Off-Campus Experiences
Updated 1/10/2022
Employment
Below are recent employment opportunities or companies that are continuously hiring in the health professions. We encourage you to also set up a job alert on sites like LinkedIn, Monster, and HelpWanted for more healthcare-related employment opportunities in your area as you can set those searches based on your needs (location, part-time, certifications needed, etc.).
Scribing is an incredible way to grow medical knowledge and interact directly with physicians and patients. In-person and telehealth scribe positions are needed, most require a 6 month to year commitment. Scheduling is usually the most limiting factor for scribing.
Don't forget to use job search engines as hospitals and clinics will often post scribe positions directly!
Healthcare Related Job Sites
Event Medic Services is looking for experienced (already certified) Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians for special events, concerts, construction sites, Movie & TV production Sets and other public gatherings.
See current openings, which may include the following part-time roles:
Emergency Room Technician
PT Aide
Radiology Aide
Patient Care Associate
Service Opportunities
Questions to consider when seeking volunteer opportunities:
Why do I want to serve? Who do I want to serve?
What causes do I care about?
What populations do I enjoy working with?
How can I diversify my other experiences on my resume/application?
What am I learning from this experience?
Why am I considering volunteering abroad rather than locally
Guidelines for Premedical and Medical Students Providing Patient Care During Clinical Experiences Abroad (consider ethics, whether it would be perceived as "voluntourism", etc.)
PhysioCamp: Volunteer and Internships
Leaders Save Lives Scholarship Program
Hosting a blood drive through the American Red Cross is a great leadership opportunity for you to help save lives. Form a recruitment committee and invite your friends, family and community to donate at your blood drive. If you collect 25 pints or more you'll receive an Amazon gift card and have the opportunity to win a college scholarship!
Did you know that students provide about 20% of all blood donations? When school is out of session, this greatly impact the national blood supply, and moreso now during this COVID-19 pandemic. Learn about the new safety protocols when donating blood with the American Red Cross
MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) cooks and delivers nutritious, medically-appropriate meals and provides nutrition counseling to neighbors who are battling life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, renal disease, and HIV/AIDS. MANNA delivers meals to the Greater Philadelphia area and Southern New Jersey region.
Volunteer as an individual or group to help prepare meals. Must first complete a virtual orientation and sign up for a 3-hour shift at 520 N. 20th St (Center City).
TeleHealth Access for Seniors is a non-profit with a mission to provide seniors and low-income communities with devices, instructions, and free tech-support to connect them to their physicians via TeleHealth, friends and family using digital connectivity, and wellness tools via apps. Their team of college and high school volunteers have collected over 900 devices and raised over $50,000. If you're interested in partnering with local clinics to collect devices and funds or support other parts of their mission like guide development and tech-support, Click here for more info
Crisis Text Line is the free, 24/7 text line for people in crisis in the U.S., relying on volunteer Crisis Counselors who remotely answer texts from people in crisis, bringing them from a hot moment to a cool calm through active listening, collaborative problem solving, and safety planning. The greatest need for Crisis Counselors is between 10 pm and 6 am EST. Complete 30 hours of training and commit to volunteering 4 hours per week until 200 hours are reached.
How to Handle Coronavirus for students, parents, healthcare workers regarding isolation & financial stress
A person confined to death row often spends up to 23 hours each day alone in a small cell—for years and sometimes decades. A kind gesture, like writing a letter, can bring a ray of hope to the darkness of death row. They may be victims of systemic racism, poverty, etc. and that's all the more reason to show compassion. If you would like to make a commitment to write to someone on death row at least once each month for one year, please click here. Getting to know one prisoner can dispel some of the misconceptions and fears about prisons as well as the people locked away inside of them. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
“The Best Day of My Life So Far” is inspired by the relentlessly positive spirit of the founder’s grandma, and grounded in the belief that you can turn any day into the best day of your life, just by sharing a story with someone who really cares to listen. 11 million, or 28%, of older Americans are at risk for social isolation, which can impair the immune system and increase cognitive decline. Their mission is to reduce isolation in senior citizens and promote intergenerational engagement through storytelling.
Remote Opportunity: Use this form to send a virtual note or video and nominate an assisted living facility, nursing home, or senior center you want it to go to! Here's what your notes will look like.
Project HOME empowers adults, children, and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty, and to enable all to attain their fullest potential as individuals and as members of the broader society. Become a volunteer
Immigrants and refugees are a critical part of the fabric of life in the United States, and it is our vision that all immigrants and refugees achieve a life of dignity, safety, stability, sustainable opportunities and meaningful connections to their communities. To this end, NSC provides comprehensive services to immigrants and refugees, including legal protections, community integration, access to health and wellness services, and opportunities to achieve English language proficiency. Our dedicated staff are committed to ensuring that each of our clients receives high-quality holistic care and work together to refer clients to internal and external services based on the individual’s needs.
