Administrative Fellowship

RUSH University Medical Center’s Administrative Fellowship program is a 12-month post-graduate training program.

RUSH University Medical Center’s Administrative Fellowship program is a 12-month post-graduate training program.

A Message From Our Executive Sponsor

Working in a nationally recognized academic medical center provides a unique perspective on the collaborative interaction between the clinical delivery, education and research enterprises. The RUSH University Medical Center Administrative Fellowship Program is a challenging and rewarding experience.

RUSH University Medical Center has always had a strong commitment to education and is particularly known nationally for its practitioner-teacher education model. Our fellowship program gives two individuals the opportunity to further their development and careers by learning from and working with the Medical Center’s senior leadership team. Our program continues to gain national recognition via its success in attracting and developing highly motivated and dedicated fellows from around the country who are focused on improving our organization, improving themselves and ultimately improving our health care delivery system.

RUSH is invested in creating successful leadership pipelines for graduate students interested in the health care field. As a part of this effort, we collaborate in a national effort through the National Council on Administrative Fellowships (NCAF) to improve the administrative fellowship application process and experience.

Our fellowship director and mentors, along with senior management, encourage the fellows to take advantage of all opportunities available to them — whether it is attending a board retreat to learn more about governance, observing surgical procedures or visiting a community-based clinic. Our project-based model has allowed fellows to lead projects in areas such as supply chain operations, emergency management, solid organ transplant services and major campus planning and construction efforts, to name a few. Our current fellows provide valuable contributions within their departments and the organization as a whole during their experience. RUSH University Medical Center is also a part of RUSH University System for Health, encompassing numerous offsite multispecialty clinics, RUSH Copley Medical Center and RUSH Oak Park Hospital. Fellows have opportunities to work on projects across the system.

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,

Richa Gupta, MBBS
Chief Operating Officer, RUSH University Medical Group and Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations

Fellowship Program Details

The RUSH University Medical Center Administrative Fellowship program is a 12-month post-graduate training program. Our fellowship program dedicates the first two months to structured rotations, followed by project-work during which fellows gain vast exposure to the Medical Center. 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. Each project will have a sponsor who will work with the fellow to achieve project understanding, completion and evaluation.

Fellows will meet regularly with the program‘s executive sponsor — Richa Gupta, MBBS — to help them discover and discuss their areas of interest in the health care environment. The fellowship program is overseen by our fellowship director — Kenly Morgenstern, MSHS-HCQ —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 Medical Center occur through various meetings and project work.

Our fellows also have opportunities to benefit from the academic community at the Medical Center. 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 who practice in the Medical Center, 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 University Medical Center leadership competency model from all project 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. 

Eligibility Requirements and Skills Necessary

The RUSH University Medical Center 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.

Program Compensation

RUSH University Medical Center will provide a compensation package that is competitive with other fellowship programs. Fellows will receive the same benefits as other RUSH University Medical Center 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.

Applying to the Administrative Fellowship Program at RUSH University Medical Center

Application Requirements

RUSH University Medical Center 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 in mid-June.

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 2023 standardized dates.

  • Complete applications must be submitted by September 29, 2023
  • Onsite interviews will be held in mid-to-late October 2023
  • Fellowship year begins July 8, 2024, and ends June 30, 2025

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.

Program Leadership

Richa Gupta, MBBS, MHSA

Executive Sponsor

  • Richa Gupta became senior vice president and chief operating officer of RUSH University Medical Group (RUMG) in May 2019.
  • Read Richa Gupta’s bio

Kenly Morgenstern, MSHS-HCQ

Fellowship Director

Kenly Morgenstern is the Chief of Staff to the RUSH University System for Health Chief Executive Officer. In this role she works closely with the executive team to streamline and execute strategic initiatives, improve current processes and optimize organizational procedures and design and execute improvements to organizational structure. She also serves as a key liaison with staff, management, senior leadership, executives and external stakeholders.

Prior to her current role, Morgenstern was RUSH’s Enterprise Risk Manager. She led various risk analysis activities—from risk identification and treatment planning, through to quantitative and qualitative scorecard assessments. She also supported the development and delivery of a variety of remediation strategies and tactics by collaborating with clinical and corporate leaders across the system. Most notably, in partnership with the General Counsel and Chief Financial Officer, she launched and led the system’s COVID-19 Government, Legal & Finance workgroup which sought to identify and apply to local, state and federal government funding opportunities during the pandemic. Morgenstern also served as a Project Manager where she helped launch the first ever comprehensive employee and student wellness program at RUSH.

Prior to joining RUSH, Morgenstern worked at Michigan Medicine first in their Patient Relations & Clinical Risk department and then by providing administrative and project management support to nursing leadership.

Morgenstern graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelors in Social Behavior and Human Understanding and received a Master of Science in Health Sciences with a focus in Healthcare Quality from George Washington University.


Patricia Steeves O’Neil, MAE

Steering Committee

  • Patricia Steeves O’Neil is the senior vice president and chief financial officer for RUSH University System for Health and RUSH University Medical Center. She also serves as treasurer for RUSH University Medical Center.
  • Read Patricia Steeves O’Neil’s bio
     

Angelique Richard, PhD, RN, CENP

Steering Committee

  • Angelique Richard, PhD, RN, CENP, has served as chief nursing officer of RUSH University Medical Center since October 2016 and for the Rush System since 2018.
  • Read Angelique Richard's bio 

Courtney Kammer, MHA

Steering Committee

  • Courtney Kammer, MHA, has served as RUSH University Medical Center’s chief human resources officer since January 2020.
  • Read Courtney Kammer’s bio

Kate Jones

Steering Committee

Kate Jones is the interim chief strategy officer and vice president for strategic planning for the RUSH University System for Health. Jones joined RUSH in February 2020 and over the last three-plus years has aligned and deployed the annual RUSH strategic plan in coordination with the long-range financial goals across the system. Jones has been responsible for consumer, payer and competitor intelligence to support data-driven decision-making. She has partnered with internal and external leaders to identify opportunities to grow the network across all care sites and expand the ambulatory footprint in key geographies. 

Prior to joining RUSH, Jones was a director in the performance excellence business unit within the health care practice at Navigant in Chicago. Jones and the teams she led partnered with health systems and hospitals to identify opportunities and implement strategies to improve performance. In one notable example, Jones led a team that identified more than $75 million in savings for a Southwest health system. Jones earned her master’s degree in health services administration from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas.