Shriners Hospitals: Opportunities for Summer Internships

Shriners Hospitals for Children offer various summer internship programs for students interested in gaining experience in the medical field. These programs provide invaluable opportunities for high school, college, and medical students to explore different aspects of healthcare, research, and patient care.

Summer Research Immersion Programs

Shriners Children's Philadelphia

Shriners Children’s Philadelphia proudly hosts the Medical Research Summer Immersion Program. This program is designed for high school juniors, seniors, and college students. The program trains students in clinical research principles. It also offers a behind-the-scenes look at daily hospital operations. The program lasts for five days. It is an intense research program that will train 20 high school and college students on clinical research principles.

Program Details

Participants will understand the clinical research process. They will also explore current trends. Participants will generate innovative research ideas. At the end of the program, participants will present a research idea. This demonstrates their understanding. It also shows their potential contribution to the field of clinical research. This program aligns with and enhances Shriners Children’s mission. The mission is to change and improve lives through education, research, and compassionate care. This creates a brighter future for children's healthcare.

Engaging these students in research fosters community ties. It also cultivates the next generation of pediatric healthcare innovators. The hospital welcomes students to further their extracurricular education. This is in an area they may not have the opportunity to learn about in the classroom.

Application Process

Interested students must submit a brief application. This includes their academic background, reasons for wanting to participate, and a description of their career goals. One reference letter is also required. A selection committee reviews the applications. They choose up to 20 participants based on merit. They also consider potential for future clinical research involvement. Diversity of academic backgrounds is also a factor. The deadline to apply is March 15. Selected applicants will be invited to interview virtually.

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Experiences and Benefits

Students gain experience in asking for letters of recommendation. They also gain experience in interviewing. The program exposes them to medical professionals. This allows them to build professional connections. Participants have the opportunity to observe orthopedic surgeons in the operating room. Many high school and college students may not have this opportunity. The program teaches clinical research principles. It also gives participants the chance to meet and spend time with medical professionals.

Summer Research Immersion Program Structure

The Summer Research Immersion Program is a combination of professional medical lectures, hands-on labs, research projects, and shadowing of medical professionals. Students observe lectures on various topics. These include cerebral palsy, sports medicine, and pediatric spine surgery. They also learn about clinical psychology and ethics in a healthcare setting. Other topics include cleft lip and cleft palate surgery, and pediatric hand surgery.

The panel includes a medical fellow, a medical student, a nurse, and a physician’s assistant. It also includes the director of rehabilitation services and the director of marketing and communications. Students gain a broad understanding of what their potential future careers might look like on a day-to-day basis.

Hands-On Labs

The hands-on labs are a highlight of the week for students. With the guidance of physicians, they learn and practice various procedures on medical models. One lab shows them how to perform spinal fusion surgery using real surgical tools. Another teaches them how to perform an osteotomy on a simulated bone model. They also learn how to conduct ultrasounds. They learn what to look for on the scans. Students learn how to apply a splint. They practice creating and applying them on their peers’ arms.

Surgical Observation

College students have the opportunity to observe various surgeries in the operating room (OR). This includes procedures on the spine and elbow. The surgeons and OR staff welcome them. They provide a firsthand look at the care Shriners Children’s Philadelphia staff delivers to its patients. They answer the students’ questions and embrace their curiosity. For many, it is their first time exploring pediatric orthopedic surgery in such an intensive and direct way.

Medical Research

Throughout the week, students learn how to conduct medical research. They also learn to assess data from research studies on specific medical topics. In small groups, they work together to create presentations on their given topic. These are then presented to the entire program and guests at the end of the week. Prizes are awarded to the top-performing groups.

Other Internship and Fellowship Opportunities

Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery Summer Internships

Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery offers a Summer Academy Internship program. The program is open to students studying biology, engineering, pre-med, and related fields. Medical students are also invited to apply. Interns work under the direct supervision of Mass General and Shriners Children’s Boston research faculty. The program lasts for 10 weeks. It culminates in a final presentation of their results. Applications are due by February 16, 2024.

Victory Junction outREACH Program

Victory Junction’s outREACH program provides internship opportunities during the fall, spring, and summer months. These opportunities are available in Charlotte and Greenville, NC. This student opportunity is not affiliated with Child Life, Occupational Therapy, or Recreation Therapy. It is a specific career-building opportunity through Victory Junction.

Internship Details

As a Victory Junction outREACH Intern, one will gain knowledge and hands-on experience working with pediatric patients and their families. This includes ages 4-16 years old, in the hospital/clinical settings. This opportunity will enhance professional development. This is for those seeking a career in the medical setting, camping, and/or programming field.

Qualifications

Some of the qualifications one must have to apply are some college experience. Applicants must be 19 years of age. They must have previous experience working with children/adolescents. This does not necessarily need to be in a healthcare setting. All interns are required to submit immunization records, once selected.