Learn about their volunteer opportunities and follow their Facebook page for updates
Project Sunshine partners with medical facilities to meet the psychosocial and developmental needs of pediatric patients. While health professionals deliver treatment, volunteers deliver activities that promote creative expression, socialization, and learning. By providing increased opportunities for play and authentic engagement in the medical environment, young patients can act and feel like normal kids or teens during emotionally and physically challenging times. Click here for remote volunteer opportunities
Interested in volunteering with the Philadelphia Community Chapter at Pediatric Specialty Care in East Falls?
Sign up for a webinar training
You'll be connected with the local chapter leaders to learn more about upcoming events
Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Use your interests, skills, and talents to help our veterans in the following ways:
Administrative: data entry, answering phones, running errands, assisting with department-specific projects
Get trained to interact with veteran patients in the nursing units, Community Living Center, emergency room, short procedure unit
Serve as a liaison for veteran patients and visitors to navigate the Medical Center
Minimum time commitment for college students is 3 hours/week. If you have any questions, please contact vhaphivisn4voluntary@va.gov.
Cooper University Hospital is located in Camden, NJ and volunteers can help with transporting patients, fall prevention, staffing the information desk, communicating between nurses and families, etc.
Become a volunteer at Jefferson to help in these ways:
Clinical – work directly with patients and clinical staff to provide an optimal patient experience
Clerical – assist Jefferson staff in one of our many departments and help with general office work, customer service and much more
Service – deliver newspapers, sell candy, escort patients and family members among other critical responsibilities that help us make visitors to Jefferson feel at home
Training and Certificates
Many paid clinical experiences require training or a certificate. Below are certificates you may consider exploring if you are looking for part-time or full time work in the field. Note: some companies or EMS squads will cover certification costs with a minimum commitment.
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) to help patients with activities of daily living and other healthcare needs under the direct supervision of a nurse
Nurse Aide Training program @ Community College of Philadelphia ($1,495 for 124-hour course)
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Paramedic (if you're already an EMT) to respond to emergency calls. Here are some local courses:
Twin Valley EMT Training Center: Summer 2021 traditional and hybrid courses in Coatesville, PA
EMT @ Villanova University ($1100 for 200-hour hybrid)
EMT @ Jefferson (15 weeks; AM or PM program, or hybrid option)
EMT course or Paramedic Program @ Delaware County Community College - see upcoming virtual info sessions
Emergency Training Academy in Thorndale ($1345 with $100 discount for Chester County residents)
Virtual Shadowing
The pandemic has made shadowing more difficult to obtain and some clinics are limiting their opportunities even during times of lower case numbers. Virtual shadowing is helpful to explore healthcare interests and learn more about physician interactions but should not replace in person clinical exposure. Although it may be difficult, we still highly encourage you to pursue shadowing, working in a clinical setting (even if it's behind a desk!), and/or clinical volunteering as it will increase your network and expose you to patient interactions. This is important to demonstrate your passion and commitment to healthcare! Virtual shadowing is great for learning but will not "replace" in person experiences.
Remember:
Schools are unlikely to "count" these hours, so it's always best to ask admissions representatives directly at schools (through info sessions or fairs) how they perceive virtual shadowing experiences on application.
You should not have to spend money to gain virtual shadowing experience.
Interactive small-group seminars using real patient cases recorded from a camcorder attached to the practitioner’s forehead. Fully consented and HIPAA compliant videos feature real patients in the ER, exam room, community clinics, pre-hospital, and developing world. Cases are facilitated synchronously by physicians and advanced medical students, who supplement their instruction with their own experiential knowledge. Every Wednesday at 8 pm EST at clinicalshadowing.com.
Every Monday night eShadowing will feature a PA at 7 pm and a doctor at 8 pm for you to shadow. They'll talk about their profession, offer a case presentation, and allow Q&A. Replays are available within an hour of the session and through through Sunday of the same week. After that you can watch Replays on Youtube
Shadow physicians from various specialties via YouTube live. Sessions days/times may vary depending on the physician.
Sign up for their mailing list or follow IG @Webshadowers about upcoming sessions (days/times vary depending on physicians).
The University of Colorado School of Medicine has an online course that includes 5 videos featuring physicians, PAs, and NPs as they go bedside in the Emergency Department to assess and diagnose a simulated patient. Each video is followed by a series of questions, summary by the physician, and a short quiz on the topic addressed.
Pre-Health Shadowing features shadowing opportunities of different health professions and different countries. They share why they decided to go into their field, their education, activities, career path, admissions process, advice, a glance into their day on the job, etc. Presentations are followed by a Q&A and a short assessment.