Fellowship Mentorship

Ochsner Health System Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and former fellow himself, Mike Hulefeld is the Program Chair and oversees all aspects of each concentration. Each Fellowship Concentration has an Executive Leader that acts as the Preceptor to assist in guiding the curriculum, provide feedback, one-on-one mentoring, progressive evaluations, and preceptor facilitated experiences. With the long history of Ochsner’s Fellowship program and the successful retention of past fellows currently holding leadership roles throughout the organization, it provides fellows the opportunity to interact and learn valuable lessons, making lifelong mentors and friends.

Why Ochsner?

Ochsner Health System has been providing high-quality clinical and hospital patient care to Louisiana residents since 1942. Our healthcare family, comprising of more than 18,000 employees and over 2,700 affiliated physicians—is driven by our commitment to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, and that passion is shared with every person who passes through our doors.

What We Believe

Our values are fundamental.

• Patients are always our Priority
• Approach every encounter with Compassion
• Always act with Integrity
• Excellence is an ongoing Journey
• Teamwork makes us Stronger

These values are a way to find the purpose and happiness in what we do in an environment that is growing more complex and chaotic every day. The values are evident in all aspects of our lives and as an organization, our ability to demonstrate the values is all in our hands.

As southeast Louisiana’s largest nonprofit, academic, multispecialty healthcare delivery system, Ochsner’s 30 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and over 80 neighborhood health centers are all connected electronically to provide convenience and the best possible care for our patients. Close collaboration between our clinicians and scientists helps to bring innovative medical discoveries from the laboratory to our patients’ bedsides. We’re deeply dedicated to our patients and are honored to have been the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” in two specialty categories. Ochsner is also a national leader in medical research, conducting more than 1000 clinical research studies every year and producing 200 annual publications in medical literature. We’re one of the largest non-university-based physician training centers in the U.S.

Rotations throughout Ochsner Facilities

Ochsner Health System is the largest not-for-profit health system in Louisiana and one of the largest independent academic health systems in the United States. Our fellowship program’s first priority is the long-term leadership needs of Ochsner Health System; our second priority is the immediate needs and opportunities available within our organization. With these priorities, we will assign fellows to rotations according to their abilities, interests and need for their continued development. We will make every effort to provide all fellows with an experience in their area of interest, but request flexibility in order to accommodate our organizational needs and opportunities. While planning fellow’s rotations, we encourage each fellow to participate in the self-guidance of their experience to gain as much knowledge, at the end of their fellowship, so each will be a strong candidate for positions they wish to pursue. Each fellow will be assigned to a specific Ochsner location and preceptor, where the majority of the rotation assignments will take place.

At Ochsner, we try to give each fellow an opportunity to experience other Ochsner locations during their fellowship, they include:

• Ochsner Medical Center – Jefferson Highway
• Ochsner Baptist
• Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge
• Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner
• Ochsner Medical Center – West bank
• Ochsner St. Anne General Hospital
• Ochsner Hospital – Elmwood
• Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore

Fellowship Experience

Each Administrative Fellowship concentration provides intensive training that combines system-wide exposure to the major functional areas within Ochsner with classroom learning, executive shadowing, one-on-one mentoring, a wide range of intensive project work, and a multitude of professional development modules. With each new rotation the fellow will collaborate with, and be supported by, strategic leadership partners across the system to work on high-level projects. Projects will be conducive to the fellowship concentration chosen, and would include exposure to clinic and hospital operations, strategic planning, and financial analysis. Ochsner is a continuously growing health system that offers a wide-array of opportunities within the organization.

The Program Chair and Executive Leaders acting as the Preceptor, along with the fellow’s strong commitment to learn, will ensure the fellows continued progression and successful completion of the program. Rotations throughout Ochsner's multidiscipline areas and facilities will afford the Fellow an unparalleled broad view of the Ochsner Health System. Since fellows choose to participate in Ochsner’s Fellowship Program and are here to learn and grow as health care professionals, they will plan their goals and objectives for the year and will refine these goals throughout the year with their preceptor to ensure maximum exposure and achievement of the required goals and program competencies.

Fellowship Personal and Professional Development Opportunities

Fellows are provided continued personal and professional development opportunities within Ochsner, attendance at ACHE and/or a related fellowship conference and membership to the New Orleans Young Leadership Council to assist fellows in acclimating themselves to the New Orleans region and having a better understanding of the community. Other fellowship learning provided:

• Monthly Journal Club meetings allow current and past fellows opportunities to exchange ideas about industry trends and issues
• Quarterly presentations to senior executives give fellows the opportunity to share and receive feedback on project learnings and developmental milestones
• Senior leadership meetings expose fellows to the decision-making processes and the issues faced by senior level management
• Ochsner Leadership Institute (OLI) is Ochsner’s career development organization, and many of its leadership courses are open to fellow participation
• HR modules prepare fellows for future management positions through situational exercises in leadership, communication, and issue resolution
• Green Belt in Six Sigma

Fellowship Qualifications

Applicants must possess an MHA, MBA, MPH, MSN or equivalent degree from an accredited graduate program and must have completed or be in the final year of an accredited program. Students whose graduate programs require an administrative fellowship after completing classroom curriculum are eligible to apply. Applicants must also possess a GPA of 3.0 or above to be eligible. Ochsner Health System does not sponsor visas for Administrative Fellowships.

The prospective candidates must have completed the didactic portion of an accredited graduate program in Health Care Administration, Business Administration or related field. All fellowship programs run from July through June.

Compensation

The Fellowship Program offers a competitive salary and benefits package for the duration of the 12-24 month fellowship.

Career Path

Ochsner’s Administrative Fellowship program helps create a strong foundation for each participant’s career. This foundation should lay the framework essential to pertinent organizational and leadership skills within the Healthcare Management arena. The program prides itself on aiding Fellows in finalizing employment at the end of the Fellowship. Often times, this employment is within the Ochsner Health System.