Healthcare Internships

Students enrolled in a program, and sometimes graduates within a year of finishing. Pharmacy is the strict case: most state boards want an intern registration before your hours count, so check yours before applying for pharmacy intern roles.

The two words aren't used consistently, so go by the duties. As a rule, an externship is the clinical placement that comes with a course and is arranged by the school, while an internship is posted by the employer and has its own application. In nursing the paid employer-run summer programs are usually called externships.

They follow the academic calendar. Summer programs post over the winter and term placements a few months ahead, and cohorts are small enough that the first week of a posting counts for more here than it does on a staff job.

Usually BLS before any patient contact. Past that the internship is the training, so employers ask about your program and your coursework.

Many employers run them to recruit, and a good internship ends with a conversation about openings. Whether there's a line to move into depends on the budget when your term ends, so ask early.