Celebrating 50 years: Training future health care leaders

“Once a fellow, always a fellow!” says Lauren Hoogendyk, executive director, MGH Orthopedics and MGH Outpatient Surgery Centers. “I completed the MGH Administrative Fellowship in 2012 and the people I met through that network remain the first ones I turn to for council and advice.” The MGH Administrative Fellowship Program is a two-year, consolidated, hands-on work experience, giving participants a front row seat to management and administration at the hospital. Now in its 50th year, 72 people have completed the program since its inception.

“The access to high-level decision-making and process creation through the fellowship is second to none,” says Sally Mason Boemer, executive vice president of MGH Administration and MGH/MGPO chief financial officer.

Mason Boemer would know – she was a fellow from 1993 to1995, and she now oversees the program.

“I believe so strongly in this fellowship and what I gained from it. Many fellowships are one year, but ours is two – that’s needed given the size, scope and complexity of MGH. We embed the fellows in the hospital, and they get to contribute in real, meaningful ways,” she says.

The rotations are broad enough to be timeless, but they also evolve as health care changes. In that way, that blend of history, tradition and adaptation, it’s so MGH. We change with the times, but our core values remain the same.

Sally Mason Boemer
Executive Vice President of MGH Administration and MGH/MGPO Chief Financial Officer

The program is competitive, with more than 200 people applying for the one or two available opportunities each year. Fellows rotate through key MGH departments including Finance, Patient Care Services, Patient Advocacy and Human Resources. They participate in senior operations teams and fundamental projects that support departmental initiatives. Fellows also shadow members of the hospital’s leadership team to understand day-to-day challenges and the decision-making process.

“What I find fascinating is that the rotations have not changed much over the history of the fellowship. That’s special,” says Mason Boemer. “The rotations are broad enough to be timeless, but they also evolve as health care changes. In that way, that blend of history, tradition and adaptation, it’s so MGH. We change with the times, but our core values remain the same.”

The fellows are supported throughout the process by a broad network. During each rotation, they are assigned a senior level preceptor who provides feedback and direction. This exposes the fellow to more leadership styles and allows mentoring relationships to form organically. Participants also become connected to past fellows who are now immersed in the Boston health care community and beyond.

“This program has trained some of the most accomplished leaders in the health care sector,” says Douglas Spivak, a 2020 to 2022 fellow who is now senior administrative manager in MGH Orthopedics. “Getting the chance to work with and learn from them has been invaluable.”

To mark the fellowship’s 50th anniversary, participants past and present gathered at the MGH Russell Museum on May 3 for a reunion. Fellows – many who have turned into friends –listened to speakers and heard how the experience shaped their career. They also exchanged stories, memories, and talked about what the program has added to their lives. “The fellowship program really teaches you how things are done administratively at a large academic health center. MGH is like a small city, so this experience makes a world of difference,” says Hoogendyk.

For more information on the MGH Administrative Fellowship Program, visit: Administrative Fellowship Program.