Field Placement: National Mental Health Association, Healthcare Reform
Location: Alexandria, VA
Preceptor: Kelly McKenzie, Policy Analyst
Student Name: Brooke Fox
Year: 2004

I completed a 9-week internship in the Healthcare Reform Department of the National Mental Health Association in Alexandria, VA. As the Healthcare Reform intern, my primary project was to research trends in state funding for public mental health services going into fiscal year 2005. This entailed conducting extensive Internet research on relevant proposed and enacted legislation and news related to funding for mental health services and Medicaid programs across the states as well as surveying the state mental health commissioners on these topics. The end result of my project was a binder consisting of the completed surveys, a budget trends report for each state and spreadsheets showing the results of the survey.

My scope of work was broadened during my internship to include a small research project on disease management, updating parity information, and answering some technical assistance calls. I worked independently on all of these projects while receiving appropriate support from my preceptor and an additional supervisor.

My preceptor, Kelly McKenzie, is a policy analyst with interests in healthcare policy, Medicaid and systems change. She was a wonderful mentor as we share many of the same interests and provided very useful advice regarding my career. We met regularly about my projects and she offered wonderful support both in my work and personally. I truly felt like a member of the organization, and I now count her, as well as many other NMHA staff as friends.

In addition to the skills, knowledge and experience gained in my internship, living and working in the Washington, DC area exposed my to new ideas and a different lifestyle. This experience allowed me to broaden my horizons in terms of my career goals. I encourage any students interested in policy to travel to the nation’s capital for their field studies, as the area offers opportunities and experiences unlike any other place in the country.

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