Top Medical Internships for High School Students
by
Indigo Research Team
&
Published:
January 15, 2025
Last Updated:
January 16, 2025
Exploring the healthcare profession at a young age can be life-changing for high school students. Fortunately, medical internships for high schoolers are an excellent way to get real-world experience, network with the experts, and cement your decision to enter the medical field.
If you aspire to become a doctor, nurse, or medical researcher, internships can teach you more than you can ever learn in your classroom. In this article, we’ll introduce you to the best medical internships for high school students. Read on to find out what these programs offer and what is required to get on board.
Here are some of the best medical internship programs for high school students:
The University of Chicago offers one of the best medical internships in Chicago for undergraduates—the Medicine ResearcHStart Program. This internship offers high school students a chance to get hands-on experience in cancer research. They work full-time in laboratories with world-class cancer researchers. Some of the fields they explore include cancer immunology, bioengineering, experimental therapeutics, and cancer disparities.
Besides the lab training, participants will have career workshops and faculty-led lectures on cancer research and related careers. Admission to ResearcHStart is competitive, only 30 candidates will be chosen based on their proven scientific interest. So it would help if you've participated in relevant research initiatives such as the IRIS Intensive Program. Having such relevant experiences improves your chances of getting accepted into elite medical field internships.
Stanford Institute of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR) is an 8-week immersive medical experience for high school juniors and seniors. Participants get to work directly with mentors in some of Stanford’s most prestigious labs, doing research in one of eight specialty fields (Immunology, Stem Cell Biology, Neurobiology, Cardiovascular Medicine, Cancer Biology, Bioinformatics, Bioengineering, and Genetics).
Stanford medicine clinical summer internship also runs a bioengineering boot camp, where interns learn by doing instead of just using a lab. With its focus on mentorship and skills training, SIMR offers unparalleled access to cutting-edge medical research and bioengineering.
The Penn Medicine Summer Program is one of the top medical research internships for high school students who are passionate about healthcare. Sponsored by the Perelman School of Medicine, the program simulates first-year medical school courses, training students in CPR, and suturing. Students also practice surgical knot-tying, spinal taps, and IVs through real-world experience.
During the program, interns visit labs in gross anatomy, microbiology, and pathology where they learn hands-on skills in several areas of medicine. They also have interactive sessions with more than 20 doctors and clinicians to get a better sense of healthcare careers. Best of all, interns get to watch an actual or simulated surgery.
The Fred Hutch Cancer Center Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP) is one of the best paid medical internships for high school juniors and seniors from underrepresented groups in biomedical science. The program begins with 2 weeks of hands-on training in laboratory safety and basic techniques such as pipetting, sterile technique, DNA isolation, PCR, and gel electrophoresis.
For the remaining six weeks, interns stay with research teams and are mentored by hosts to do data entry, plate culture, and lab meetings. Participants also enjoy research seminars, professional development sessions, and social events. The program ends with interns demonstrating their work to the Fred Hutch community.
Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP) is a five-week academic development experience for first-generation and low-income juniors at high schools. This internship includes a combination of faculty lectures, professional development seminars, and practical hospital internships at Stanford Hospital. These experiences give you hands-on experience in patient care, laboratory work, shadowing, and departmental operations.
The health disparities research project is what makes SMYSP different from other medical programs for high schoolers. In this project, small groups of students develop a college-level paper, presentation, or academic poster on public health issues. Such accomplishments would be helpful in your future educational pursuit such as when writing about research in college applications.
The Harvard Medical School (HMS) MEDscience Program gives students practical training in virtual medical emergencies. It's an 8-week high school internship for medicine aspirants. During the program, interns use high-tech simulation labs and mannequins to model real medical conditions. This approach teaches them about emergency room management, patient behavior, and bedside manner.
The HMS MEDscience Program integrates school science with fieldwork, enabling interns to gain real-world experience. The goal of this course is to provide students with confidence and give them an inside look at the medical industry and its challenges.
The Clinical Anatomy Summer Program (CASP) at Stanford University is one of the briefest programs for high schoolers interested in medicine. It's a one-week, in-person course where interns learn about human anatomy from lecturers at the Stanford Medicine faculty. They also do hands-on lab activities and surgical demonstrations.
The program also features practical workshops with Stanford doctors. These workshops give students an insider’s look at some of the medical careers in the field: surgery, nursing, sports medicine, biomedical engineering, etc. For aspiring doctors, CASP provides a platform to learn introductory and clinical skills in an elite academic institution.
The Project Success program at Harvard Medical School gives students the opportunity to pursue biomedical careers through paid summer medical internships. The program mainly targets high school students from the Boston and Cambridge areas, who are from underrepresented backgrounds in medicine. Successful candidates learn in research laboratories at Harvard Medical School or its affiliated institutions.
The Project Success program offers several seminars and workshops delivered by leading researchers and doctors. Interns also take field trips to hospitals and biotech companies and receive training in writing, speaking, and computers. The Project Success program is a one-stop shop for getting research experience, job skills, and insight into the biomedical field.
The Pediatrics Internship Program at Stanford (PIPS) is a research program that introduces high school students to science, medicine, and research. During the six-week program, interns work alongside Stanford faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers on an applied research project.
PIPS is meant for students who don’t have much research background and are keen to get involved in biological sciences and medicine. These students will be guided by experts on how to conduct scientific research. PIPS actively encourages scientific diversity. The goal of the program is to help medical aspirants find their calling and pursue a career in medicine and research.
Kaiser Permanente’s KP LAUNCH internship program is one of the best medical internships for high schoolers in California. LAUNCH stands for: Learning About Unlimited New Careers in Healthcare. As the name suggests, LAUNCH helps young adults to pursue careers in healthcare and leadership. The program targets people from underrepresented backgrounds. It strives to develop an inclusive, culturally competent workforce for Northern California’s diverse communities.
Interns are paired with clinicians and leaders who guide them on real-world projects. The Kaiser Permanente internship program supports young people so they can push through the barriers and make a meaningful impact in their chosen health careers.
Medical internships for high school students can be an amazing way to learn about the medical field, gain work experience, and build essential skills. The best part of these programs is that they are mostly free. You just need to have good grades and proven interest in medicine to be an ideal candidate.
If you want to improve your chances of getting into one of these competitive medical internships, consider participating in the Indigo Research Intensive Seasonal (IRIS) Program. This program is meant to give you the kind of research abilities, knowledge, and work experience that medical internship programs look for.
Most medical internships like the ResearchHStart program, KP LAUNCH, and Stanford Summer Research Program (SIMR) offer stipends or hourly pay, while others are unpaid.
Search for local hospitals, universities, or healthcare facilities. Then check their websites for internships or ask at their HR or education department. Platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed may also have a list of internships you can find in your city.
Most internships require having to have good grades, especially in science, and a proven interest in medicine (especially extracurricular activities). Regional internships might require permanent residency, while some programs are particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Medical internships teach you about patient care, lab work, and healthcare administration. You also get hands-on experience, shadow industry experts, attend workshops, and do research.
Yes, online medical internships are possible. A program such as the OxBright Medicine Internship, gives high school students the opportunity to explore medical fields through online courses, from anywhere in the world.
While medical internships provide valuable healthcare exposure, early research experience can set you apart even more. Through Indigo Research's IRIS Program, our genetics course offers you hands-on research experience with leading professors, exploring cutting-edge topics in medical science. Join our 6-week intensive program to build the research skills that both prestigious internships and top medical schools seek.
