Atrium Health Internship Programs: Bridging Education and Healthcare Careers

Atrium Health offers a variety of internship programs designed to provide students with invaluable practical experience, bridging the gap between academic theory and real-world application. These programs cater to a diverse range of educational backgrounds and career interests, from clinical roles to administrative and technological positions. Atrium Health considers interns to be integral to the team, and the culture is centered around inclusion, service, innovation, and genuine care.

Academic Internship Programs

Academic internship programs at Atrium Health combine classroom-based education with firsthand experiences, helping students prepare for and explore career objectives. Atrium Health Floyd + Harbin Clinic’s Academic Internship Program partners with area high schools to achieve their healthcare teaching goals. Student placements are prioritized based on when students complete their ACEMAPP application process. No placement will be assigned until ALL requirements are met in ACEMAPP by the deadline. It is highly recommended students work with their educator to list three areas of interest in order of preference. The educator then makes the placement selection on the student's behalf which is then reviewed for availability and approved at the discretion of Atrium and Harbin. The number of intern slots is limited each semester. The morning shifts have the most activity on the floors, particularly around surgical support services. An integral part of the high school internship experience is providing mentors who give guidance and encouragement to the student as well as being involved in the teaching of work tasks and job responsibilities to the student. Many individuals may be involved in mentoring a student, or a single person may take on the entire responsibility depending on the unit's patient load and staffing capacity.

Child Life Internship Program at Levine Children's Hospital

The Child Life Internship at Levine Children's Hospital provides a supervised, guided learning experience with children. Child Life has been a part of Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center since 1977, and at Levine Children's since its opening in 2007. Internships are offered in the winter/spring and summer to students attending a university. The internship lasts 15 weeks with students working 40 hours per week. It is a full-time, unpaid position that is divided into two, six-week rotations. Each rotation includes orientation and a site visit, with shadow weeks in between the rotations. With the guidance of the Child Life Internship Coordinator, interns will choose one of the clinical areas they want to complete a rotation.

Applicants must have varied experiences with children, with at least one experience with children in a health care setting and at least one experience with children outside of a health care setting. Applicants must have successfully completed an ACLP Eligibility Assessment showing all 10 required courses by ACLP accepted. When requested, applicant must provide immunization records. Complete the ACLP Internship Readiness Common Application. Housing is not provided by the hospital to the child life interns. Interns are required to read "The Handbook of Child Life" by R. Black scrub top and bottoms are required, with a white or black long sleeve shirt that can be worn under the scrub top. As an intern, you will be required to have access to this book.

Key Internship Programs

Atrium Health Navicent partners with educational institutions to offer key internship programs. The Atrium Health Navicent and Wesleyan College Key Internship Program allows college juniors and seniors to gain paid clinical or non-clinical health career experience. The Atrium Health Navicent Hutchings College and Career Academy Student Internship Program allows 25 high school students annually to participate in an evidence-based pathway for clinical health careers. A grant from the Navicent Health Foundation covers the cost of student lab and clinical uniforms, CPR certifications and other fees.

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Summer Internship Program

The Summer Internship Program offers a unique opportunity for students to gain project-based learning experience. The program is intended to bring both college (undergraduate and graduate level) and high school students to Atrium Health. High school interns are placed through the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (MYEP) in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and The Senator Scott Opportunity Internship Program in Clover Schools and through select Career Counselors throughout school districts surrounding Mecklenburg County.

Types of Student Placements

Atrium Health offers placements for clinical and non-clinical students.

Clinical Students: These students are in college programs that will have direct contact with patients or visitors. These students will have a college-based instructor who will arrange their clinical experience/rotation at Atrium Health. Atrium Health does not provide placements for students attending schools that are not included in the Atrium Health Clinical Education Affiliation Agreement or who do not have college-based instructors to make their arrangements.
Non-Clinical Students: These students are enrolled in college programs that are typically in office settings or in areas where there aren’t any patients.
Student and Physician Observers: High school or college students requiring observer hours for career exploration or to apply for a clinical program (e.g., medical school, dental school, physician assistant school, etc.). Identification of a qualified preceptor is the responsibility of the student, not the Student Placement Office. It is strongly recommended that students who seek an experience at Atrium Health work through your school/education provider to make arrangements.

Allied Health, Medical Education, and Nursing Student Placement Programs

Allied Health Student Placement Programs are work-based learning opportunities for student participants to develop practical skills that will enhance future healthcare careers and bridge the gap between formal education and practical work experience.

Medical Education Student Placement Programs are work-based learning opportunities for student participants to develop practical skills that will enhance future healthcare careers and bridge the gap between formal education and practical work experience. This is also an opportunity for Atrium Health to participate in the educational process while receiving valuable work contributions from the student participants, as well as developing essential skills of our own leaders and teammates.

Nursing Student Placement Programs are work-based learning opportunities for student participants to develop practical skills that will enhance future healthcare careers and bridge the gap between formal education and practical work experience.

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Shadowing Opportunities

Job shadowing must be done in partnership with an Atrium Health teammate. The new shadowing/observation process is managed by the Volunteer Services Department, however the departments who are hosting shadows and observers are responsible for oversight of individuals participating in the experiences. Student and Physician Observers are allowed within Atrium Health. The student or physician observer must always be accompanied by the sponsoring physician or Advanced Practice Provider (APP). Where applicable, Observers must be introduced to the patient as an Observer and the patient must give their verbal consent for the observer to be present for the clinical interaction. Each hospital or ambulatory practice is responsible for ensuring appropriate oversight of student and physician observers. This includes assigning an individual or team responsible for processing the required paperwork and verification that the observer has a sponsoring physician or APP (if applicable). Certain requirements must be completed prior to the observer starting their experience if they will be onsite for more than one (1) day in total for the calendar year (January to December) whether it is continuous or over an extended period.

Benefits of Interning at Atrium Health

Internships at Atrium Health offer numerous benefits, including:

Diverse Opportunities: With more than 40 hospitals and over 1,400 care locations, Atrium Health supports a broad and diverse patient population, providing a wide array of internship opportunities.
Meaningful Projects: Interns contribute to meaningful projects rather than busywork, such as helping implement new patient scheduling systems, developing mental health outreach programs, or analyzing clinical outcomes data.
Mentorship: Interns are assigned mentors who guide them throughout the experience, helping them set goals, track progress, and reflect on their learning.
Networking: Interning at Atrium Health puts you in close contact with professionals who are not only experts in their fields but also open to mentoring and collaboration.

Specific Internship Examples

Quality Management / Length of Stay (LOS): Interns examine patient charts in Epic and shadow different departments to find a care delay, lack of communication, or something unnecessarily keeping the patient at the hospital.
Shadowing: Interns shadowed different teammates and verbally interacted with patients.
Inventory/Greet Guests/Prepare and distribute patient education materials: Interns worked in Outpatient Surgery within the Pre-Op and Post-Op areas, stocking bays, doing linen changes, stocking warmers and fluids, organizing supplies needed for the following days and wiping down stretchers.

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