Administrative Fellowship

Rush University System for Health's Administrative Fellowship program is a 12-month post-graduate training program.

A Message From Our Executive Sponsor

Working in a nationally recognized academic health system provides a unique perspective on the collaborative interaction between clinical care, education, and research. The Rush University System for Health Administrative Fellowship Program is a challenging and rewarding experience. 

Rush University System for Health (Rush) — which includes Rush University Medical Center, Rush Copley Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital, Rush University, and Rush Medical Group — has always had a strong commitment to education and is nationally known for its practitioner-teacher model. Our fellowship program gives three individuals the opportunity to further their development and careers by learning from and working with the system’s senior leadership team. The program continues to gain national recognition for its success in attracting and developing highly motivated and dedicated fellows from across the country who are focused on improving our organization, advancing their personal growth, and ultimately enhancing health care delivery.

Rush is deeply invested in creating successful leadership pipelines for graduate students interested in health care. As part of this effort, we participate in a national initiative through the National Council on Administrative Fellowships to improve the administrative fellowship application process and experience.

Our fellowship director and mentors, along with senior leadership, encourage fellows to take full advantage of the opportunities available to them — whether it’s attending a board retreat to learn about governance, observing surgical procedures, or visiting a community-based clinic. Our project-based model has allowed fellows to lead initiatives in areas such as supply chain operations, emergency management, solid organ transplant services, and major campus planning and construction efforts, to name a few. Current fellows make valuable contributions within their departments and to the organization as a whole.

As part of Rush University System for Health, fellows also benefit from exposure to system-wide initiatives and have opportunities to contribute to projects across Rush University Medical Center, Rush Copley Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital, Rush University, and Rush Medical Group, as well as numerous offsite multispecialty clinics.

The economy and health care reform are creating new challenges for us, and we believe there is an opportunity to continue sharing and learning from each other and building upon the relationships we developed early in our careers. We hope you will consider Rush as the place to start fostering these relationships and begin your journey as a future health care leader.

Sincerely,

Matt Walsh
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Rush

The Rush University System for Health’s Administrative Fellowship program is a 12-month post-graduate training program. Our fellowship program dedicates the first two months to structured meet-and-greets and site visits, followed by project-work during which fellows gain vast exposure to the health system. Each fellow will be assigned a project executive sponsor, who will be responsible for project assignments and will work with the fellow to achieve project understanding, completion and evaluation. Projects are tailored to the goals of the fellow and the organization's strategic direction. Fellows will work on projects involving many different departments, functions and divisions. 

Fellows will meet regularly with the program‘s executive sponsor — Matt Walsh — to help them discover and discuss their areas of interest in the health care environment. The fellowship program is overseen by our fellowship director — Sydney Howard, MHA —and several mentors who work closely with the fellows on a regular basis.

A key attribute of this fellowship is that it exposes fellows to governance and decision-making at the most senior level. Particular attention is given to senior management forums, including selected Board of Trustees committee meetings. Access to senior level management is available throughout the fellowship, including regular mentoring meetings with senior leadership and project sponsors. Additional informal and formal interactions with employees across the entire system occur through various meetings and project work.

Rush University System for Health offers multiple fellowship locations across the Chicagoland area including Rush University Medical Center, Rush Oak Park Hospital, Rush Copley Medical Center, Rush Medical Group and Rush University. Our fellows also have opportunities to benefit from the academic community. Opportunities may include “current topics” seminars, and educational and networking events provided through Rush University‘s various colleges and departments. Fellows will be exposed to the importance of the teacher-practitioner model followed at Rush University. This model exposes students and fellows to the research and current projects of faculty members, creating a rich learning environment for students and practitioners.

Fellows receive constant informal feedback on their performance from their mentors and from project sponsors. In addition to this informal feedback, each fellow receives formal midpoint and final evaluations using the Rush leadership competency model from all project executive sponsors. The utilization of this model further aligns our fellows with our leadership team and prepares them for leadership roles within the organization after the fellowship. 

The Rush Administrative Fellowship Program is geared toward individuals who classify themselves as leaders and self-starters, and those who are interested in building a better understanding of management in an academic medical center across all of its mission components and strategic partnerships.

