If you’re a high school student considering a career in medicine, internships are an excellent way to gain valuable insights into the medical field and get hands-on skills training. A medical summer high school internship is a great job shadowing opportunity where students gain firsthand exposure to medical experiences.
In this article, we’ve detailed all you need to know about medical internships for high school students that can provide real-world experience in clinical settings and boost your medical school application. We also share details on the top 10 high school medical internships to consider.
Can High School Students Access Medical Internships?
Yes, internships are not only available to college students, but many are also available to high school students. Some of these are complete eight-week programs, or you may attend a two-week program. Some have stipulations for eligibility, such as only students in 11th or 12th grade can apply in some instances.
Summer internships can be an exciting experience for premedical students to not only gain valuable work experience but also find opportunities for networking activities. These internships are an opportunity for students to learn things like surgical techniques, chronic disease surveillance, infectious disease mitigation, laboratory technology, and how to conduct a medical examination properly.
Are There Medical Summer High School Internships?
Yes, there are many options are available. Thousands of students get interested in environmental health, laboratory-based research, infectious diseases, respiratory care, or sports medicine and now have a shot at multiple internship opportunities around the country. Whether they live in California or Rhode Island, eligible students who are interested in a medical career path can take advantage of these opportunities for career exploration.
Many also cater to underrepresented populations and offer lower costs or are for free. Note that they all have eligibility requirements and varying application deadlines, so make sure you check the official websites.
Why Are Internships Important for High School Students?
- Practice your medical knowledge and understanding. Internships provide an excellent opportunity to put your musculoskeletal, biology, basic lab techniques, or health science knowledge into practice.
- Get valuable firsthand exposure. Medical programs for high school students may offer hands-on training and hands-on clinical experiences. Students can gain real-world experience in medical techniques and career exposure that may give them a competitive edge when applying for medical school.
- Networking. Internships will help any pre-med student acquire valuable relationships and connections in the medical field. These may be used to your advantage when pursuing entry to a college or university or securing a job when you’ve completed your studies.
Top 10 High School Medical Internships
Stanford University High School Student Summer Internship
- Location: Stanford, California.
- Length: Four weeks
- Time Commitment: Six hours per day, Monday to Friday.
This is an intensive internship for high school students that provides an understanding of the principles of cardiac and thoracic diseases and surgery, hands-on experience of the fundamentals of surgical skills, and hands-on experience practicing cardiothoracic surgical procedures.
Penn Medicine Summer Program for High School Students
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Length: Three weeks during summer
- Time Commitment: Seven hours per day, Monday to Friday
The Penn Medicine Summer Program for High School Students has internships for biomedical research and neuroscience research. Either one of these on-campus courses can provide you with a deeper academic and practical knowledge of complex subjects such as cranial nerves.
This college readiness program will help you achieve your career goals in the field of neuroscience. A science internship program like these ones at such a prestigious American university would be invaluable in any medical career field you choose.
Magee-Women’s Research Institute High School Summer Internship Program
- Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; in-person, on-campus, and hybrid
- Length: Four weeks
- Time Commitment: 160 hours total, approximately 40 hours per week
The Magee-Women’s Research Institute High School Summer Internship Program provides intern students with basic, translational, or clinical scientific research knowledge and skills. Magee-Women’s Research Institute High School Summer Internship Program does not have any housing options.
To qualify for the Magee-Women’s Research Institute High School Summer Internship Program you must be a local from Greene, Fayette, Somerset, Westmoreland, Allegheny, Washington, Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer, Butler, Armstrong, Indiana, or Cambria counties.
The University of Colorado Boulder, Children’s Hospital, Colorado Summer Child Health Research Internship
- Location: Aurora, Colorado
- Length: Nine weeks
- Time Commitment: Full-time
The pediatric health department offers summer research opportunities for high school students, undergraduate students, and first-year medical students. Students interested in pediatric health can participate in a lecture research series and present their research at the end of the summer internship.
Interns work in a clinical laboratory with faculty at the Children’s Hospital Colorado on the Anschutz Medica campus. Due to Covid-19, the 2021 program was unfortunately canceled. However, this Colorado summer internship will resume, and you should check the website for information on the 2022 program.
Medical Immersion Summer Academy (MISA)
- Location: Oakland, California
- Length: Five-day program or eight-week program
- Time Commitment: Six hours per day, Monday to Friday
The Medical Immersion Summer Academy offers an experiential learning program to students in grades nine to 12. MISA partners with local healthcare institutions like Alameda Health Systems and Samuel Merritt University and employs expert instructors to help students navigate their health care careers. Note there is no housing or financial aid available.
