Summer Internship at Medtronic

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

I am incredibly grateful to the Graduate Business Career Center at the U of MN and Carlson alumni at Medtronic for helping me land a summer internship as a Leadership Development Rotational Program Summer Associate at Medtronic Surgical Technologies. I could have not done it without their assistance. The growth opportunities and experiences that my internship afforded me are invaluable.   

By the end of week one of my internship at Medtronic, I knew the scope of my project and was given free rein to accomplish it how I saw fit under the guidance of my internship supervisor. He encouraged me to be bold and decisive – to let Medtronic know that its current practices were less effective or efficient than my recommendation.

My team showered me in resources and experiences that would help me to understand the current business environment and product lines as soon as possible. My second week on the job, I was conducting a mock spinal surgery using Medtronic equipment under the direction of a power user. By week three, I was bouncing between hospitals to sit in on spinal surgeries that utilized Medtronic navigation equipment.

Hospital area panorama

Medtronic knows the importance of networking for summer interns. My internship supervisor set-up “meet and greets” for me with each member of the Senior Leadership Team at Medtronic Navigation. The human resource department at the corporate level scheduled weekly teleconferences with different members of the C-suite so that I could learn more about other business units. The internship experience allowed me to develop a deep understanding of Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies and a broad understand of Medtronic’s business units across the globe.

The Leadership Development Rotational Program Summer Associate position culminates with a presentation to Senior Leaders at the Medtronic Operational Headquarters in Minnesota. This is another chance for Medtronic HR to evaluate interns’ abilities and an opportunity for interns to gain exposure in front of the leaders of a global company. As I prepare to give my final presentation, I am reflecting back on the life-changing opportunity that Medtronic and Carlson has granted me.

Joe Brucker selfie