Top 50 medical internships for high school students

Are you a high school student looking to pursue a career in medicine? You should consider a medical internship for high school students. Many of the most esteemed and successful medical professionals started their journey as interns in the healthcare field, and so can you. During their time as interns they refined their patient care skills, expanded their clinical expertise, and acquired real-world experience. Internships provided them with intense training and supervision, which helped to mold them into the capable and caring doctors they are today. Internships can provide you with the same benefits by bridging the gap between medical education and real-world practice.

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Top 50 medical internships for high school students

Why consider medical internships for high school students

Medical internships give you a unique chance to gain experience, build your network, boost your college applications and resume, develop critical skills, and gain practical knowledge. They increase your exposure to the medical field, helping you gain a deeper understanding of the healthcare system and specialties, which will enable you to make a more informed decision about your college major and future career goals. This hands-on experience will help you develop analytical skills, learn to think on your feet, and make the right decisions under pressure.

Medical internship for high school students help strengthen college applications because admission officers value real world experience, and a medical internship demonstrates a student’s passion, commitment, and drive to pursue a career in healthcare. Medical internships can also offer you the chance to build relationships with health care professionals including doctors, nurses, and medical researchers that can write recommendation letters for college applications or future job opportunities.

Further benefits of a medical internship

During their time as interns, students benefit through invaluable experience that enriches their academic learning and prepares them for future careers in healthcare. Engaging in medical internships can bolster a person’s resume and elevate their competitiveness in the job market – both for future internships while completing pre-med requirements in college, and even after college as you prepare for medical school applications. Employers prioritize practical experience, and internships offer an opportunity to demonstrate one’s skills, commitment, and ability to adapt in a clinical environment. Because you are a high school student, there will be low expectations for you to know a lot and the program will understand that you will need more mentorship and guidance – both things you want. Interns frequently rotate through different departments like emergency medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and internal medicine, acquiring exposure to various specialties along the way that can inform future career decisions.

Moreover, internships serve as a pipeline for identifying and nurturing future talent in the medical field. Hospitals have the opportunity to mentor promising individuals, potentially recruiting them as interns again next summer or full-time employees upon graduation. Interns also contribute to research projects, quality improvement initiatives, and community outreach programs, all good things that can strengthen your resume and improve your prospects for securing further work opportunities. Finally, the more competitive medical internship opportunities often offer stipends or hourly wage during your time interning.

The top 50 medical internships for high school students

In this section, we’ll share 50 research opportunities and the key details related to each internship one. While certain internships provide compensation such as hourly wages or stipends, others can entail tuition fees or associated costs. Pay special attention to the “Pay” or “Cost” line under each internship.

  1. National Institute of Health (NIH) High School Summer Internship Program
  1. University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Summer Student Research Program
  1. Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience High School Internship
  1. High School Senior Summer Internship Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
  1. Summer Child Health Research Internship at Children’s Hospital Colorado
  1. Harvard Medical School Project Success: Opening the Door to Biomedical Careers
  1. Indiana University Simon Cancer Center Summer Research Program
  1. Medical College of Wisconsin Apprenticeship in Medicine (AIM)
  1. Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP)
  1. Magee-Womens Research Institute High School Summer Internship Program
  1. Penn Summer Academies
  1. Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego: Summer Medical Academy
  1. National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine & Healthcare
  1. Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine: Achieve in Medicine (AIM–High)
  1. Georgetown University Medical Academy
  1. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Museum Disease Detective Camp
  1. Health Care Career Exploration Camp
  1. Medical Immersion Summer Academy (MISA)
  1. Eve and Gene Black Summer Medical Career Program
  1. Health Care Careers Exploration Program Rochester Institute of Technology
  1. KP Launch
  1. Fred Hutch Summer High School Internship Program
  1. Pediatrics Internship Program at Stanford (PIPS)
  1. National Human Genome Research Institute Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research
  1. The Wistar Institute High School Program in Biomedical Research
  1. The Seacole Scholars Program
  1. J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Internship Program
  1. Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Summer Volunteer Program
  1. Scripps Research High School Student Summer Internship Program
  1. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center High School Summer Program
  1. Washington University School of Medicine Young Scientist Program (YSP): Summer Focus
  1. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Summer Internship in Biomedical Research
  1. TGEN Helios Scholars
  1. Salk Institute Heithoff-Brody High School Scholars Program
  1. Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE)
  1. Forsyth Institute Student Scholars Summer Internship Program
  1. Stanford Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Center Summer Internship
  1. University of Chicago Medicine Pre-College Programs
  1. University of Pennsylvania Penn Medicine Summer Program
  1. Stanford Clinical Anatomy Summer Program CASP
  1. Harvard Medical School MEDscience Program
  1. Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Programs
  1. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
  1. Red Cross Bay Area Leadership Development Center (LDC)
  1. University of Chicago Research in the Biological Sciences (RIBS)
  1. Boston Leadership Institute’s Biomedical Research and Medical Programs
  1. Wake Forest University’s Summer Medical Immersion Program
  1. University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Research Academy
  1. Cleveland Clinic Student Internship Program
  1. Seattle Children’s Hospital Discovery Days Program

This list does not contain every internship, so it’s important to conduct research on programs in your vicinity as well. To do so, begin with local hospitals, prioritizing programs offering hands-on involvement and potential perks such as college credit.

Conclusion

We hope that this list gives you some valuable medical internships for high school students that you are excited about. Many doctors and medical practitioners trace their success back to the experience gained from internships. The skills acquired through such experiences empower students like you to adeptly navigate intricate medical situations, make informed decisions, and provide exceptional patient care. Remember, your dreams are achievable, and the first step towards realizing them begins with seizing the opportunities presented before you.