Summer Internship Aligned with MBA Student’s Career Goals

While there, Mubarak, who is completing the Jenkins MBA program’s biosciences management and marketing management concentrations, said he learned much about the field where he intends to begin his career. His hope is to enter a hospital residency or fellowship program, “hopefully at Roper, Wake Forest Hospital, or Duke Hospital.”

Mubarak had never had an internship before, so his time at Roper St. Francis was a valuable new experience. “I worked with the service line director gathering and analyzing data to help with patient placement strategy,” he said. “I was in the Heart and Vascular Service Line. My big project was patient placement strategy.”

He said he learned about the Roper St. Francis internship online when he was researching and contacting hospitals regarding potential internship opportunities. Mubarak chose his particular internship “because it was in South Carolina, where I’m from, and was a good opportunity for me.” He received his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of South Carolina in May 2006, where he majored in finance and minored in sociology.

Mubarak said he chose the NC State Jenkins MBA program “because of its focus on technology, proximity to RTP (Research Triangle Park) and its industry relationships. I am interested in hospital administration and there are lots of good hospitals in the Triangle area.

During his time with Roper St. Francis, Mubarak worked both in a group and by himself. “There were a lot of team meetings,” he said. Mubarak used lessons he had learned from his graduate Operations and Supply Chain Management class, MBA 540. “Trying to improve process times was very helpful,” Mubarak said.

Mubarak also contributed to the hospital using skills he had gained from previous work experience and the Jenkins MBA program. He said he was able to bring “different ideas and solutions to problems that arose.”

The most difficult part of Mubarak’s internship was “absorbing so much information so quickly,” but once he oriented himself, he enjoyed “the people and culture. Everyone was willing to help me out with whatever I needed. They want to see people succeed and want their employees to be the best. Being in Charleston at the beach was also nice.”

Mubarak said he learned valuable lessons from working with Roper St. Francis, including:

• Always ask questions and go to work each day ready to learn something new.
• Don’t be complacent.

• Look for new ways to improve processes.

About Roper St. Francis Hospital

Roper St. Francis cares for more Lowcountry families than any other healthcare provider in our area. Anchored by Roper Hospital and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, its health system includes more than 90 facilities and doctors’ offices conveniently located throughout the region. Roper St. Francis has nearly 800 doctors on its team and is Charleston’s largest private employer with 4,700 employees.