I was facing in my journey. It is really cool to see how the Lord will bless us as we come to Him for help.
Would you recommend this internship to other students?
YES! This internship is one of the BEST undergraduate healthcare internships you can get. It is unpaid, but you learn SO much and can get access to almost any meeting or professional you want to talk to.
Is there anything else you would like to say regarding your internship?
It was amazing!