Qualified applicants have a master's degree (MBA, MHA, MHSA, MS, MPH) or equivalent course work completed from a U.S.-based university. Preferred applicants hold a master's degree from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation Healthcare Management Education (CAHME); however, applications from non-CAHME programs will be accepted for review. We also accept those applicants with an outstanding residency requirement. All applicants must have completed their coursework prior to the start of the fellowship. We will work with the individual program to ensure that all requirements can be fulfilled.

Rush will provide a compensation package that is competitive with other fellowship programs. Fellows will receive the same benefits as other Rush employees, including medical, vision, dental, flexible spending accounts (health and transportation), short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, retirement savings plan and paid time off. Please visit Rush's Careers page for additional information about employment at our Rush System hospitals, including information about Chicago and the surrounding area.

Application Requirements

Rush University System for Health will be participating in the National Administrative Fellowship Centralized Application Service (NAFCAS). NAFCAS is a simplified and streamlined application process for candidates interested in applying to administrative fellowships. NAFCAS will open to applicants on June 6.

NAFCAS Requirements

  • Personal information (e.g., biographic information, contact information, race and ethnicity, etc.)
  • Academic history (graduate transcripts only)
  • Three letters of recommendation (one academic, one professional and one other)

Additional Rush Requirements 

  • Resume (two pages max that highlights academic and professional experiences and accomplishments, awards, skills and community service)
  • Cover letter (two pages max that indicates why the applicant is pursuing an Administrative Fellowship at Rush, what the applicant hopes to learn and achieve, what skills and abilities the applicant will bring to Rush to achieve its strategic initiatives, short-term and long-term career goals including areas of interest and how the applicant exemplifies the I CARE values)

To apply online, please visit the NAFCAS application portal at nafcas.liaisoncas.com.

Important Dates

As a member of the National Council of Administrative Fellowships (NCAF), we adhere to the NCAF application timeline and process. Please see below for the 2024 standardized dates.

  • Complete applications must be submitted by Sept. 26, 2025
  • Onsite interviews will be held in early Oct. 2025
  • Fellowship year begins July 15, 2026, and ends June 30, 2027

Candidates invited to interview on-site will participate in a day-long series of individual and panel meetings with various Medical Center leaders. Candidates should plan on arriving the afternoon prior to interviews for a dinner with current and past fellows. Overnight accommodations and full reimbursement for travel expenses will be provided.

For questions regarding the fellowship or interview process, please contact administrative_fellowship@rush.edu.

Matt Walsh

Executive Sponsor

  • Matt Walsh became executive vice president and chief operating officer of Rush in January 2024.
  • Read Matt Walsh's bio

Sydney Howard, MHA

Fellowship Director

Sydney Howard is the chief of staff to the executive vice president and COO at Rush, and she also serves as director of Rush's Administrative Fellowship Program. In her role, Howard collaborates with senior leadership to streamline communication, drive key initiatives, align cross-functional teams, and manage operations—enhancing efficiency and performance across the organization. Her work includes managing the Radiology Scheduling Optimization initiative, transitioning outpatient scheduling across the Rush enterprise to the centralized Access Center, launching MyChart scheduling tickets and enhancing self-scheduling to improve patient access.

Howard joined Rush in 2024 as an administrative fellow. Among her notable accomplishments, she partnered with the chief strategy officer to develop and maintain Rush's first corporate dashboard. This system-wide tool standardized metric definitions, enabled accurate data aggregation, and supported internal and external performance reporting against FY25 targets.

Before joining Rush, Howard served as a practice manager at LCMC Health, where she led operations for the EJGH Tulane Lung Center. There, she oversaw 29 providers and staff, facilitated the clinic’s transition from Tulane Medical Center to East Jefferson General Hospital and implemented a new electronic health record system (Epic).

Howard holds a Master of Health Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Paul Casey, MD, MBA, FACEP

Project Executive Sponsor

Mary Shilkaitis, MSN, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE

Project Executive Sponsor

Dino P. Rumoro, DO, MPH, FACEP

Project Executive Sponsor

  • Dino Rumoro serves as the chief administrative officer for Rush University Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital.
  • Read Dino Rumoro's bio
     
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