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Internships create benefits for both students and community partners; students gain practical experience and develop critical skills while community partners gain creative, energetic students ready to apply theories to the real world.
The purpose of the Pre-Health Internship Program (PHIP) is to provide students with additional clinical experience in the healthcare arena. These internships offered to both ground and online students give an opportunity to learn from healthcare professionals and explore potential career options. Internships are critical for students seeking matriculation to post-graduate programs and we want to identify opportunities that will be a win-win for both the student and the community partner.
Students participating in the internship are also enrolled into a course for credit. The course serves as a culminating, professional experience, bridging each student’s years of academic preparation with a meaningful practical internship. The course is elective and is viewed as a professional development opportunity under the supervision of a professional mentor and monitoring of the experience by the PHIP Placement Specialist.
Community partners who are interested in becoming an affiliated site with our program may begin by completing the New Site application.
Student interns are matched to a community partner on a 1 to 1 basis through our application process. Students must meet a minimum criteria of a 3.0 cumulative GPA, completed at least 45 credit hours, and be in good academic standing. We do not permit freshman status to apply. As some internships are competitive, some partners have increased their criteria for selection. Criteria may include:
- Grade Point Average (cumulative or science courses)
- Courses taken (i.e. Medical terminology, Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Physics, etc.)
- Credit Hours Completed/Academic Standing
- Healthcare Experience
Partners are also able to interview matched students prior to the start of the internship to ensure an appropriate fit. Affiliating with ASU's Pre-Health Internship Program does not require a community partner to take on student interns every semester, this will be based on the site's discretion/availability communicated with the Placement Specialists coordinating the student interns.
Based on the program in which a student is enrolled, the hours for an internship can range from 90-270. Most students elect to complete 3 credits (135 hours).
Students are placed during a 14 week semester for the Fall and Spring terms and an 8 week semester for the Summer term. Students average about 10-12 hours on site and are required to complete the hours for the duration of the semester.
Schedules differ by student but will need to be worked out with the Site Supervisor prior to beginning. We encourage students to set aside at least 2 full days a week to complete their internship hours.
PHIP internships may contain some administrative/programmatic tasks but the focus of these internships are to assist students in gaining healthcare experience through observation of patient care as well as understanding the every day role of the practitioner in the healthcare setting. Duties will vary on site and may change once a training period is conducted. Note: we do not conduct research internships. Veterinary, dental, pharmacy, or physical therapy will offer different clinical tasks.
Administrative/Programmatic tasks (20%) may include:
- Office procedures such as checking-in patients, calling to verify appointments, insurance verification, collecting payments, scheduling patients and referrals, maintaining and filing medical recordsn and/or billing and coding.
- Individualized projects such as participating in conferences, gathering research for health publications or journals, and/or finding community resources for patients.
Clinical tasks (80%) may include:
- Setting up a room, sterile instrument prep, and rooming patients.
- Learning to check for vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate.
- Learning to complete a patient history, charting, and/or scribing.
- EKG placements
- Observing procedures, injections, surgeries, etc.
- Learning diagnosis and treatment of diseases and illnesses.
- Patient follow-up and education.
Interested organizations can complete an application below to begin the vetting process for affiliation. Agreements may vary in terms. Affiliating with ASU does not mean a site must take on a student every semester. A Placement Specialist will work with the Site Supervisor to complete the appropriate agreement for the student's internship.
OCP assists ASU in proudly partnering with numerous sponsoring organizations nationwide to offer our students diverse internship opportunities. For more information on academic agreements, please visit https://clinicalpartnerships.asu.edu/academic-agreements.
If you are unable to complete the webform, please download a copy of the form here.
The following is a general guideline of the Site Supervisor’s responsibilities:
- Understand that the student is an individual who has a unique background.
- Provide a learning plan to be updated as the student develops professionally.
- Provide guidance and counsel in an amount appropriate to the student’s personal and professional maturity.
- Schedule conferences with the student to give feedback on performance and provide guidance on projects and assignments.
- Oversee the student’s schedule and maintain a record of the student’s hours for verification at the midpoint and final evaluations.
The Site Supervisor and student will complete an Educational Agreement that will outline the responsibilities and expectations of both parties during the internship. The EA should be an individualized learning agreement, unique to each student. The student and Site Supervisor should work collaboratively to develop the content for the EA. It is the student’s responsibility to complete and submit the document to the Placement Specialist to be approved no later than one week prior to the internship start date.
The Site Supervisor will identify and go over, with the student, the expectations, work schedule, and reporting structure through the Educational Agreement (EA). Expectations are often utilized to determine the evaluation criteria for a student.
Expectations often include one or more of the following:
- Demonstrate professionalism in the field, as displayed by the student’s interpersonal skills, conduct, work ethic, self-directed initiatives, and qualitative/quantitative contributions to their hosting organization.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills in areas of writing, verbal responses, non-verbal communications, and presentation development and delivery.
- Practice effective self-management and leadership skills, taking initiative as warranted and demonstrating creativeness in clinical work and completion of tasks.
- Integrate didactic skills learned in academic training into the practice setting.
The Site Supervisor will identify and plan, with the student, the project(s) and/or task(s) the student will be working on during the internship through the Educational Agreement (EA).
The most important section of the EA is the Tasks and Learning Objectives section. In this section, students must list the actual tasks, duties, activities, projects, trainings, and job responsibilities (learning objectives) they will complete while in the internship. Students must advocate for their job responsibilities outlined in the EA to be an individualized learning experience that will help the student grow professionally and develop transferrable skills. Activities listed in this section should allow the student to receive as much hands-on training as possible. Students should discuss with their Site Supervisor the type of learning experience desired and develop a clear understanding of the scope of responsibilities (usually after a defined period of training, such as at the midpoint of the internship).
Learning Objectives often include one or more of the following:
- Learn to chart patient histories in an efficient, organized, and thorough manner.
- Generate and communicate thoughtful assessments and plans for evaluation and management.
- Effectively communicate with other members of the health care team including nurses, social workers, consultants, physical therapists, and ancillary staff.
- Understand front desk procedures such as appointment setting, insurance verification, billing, and coding.
- Observe the provider-patient relationship, including patient assessment management and patient education.
The Site Supervisor will be asked to complete a Midterm and Final evaluation of the student and submit it to the Placement Specialist. It is recommended the evaluations be discussed with the student regarding student’s ability, strengths and weaknesses, and level of maturity as a beginning professional. In the event that problems exist to the degree that failure is imminent, the student and the Placement Specialist must be notified so that discussions can be initiated. Documentation of problem behaviors and pursuant conversations are essential.
During the course of the internship, site supervisors will be encouraged to contact the Placement Specialist should there be any questions/concerns regarding the student’s performance.