Health Care Experience
Gaining experience in the healthcare field is essential for admission to health profession training programs. This can be achieved through various avenues beyond just clinical exposure, such as campus involvement, leadership roles, volunteering, shadowing professionals, and applying for internships, among others.
Types of Experiences
- Campus Involvement and Leadership
- Volunteering and Community Service
- Shadowing
- Clinical Exposure
- Internships and Fellowships
- Summer Opportunities
Below, we've provided links to resources where previous Brandeis pre-health students have gained experience, though this is not an exhaustive list.
Campus Involvement and Leadership
There are many health-related clubs and organizations on campus. To find out more, check out these Brandeis resources:
We also highlight a few on our Student Groups page.
Volunteering and Community Service
- Waltham Group
- Find local opportunities using VolunteerMatch.com and Idealist.org
- Red Cross blood drives or virtual disaster responses
- United Way local volunteering for nonprofits
- Crisis Text Line, Call2Talk, or other local crisis phone support line
- Support local hospice or nursing homes as needed
If you plan to volunteer in the Boston area, here are a few hospitals and clinics where our students have enjoyed their volunteer work:
Shadowing
Shadowing is a great way to learn more about the field, but it also helps students learn if this is truly the right career path.
- Connect with local physicians you may know
- Use the Rise Together Mentor Network to connect with Brandeis Alumni
- Virtual Shadowing Nano Courses in Emergency Medicine (University of Colorado)
- VirtualShadowing.com Online YouTube Shadowing Series
- If you're having a hard time finding a physician to shadow, you could ask if they would be available for an informational interview
Clinical Exposure
Medical schools do not expect students to have “hands on” clinical roles; they simply want you to have exposure to how the health care system operates and have some experience interacting with patients. There are countless ways to gain clinical exposure and experience, such as:
- Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Pharmacy Technician
- Medical Scribe
- Medical Assistant
- Hospital volunteer
- Volunteering with health-related non-profits
Internships and Fellowships
Internships
Internships are temporary positions for students or recent graduates that provide the opportunity to learn and gain hands-on experience related to your individual career goals and/or field of study.
- Internships
- Check out the Hiatt Career Center's - Healthcare Hub information about searching for internships
- Handshake
Fellowships
Meet with a Brandeis fellowship advisor to learn more about which opportunities are a good match for your interests and to review eligibility criteria.
Summer Opportunities
Clinical summer internships and opportunities are available locally and nationally. To find available research internships, please navigate to research experience.
Off-Campus
Local Programs
- Health Careers Connection
- Project Healthcare New York
- Mass General Brigham is an umbrella organization for multiple hospitals and other medical facilities in the Boston/Eastern MA area. You can search their career database for internships and temporary employment positions. Do an advanced search and select "internships" under job families.
“This experience has reaffirmed my goal of becoming a doctor. It has helped me determine which areas of medicine that I would like to explore the most: surgery, clinical, or a mixture of both.”
Cynthia Crispino ’21
Biology Major & Brandeis Summer Shadowing Program Participant