Preceptor: Fritz Francois, MD, MBA
Contact: Shani Smilovich, Shani.Smilovich@NYULangone.org
Telephone: 973-452-7802

Prerequisites: Post-clerkship medical students only

Who should enroll in this elective?

Students who are interested in health system leadership, hospital administration, operations, or quality improvement
Students pursuing clinical specialties where inpatient and systems-level processes are critical
Students who seek exposure to how a high-performing health system organizes, measures and improves the quality and value of care
Students who are curious about how data, operations, and frontline clinical teams come together to deliver consistently excellent patient outcomes

Clinical sites

Students will be based at NYU Langone’s Manhattan campus, with activities occurring primarily at Tisch and Kimmel hospitals. Students will work with central operational and quality teams and may be linked to specific inpatient units or departments (e.g., Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedics) depending on project focus and specialty interest.

Description

This is a 2-week elective designed to immerse medical students in healthcare operations and quality infrastructure, with a focus on understanding NYU Langone’s operational philosophy and culture of continuous improvement, experiencing the pace and discipline of high-performing health system operations, and developing foundational skills in quality improvement and data-driven decision making. Students will be matched, when possible, to operational areas aligned with their clinical specialty interests. They will work with data support teams, inpatient management teams, and unit nurse managers / medical directors to implement a focused operations / quality initiative. This experience will be supplemented by a structured learning curriculum through readings, meetings, and mentorship. By the end of the rotation, students will synthesize their work and learning into a brief consulting-style presentation for operational and educational leadership.

Objectives of the Elective

Upon completion of the healthcare business and quality elective, you are expected to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of NYU Langone’s operational philosophy and quality framework, including how data, frontline teams, and leadership interact to drive performance.
2. Demonstrate an ability to interpret basic operational and quality data, such as unit scorecards and key performance indicators.
3. Understand the roles and relationships among data support teams, inpatient management teams, nurse managers, medical directors, and other operational stakeholders.
4. Participate in a focused operations or quality initiative by clarifying an operational problem and relevant metrics, mapping key processes and stakeholders, identifying potential opportunities for improvement, and contributing to a set of practical recommendations or analytic insights.
5. Communicate operational findings and recommendations effectively in both written and oral formats suitable for health system leadership.
6. Reflect on how systems-level factors influence frontline clinical care, and articulate how physicians can contribute to quality, safety, and operational excellence throughout their careers.

Key Responsibilities of the student while on Elective

By enrolling in this elective, you have agreed to:

1. Attend all scheduled orientations, check-ins, and required meetings with their operations mentor and educational liaison.
2. Complete all assigned readings, videos, or modules on operations and quality improvement.
3. Actively participate in the designated project or operational initiative, including data review and basic analyses (as appropriate to training), process mapping, observation of workflows, or stakeholder interviews and drafting or refining problem statements and recommendations.
4. Maintain an activity log of key meetings attended, tasks completed, data sources used, and insights gained.
5. Develop a concise consulting-style recommendation deck to be delivered as a 10-15 minute presentation to operational and/or educational leadership
6. Complete a brief written reflection on how the experience shaped their understanding of health system operations and their future role as a physician.

Key Responsibilities of the preceptor/residents/faculty while you are on Elective

By accepting your enrollment in this introductory elective, the department has agreed to:

1. Clearly communicate expectations and project scope at the start of the rotation.
2. Maintain a supportive learning environment that encourages inquiry and constructive feedback.
3. Ensure that the student has exposure to meaningful operational work and a representative mix of meetings, data review, and project activities.
4. Provide educational content and context to help the student understand NYU Langone’s quality and operational structure.
5. Offer at least one mid-rotation feedback touchpoint and end-of-rotation feedback on the student’s performance, professional behavior, and deliverables.

Didactic program

Students will be provided with a structured didactic curriculum, which may include:

• Assigned readings and videos on core topics such as: health system operations, quality improvement methods and measurement, patient safety and reliability, and cost, value, and resource utilization
• Self-guided review of NYU Langone operational materials and unit scorecards
• Participation in at least one weekly operations or quality-focused conference or meeting, as available.
• Optional or scheduled leadership development content

Didactics are designed to complement the student’s hands-on project work, emphasizing NYU Langone’s approach to delivering high-quality care at scale and at pace.

Weekly Schedule

Week 1

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
AM: Orientation, meeting with mentor, project scoping	AM: Shadow operational / quality meetings	AM: Self-Guided didactics	AM: Attend selected quality or operations conference/meeting	AM: Self-guided project work
PM: Self-guided readings / review of materials	PM: Self-guided project work	PM: Self-guided project work	PM: Didactic session with operations/quality faculty	PM: check-in with mentor, mid-rotation feedback

Week 2

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
AM: Self Guided project work	AM: Attend relevant operations/quality meeting(s) tied to the project area	AM: Self-guided work on final deliverables	AM: Finalize consulting-style deck and project summary	AM: Attend relevant operations/quality meeting(s)
PM: Self-guided didactics	PM: Self-guided project work / deck assembly	PM: Didactic session with operations/quality faculty	PM: Student presentation	PM: Wrap-up with preceptor/mentor

Method of evaluation

You will be assessed through direct observation of engagement and professionalism, including attendance, punctuality, preparation, initiative, and responsiveness to feedback. You will also be assessed on your project participation as well as the quality, clarity and practicality of your final recommendation deck. Finally, you will be evaluated on your demonstrated understanding of basic operational concepts, your ability to interpret or discuss relevant metrics at a level appropriate for a medical student, and the insightfulness of your written reflection.

Scheduling information 

Duration: 2 Weeks 
Months Offered: All Year
Student point of contact before start of elective: Shani.Smilovich@NYULangone.org
Please email at least 2 weeks before the start of your rotation.
On day 1, students report to: Please refer to your instruction email with detailed locations
Students per elective block: 1-2