Health Information Management Intern (Sierra Nevada Specialty Care, Pack Intern, Spring 2026)
**This internship is hosted by Sierra Nevada Specialty Care and sponsored by the Nevada Career Studio (NCS).
Students are highly encouraged to visit the Nevada Career Studio during our drop-in hours or use our Virtual Resume & Cover Letter Review service BEFORE applying for these positions. Resumes and cover letters that do not meet NCS expectations will not be included in applicant packages to employers.
About Sierra Nevada Specialty Care:
Sierra Nevada Specialty Care is a physician-owned medical group specializing in nephrology and pulmonology, with clinics across Northern Nevada and Northern California. For more than 20 years, we’ve provided compassionate, patient-centered care while fostering a collaborative and professional team culture. Interns gain hands-on experience in healthcare operations, patient services, and data management, learning directly from experienced clinical and administrative professionals in a dynamic specialty practice.
Internship Description:
Want hands-on experience at the intersection of healthcare, operations, and technology? This internship focuses on a high impact project: overhauling and optimizing our patient portal system. Sierra Nevada Specialty Care currently utilizes a robust patient portal platform with more functionality than we actively employ. The goal of this internship is to help us fully modernize, streamline, and maximize adoption of the portal so patients and staff can better engage with their health information.
The intern will gain hands-on experience in healthcare technology, workflow development, user experience enhancement, and digital communication strategies. You will work closely with clinic leadership, administrative teams, and clinical support staff to understand current processes, identify gaps, and implement improved workflows.
Duties/Responsibilities:
- Learn and master the administrative side of our patient portal, including settings, customization options, messaging tools, appointment functions, document exchange features, and patient communication capabilities.
- Conduct an assessment of current portal usage, functionality, and barriers to adoption.
- Map the current-state workflow for both staff and patients; identify inefficiencies or unused functionality.
- Develop future-state workflows for front office, MA support, providers, and patients to improve portal efficiency and consistency.
- Create step-by-step training resources for staff, including quick-reference guides, SOPs, and onboarding materials.
- Develop patient education materials, such as how-to guides, FAQ sheets, in-office posters, and digital onboarding instructions.
- Build and implement a portal adoption campaign, including:
- Digital communication (email templates, website content, QR codes, etc.)
- In-office promotional materials (flyers, tabletop signs, handouts)
- Staff scripting for inviting patients to enroll
- Assist with portal customization opportunities, including message categories, automated reminders, appointment requests, and accessibility adjustments.
- Analyze data trends related to portal utilization and adoption, and report findings to leadership.
- Work collaboratively with clinical and administrative teams to support EHR related process improvements.
Goals and Expectations of the Intern:
- Interns are expected to be proactive, collaborative, organized, and comfortable working through a structured project plan. By the end of the internship, the student will have:
- Developed a deep understanding of patient engagement technology.
- Contributed meaningfully to process improvement in a multi-location specialty practice.
- Produced tangible workflow documents, training materials, and campaign assets.
- Gained real-world experience in project management, communication, and healthcare operations.
Required Qualifications:
- Must be a degree-seeking undergraduate OR graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno during the Spring ‘26 semester
- Fall ‘25 or earlier graduates are not eligible for the Wolf Pack STEM Internship Program
- Coursework preferably in Health Informatics, Health Administration, Nursing, Public Health, Computer Science, or a related field.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Strong computer skills, including familiarity with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook) and willingness to learn new software systems.
- Interest in healthcare operations, electronic health records, and patient engagement technology.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
- Detail-oriented, organized, and able to manage multiple tasks or small projects independently.
- Professional demeanor, including reliability, punctuality, and adherence to confidentiality standards.
Desired Schedule for Intern:
Applicants must be available to complete their hours during our practice operating hours, Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm. We are able to be flexible with how they would like to build this schedule as long as they are set up to complete their final hours.
Pack STEM internships require interns to complete 150 hours during their internship. It is the intern’s responsibility to ensure this requirement is met.