Indiana University Simon Cancer Center Summer Research Program
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Length: Eight weeks
- Time Commitment: Eight hours per day, Monday to Friday
The IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Summer Research Program provides interaction with research programs, access to world-renowned investigators, and science, translational, and clinical research activities. Research projects will be completed during this competitive program and students must participate in the career counseling sessions. Students receive a stipend and there is no cost to participate in the program itself, but housing costs are not included.
This program is open to high school seniors and includes weekly workshops related to becoming the kinds of students colleges are looking for and gaining admission to graduate programs and professional programs of study. Note that you must have completed your senior year by the internship start date and have a GPA of 3.0 to qualify for the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Summer Research Program.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Museum Disease Detective Camp
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Length: One week
- Time Commitment: Eight hours per day, Monday to Friday
This program is available to high school and senior students who are interested in community health and epidemiology. The internship covers the work of the CDC including public health research, data collection, data analysis, and health education. The week-long course is perfect for students looking to move into public health professions.
University of California (UC) Summer Student Research Program
- Location: University of California, San Francisco
- Length: Nine weeks
- Time Commitment: Full-time
The University of California provides opportunities for students to intern in health clinics and science labs, learning from a mentor in the health care or research fields. Interns have access to workshops, training, and networking activities. The aim of the program is to spark an interest in students, especially underrepresented minority students, in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering).
Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP)
- Location: Online
- Length: Five weeks
- Time Commitment: Full-time
The Stanford Medical Youth Science Program is a tuition-free program. The SMYSP focuses on science and medicine. It is open to low-income, underrepresented high school juniors. You should have a B-average in some of your science classes, and they also accept motivated intern applicants with a 2.5 GPA or higher.
Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) Summer Internship for Rising Seniors
- Location: Seattle, Washington (Currently online due to Covid-19)
- Length: Seven weeks
- Time Commitment: Full-time, 280 hours total
The ISB is a non-profit organization. It offers training and education in subjects like computational biology, microbial interactions, resilience and collapse of complex systems, and the microbiome. This paid internship is only open to 11th graders. Students can apply on the official website.
Medical Classes for High School Students
Aside from completing a medical internship program, there are loads of courses you can do to hone your academic and medical knowledge. Whether your goal is to achieve successful careers in physical therapy, sports medicine, or biomedical science, taking courses like the ones listed below will help your academic and professional development and may give you an advantage over others.
- The Science of Well-Being by Coursera. School wellness programs such as this course focus on personal well-being and creating good habits, which can help you manage the demands of a medical career. It is free to enroll in this online course and it includes a certificate of completion.
- Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare by Coursera. It is free to enroll in this online course and when you’re finished, you’ll earn a certificate of completion. It takes approximately 19 hours to complete. This course will introduce you to different careers in medicine to help you decide which clinical specialties you’d like to pursue.
- BIOMI 1720 Biomedical Terminology by Cornell School of Continuing Education (SCE). This is a six-week online summer program. You will learn about Greek and Latin word elements, rules, and meanings and it will help you recognize the meaning of unfamiliar words. The course is especially helpful for premedical students about to take standardized tests such as the SAT and will help with understanding medical terminology.
- Evolution Today by Coursera. This course is a free online academic program that includes a certification of completion. You will learn about evolution and its impact on medicine, psychology, and culture. It takes approximately 20 hours to complete.
- Physician/Student Opioid Use Disorder Medication-Assisted Treatment Waiver Training by Coursera. This online academic program takes approximately 13 hours to complete. You will review addiction identification and evidence-based treatments, and discuss the pharmacology of opioids relating to the treatment of opioid use disorder.
Should You Do an Internship in High School?
Yes, you should complete an internship in high school if you can. Regardless of the medical career you intend to pursue, internships will enhance and hone your academic knowledge, understanding, application, and experience in the medical field.
There are also valuable career services available online that can assist you with helpful tips for applying for an internship and provide available courses and bootcamps for medical coding.
Medical Internships for High School Students FAQ
According to the experts at EduMed, high school students preparing for a career in health care should study algebra, anatomy, biology, English, Spanish, and statistics-related subjects.
Yes, most careers in the medical field require at least an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree. However, some health care professions do not require a degree, such as home health and personal care aides, opticians, and pharmacy technicians.
According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a high school intern is $3,094 per month or $18 per hour.
Internships for high school students are generally during summer break, so the programs are at least a few weeks long and students are required to attend full-time. During the school year, schedules may be more flexible.
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