Master's Level Internship - Macro MSW Leadership (Fall 2026 - Spring 2027)

Cost Center

Scheduled Weekly Hours

Work Shift

Shift & Status

Who Are We?

We at Pine Rest believe in the power of healing and that everyone in our community has the right to expert care for mental health and substance use disorders. We are much more than just the third largest non-profit behavioral health system in the country, our 220-acre main campus, and our network of clinical sites across Michigan. We are a tight-knit community of healers who witness the impact of our life-changing work each day.

Each day, we are closing the gaps in access to care. We are innovating through leading-edge research, testing, programs, and treatment modalities that others replicate across the country. Our services include a state-of-the-art psychiatric urgent care center and a soon-to-be-built pediatric behavioral health center, outpatient, inpatient, partial hospitalization (day programs), assessment and testing, residential, addiction treatment and specialty services such as crisis response, employee assistance programs, forensic psychiatry and psychology, and neuromodulation. On-the-job educational programs for nurses, psychologists, advanced practice providers, psychiatrists, and chaplains are equipping the next generation of care providers.

We are passionate about serving and are honored to be a part of this incredible work.

What Will you Do?

The Intern - Macro Master of Social Work (MSW) Leadership partners with clinical leadership to gain advanced experience in behavioral healthcare administration, program development, quality improvement, staff development, strategic planning, and systems-level social work practice. Under the supervision of hospital leadership, the intern participates in projects that improve patient care, staff effectiveness, operational efficiency, and organizational outcomes while integrating social work values, ethics, and evidence-based leadership practices.

The internship is designed to prepare graduate social work students for future leadership positions in behavioral health administration.

By completion of the internship, the student will be able to:

• Understand behavioral healthcare operations within an inpatient psychiatric hospital.

• Apply macro social work principles to organizational systems.

• Participate in quality improvement and performance improvement initiatives.

• Analyze healthcare data to support operational decision-making.

• Develop policies, procedures, and clinical workflows.

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary leaders.

• Gain experience with budgeting, staffing, strategic planning, and program evaluation.

• Demonstrate leadership, professional communication, and project management skills.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership & Administration

·         Shadow department leadership in daily operational activities.

·         Observe management meetings and leadership rounds.

·         Assist in planning departmental initiatives.

·         Participate in strategic planning discussions.

·         Learn principles of staffing, scheduling, and workforce planning.

·         Observe hiring, onboarding, and performance management processes as appropriate.

·         Assist with development of departmental goals and action plans.

Quality Improvement

·         Participate in Quality Improvement (QI) projects.

·         Assist with collecting, organizing, and analyzing outcome data.

·         Help develop dashboards and reports.

·         Participate in Root Cause Analyses and Performance Improvement teams when appropriate.

·         Assist with monitoring quality metrics.

Program Development

·         Assist with development of new clinical programming.

·         Research evidence-based practices.

·         Help design workflows and implementation plans.

·         Participate in program evaluations.

·         Assist with grant or project development when available.

Policy & Procedure Development

·         Review existing policies.

·         Assist in drafting or revising departmental procedures.

·         Compare policies with regulatory standards and best practices.

·         Participate in survey readiness activities.

Staff Development

·         Assist with development of staff education materials.

·         Observe clinical supervision.

·         Help coordinate orientation materials.

·         Participate in training development.

·         Support competency tracking projects.

Organizational Collaboration

·         Attend interdisciplinary meetings.

·         Collaborate with nursing, physicians, psychology, case management, utilization management, peer support, and ancillary departments.

·         Participate in community partnership meetings when appropriate.

·         Observe leadership communication strategies.

Data & Analytics

Assist leadership with:

·         Data collection

·         Program metrics

·         Patient satisfaction trends

·         Readmission analysis

·         Throughput analysis

·         Utilization reports

·         Performance dashboards

·         Presentation development

Leadership Project

Complete one or more major macro projects such as:

·         Program implementation plan

·         Quality Improvement initiative

·         Policy development

·         Staff training curriculum

·         Clinical workflow redesign

·         Program evaluation

·         Strategic plan

·         Community needs assessment

·         Financial or operational analysis

·         Present findings to hospital leadership at the conclusion of the internship.

Professional Development

·         Participate in reflective supervision.

·         Complete assigned leadership readings.

·         Attend leadership meetings.

·         Participate in ethics discussions.

·         Demonstrate professional communication and leadership behaviors.

·         Maintain confidentiality and comply with organizational policies.

What Does the Role Require?

• Enrolled in a CSWE accredited Master of Social Work (MSW) program.

• Completion of foundation-level coursework.

• Eligible for advanced field placement (preferred).

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Interest in healthcare administration, leadership, and behavioral health systems.

Notice:

Pine Rest provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

All new employees are subject to a criminal background check and education verification which may include sending a copy of your high school diploma, GED, or college transcripts.

NOTICE: Successful completion of a drug screen prior to employment is also part of our background process.