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COACH interns bid Children's farewell
August 24, 2007
As the COACH (Career Opportunity Advancement Children's Hospital) program drew to a close in August, the hospital said goodbye to the 50 high school interns who participated in the seven-week program. For many of the interns, their summer jobs at Children's Hospital Boston were their very first work experiences. "It was a chance to learn what goes on behind the scenes at a hospital," says Ricky Louissaint, 18, who spent the summer working in Patient Safety.
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Mayor Thomas M. Menino addresses COACH interns at Children's Hospital Boston.
The program, overseen by Brian Hughes and Florence Chan in Human Resources, was created to give youth from urban areas of Boston the opportunity to explore health care careers while having a safe and meaningful summer. COACH interns attended weekly check-ins with Hughes and participated in job and life skills workshops about such topics as health care careers, conflict and communication and banking literacy--during which Louissaint opened his first bank account.

When Phuong Kim Tran, 16, began her internship in the Emergency Department, she had no idea what sort of career she wanted to pursue but was eager to help with administrative tasks and interact with patients in the waiting room. "I wanted to take advantage of new opportunities and help people as much as I could, even though I'm not a nurse or a doctor," Tran says. By the end of her internship, she discovered she'd like to go pursue the business side of health care. "I like the environment and being around sophisticated, educated people," she says.

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Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the COACH interns at Children's Hospital Boston.
Others, like Thanh Le, 18, another intern with Patient Safety, came into the internship knowing exactly what career path they want to take and tailored their COACH experience to fit it. "I want to be a corporate lawyer so I wanted to get a feel for the hospital business," says Le.

The interns finished their program the last week of August with a congratulatory luncheon and ceremony. "The experience was great," Le says. "I liked being able to work in a professional environment, working on projects that are really necessary and knowing that I'm part of the bigger picture."

Contact:
Jamie Newton
617-355-6420
james.newton@childrens.harvard.edu

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