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Shriners Children's Northern California Fellowship Programs

Shriners Children's Northern California, in partnership with UC Davis Health, offers pediatric specialty fellowship programs. Fellows are provided a full breadth of training. This prepares them for all experiences in independent practice. They also receive in-depth, subspecialty training in areas of their interest. Fellows are provided optimal flexibility. They can tailor their schedules in order to see the most beneficial cases for their education.

With staff who have practices at UC Davis Health and Shriners Children's Northern California, fellows are exposed to a wide variety of cases. This ranges from those in UC Davis' Level-1 Trauma Center to complex, subspecialty cases at Shriners Children's Northern California. Attendings and fellows learn from one another. They work to make a positive difference in the lives of children.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Fellowship

The Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Fellowship at the Shriners Children's Northern California and UC Davis Children’s Hospital offers in-depth, hands-on exposure to all aspects of pediatric orthopedic care. The fellow will be closely mentored by 11 pediatric orthopedic surgeons. They will experience a flexible schedule. This allows for complex, elective pediatric orthopedic and spine surgeries at Shriners Children's. It also includes elective and urgent pediatric orthopedic surgeries at UC Davis Children's Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center. The fellowship is accredited by the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA).

Pediatric Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Fellowship

Shriners Children's Northern California’s Pediatric Hand and Upper Extremity fellowship offers in-depth, hands-on exposure to all aspects of pediatric hand and upper extremity care. All qualified applicants are interviewed by each faculty member. They are ranked according to ability, interest, communication skills, motivation, and integrity. The program does not discriminate with regard to sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, disability, or any other applicable legally protected status.

The program expects its fellow to master the clinical and surgical skills for the management of the child with a complex upper limb problem. This is through exposure to all aspects of care: assessment and diagnosis (primarily in clinic); management (clinic and in-patient) and surgical planning and technical skill. They expect them to gain competency in teaching orthopedic residents, pediatric orthopedic fellows, and hand fellows. They also expect them to participate in clinical research activities.

Fellows will begin the lifelong process of personal continuing medical education and the application to the practice situation. Review of care and outcomes will be done on a routine basis. The goal is to improve patient care within one’s practice.

Fellows should understand the continuum of care. They should understand their role in managing the acute patient encounter. They should also understand the resources needed to optimize care outcomes. This includes integration of patient care into the local practice setting. Awareness of the cost of care options being provided is also important. They should adhere to “best practices” per hospital.

Burn Fellowship

Burn surgery fellows will gain extensive experience in both the acute and reconstructive management of pediatric and adult burn patients. The fellows will help manage burn patients at both Shriners Children's Northern California and the UC Davis Health's Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center. Combined, these institutions serve as the regional pediatric and adult burn centers for Northern California. They have an average of 600 inpatient admissions per year.

Child Life Practicum Program at Shriners Children’s Greenville

Shriners Children’s Greenville offers a Child Life Practicum Program. This program is designed to provide pre-internship students with invaluable learning experiences. Through observation, patient interactions, and engaging non-clinical assignments, participants will deepen their understanding of child development in a healthcare setting. This practicum is a pre-internship opportunity. It allows students to grow and learn through observation, interactions, and non-clinical learning assignments.

Advanced Practicum in Clinical Psychology at Shriners Children’s Boston

This program gives trainees an opportunity to develop skills in providing psychological services and consultation to pediatric medical patients. This often includes those with traumatic burn and related injuries. Practicum students in psychology gain experience on the inpatient unit as well as in the outpatient clinic. Students have the opportunity to utilize a wide range of therapeutic modalities within a very specific patient population.

The primary approach to psychological care at Shriners Children's is pediatric behavioral medicine. This emphasizes CBT, ACT, DBT, and TF-CBT evidence-based interventions. Practicum students also gain experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team. They consult to medical staff, care management, child life, and rehabilitation therapy.

This is an Advanced Practicum experience and students must at least be in their 3rd year of training in an accredited Ph.D. or Psy.D. program in clinical psychology. Previous therapy experience with children, adolescents, and/or families is required. Knowledge of typical and atypical child development is preferred.

Students are expected to attend morning rounds on days they are at practicum. They are also expected to participate in one hour per week psychiatry rounds and one hour per week hospital-wide multidisciplinary rounds. They have two hours each week of supervision with Dr. O'Donnell.

Students conduct psychological assessment as well as individual short-term and long-term interventions with patients based on referral by medical staff and care coordination. In addition, interns are responsible for writing notes in medical charts pertaining to all patient contacts and submission of written reports related to discharge plans and referrals for outpatient services following discharge. Interns will also attend treatment team meetings.

Trainees are encouraged to develop research and clinical interests into presentations for local and national audiences.

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