Lehman College and NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln are partnering on the launch of an unusual internship program for college students interested in healthcare administration. The first cohort of the Leadership Education Administrative Rotation and Networking (LEARN) program at Lincoln begins with five Lehman students, who receive a stipend and college credit for completing the five-month internship.

“We are proud of this new partnership between the Lehman College School of Business and Lincoln Hospital, and the opportunities it will provide our students to forge successful careers in health care,” said President Fernando Delgado. “Paid internships are crucial for our business students, many of whom forgo unpaid internships because they cannot afford to give up their paying jobs."

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln launched the program with the goal of providing college students interested in healthcare careers the opportunity to understand the demands of the field, increase their administrative competencies, and determine where their interests lie.

Like interns in medical school, LEARN interns rotate into different departments across the hospital, including finance, hospital administration, human resources, and ambulatory care, where they'll work with leadership staff and get a close-up look at operations. The program's design provides both a high-level view of how a hospital functions and focused experience in specific areas of healthcare administration.

"The School of Business is committed to experiential learning, and this program is an integral part of our strategy to give students a leg up as they prepare for successful careers,” said Dene Hurley, School of Business dean. “We are happy to partner with Lincoln Hospital to make this program possible and help shape the next generation of healthcare leaders.”

Cristina Contreras, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, has a personal stake in LEARN.

“As a proud alumna of Lehman College, I’m happy to launch this internship program with students from Lehman,” she said. "I know from experience that this program will help remove barriers to equal opportunity for low-income students, especially from communities like the South Bronx, at the beginnings of their careers.”

In September 2024, Contreras was a guest speaker at the School of Business and appeared on the School's podcast, LEAP Into Business.