Carolyn O’Neal

Internships are becoming an increasingly essential tool for finding full-time employment. In addition to learning on-the-job skills, Carolyn O’Neal, MSHI, maximized the internship experience to establish herself as a valuable team player at Mosai (formerly Forcura), a leading healthcare technology company co-headquartered in Jacksonville.

“There’s a big learning curve in the transition from bachelor’s degree to master’s degree to professional employment,” O’Neal said. “My internship provided insightful learning and understanding of what it means to be a member of the workforce.”

O’Neal, an Associate Software Engineer at Mosai, earned a master’s degree in Health Informatics and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a minor in Cyber Security from Jacksonville University. Attending as a student-athlete on a softball scholarship, the Tampa-area native used her studies at JU to feed her passion for computers and technology before advancing into full-time employment at Mosai.

“What we do at Mosai is extremely rewarding,” O’Neal said. “It helps providers and patients going through care with software that saves time and money.”

Mosai improves continuity of care via technology, analytics and a deep commitment to enabling better patient care. The Mosai suite of tools facilitates safer patient care transitions and more effective coordination among post-acute health care organizations, physicians, electronic health records (EHRs) and other supporting technology vendors.

O’Neal’s internship at Mosai was the perfect fit to complete her master’s degree in Health Informatics, a relatively new, interdisciplinary field in the healthcare industry that uses information technology to organize and analyze health records to improve healthcare outcomes. She learned about the opportunity from a friend, who is a Mosai employee, and discovered the internship aligned with her interests in healthcare and technology.

“We are empowering patient care with the best technology and information available,” O’Neal said. “It has a real and powerful impact on people’s lives.”

Colleagues recognized O’Neal’s professionalism, dedication and positive contributions during the internship, and the company extended an offer to become a full-time employee. At Mosai, attracting and retaining top talent through innovation and company culture is a high priority. The company has a successful internship program and has converted 70% of its interns to full-time employees since 2018.

O’Neal’s focus is data flow, ensuring that Mosai’s components connect and the information can get where it is needed to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes. Her interest in computers and technology emerged as a student in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program at Buchanan Middle School in Tampa. Engineering was her favorite class and it inspired her interest in pursuing a technology career. O’Neal is proud to be a young female leader in the STEM field and hopes to help equalize the gender gap. She aspires to return to the classroom as a mentor or teacher, empowering young children to recognize the opportunities in some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid jobs of the future.

“Don’t be intimidated by the technology,” O’Neal said. “Anyone who works hard and likes a challenge can enjoy a career in computer science or software engineering.”