Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Healthcare Professionals At Optum
Optum primarily recruits graduate program alumni, but entry-level analytical roles are available for undergraduates with relevant skills, focusing on "explaining drivers of hospitalizations" and improving care. Additionally, the company hires undergraduates for frontline positions such as medical assistants, patient relations liaisons, and provider relationship managers, offering diverse career paths within healthcare.
Data Analysis, Healthcare, Analytics, Problem-Solving, Entry-Level
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Zach Goldman
Head of Transformation
Optum
USC, 2007
UCLA Anderson MBA
Political Science, American Studies
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Strategic Management and Executive
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Many entry-level positions at Optum are analytics-focused, utilizing SQL and data analysis to identify actionable insights in healthcare. These roles often involve investigating areas like hospital readmission rates and identifying inappropriate care patterns.
2. Optum also hires undergraduates for front-line roles directly impacting patient care. These positions include medical assistants, patient relations liaisons, and provider relationship managers.
3. While many positions require graduate degrees, Optum recruits undergraduates for analytical and patient-facing roles, providing opportunities to contribute to healthcare management and strategy.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
Most of our recruiting focuses on individuals coming out of graduate programs. However, we also hire analysts and senior analysts from appropriate undergraduate programs, or from Master's of Healthcare Administration or Master's of Public Health programs.
These roles are generally focused on analytics and driving how we shape medical management and network strategy. For example, we've hired recent graduates to explain drivers of hospitalizations, identify opportunities to reduce readmission rates, or to understand non-evidence-based care patterns and inappropriate surgeries.
If you're interested in analytical work, which tends to be very SQL-driven and involves compiling datasets to explain actionable insights, we hire recent graduates for these positions. There are also many opportunities closer to the front lines.
We do hire undergraduates for roles on the front lines, such as medical assistants. Of course, we have a high demand for nurses.
We need many people to work in our clinics as medical assistants, patient relations liaisons (PRLs), and provider relationship managers. If you're interested in being closer to care, directly serving patients in the clinic, helping them understand their benefits, or working with providers to maximize their participation in our network, these are all roles we hire recent graduates for.