Consider Your Goals/Requirements
Do you want to:
- test your interest in medicine?
- gain exposure to the clinical world?
- Acquire research experience?
- give back to the community, perform public service, and impact lives?
- build on prior experience or explore new interests?
- challenge yourself to do something unfamiliar and demanding?
Be conservative about the time commitment you promise. Make sure you can be consistent in your attendance or participation. Click the heading below for more information about:
DETAILS ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR
Resources for Harvard students
Office of Career Services
- Faculty Aide Program: The program encourages professors to hire undergraduate research assistants by providing half a student's wage with the professor or academic department paying the other half. The total a student can earn during the academic year is $2000.
- Harvard College Research Program: l HCRP grants support student-initiated scholarly research and creative endeavors undertaken with faculty guidance. Funding can reimburse research and related travel expenses and/or provide a wage for students not receiving course credit for their work.
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities: This link lists research interests for members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and information on getting in touch with professors.
Harvard Networks
Medical research
You may be able to use one of the student employment office programs to receive compensation for a research job:
- Research at Harvard Medical School: This site does not contain job listings, but it will give you detailed information about HMS’ basic and social science departments, clinical departments, centers, divisions and institutes. If you find a lab conducting research that is of interest to you, email the faculty member(s) and ask to meet to discuss whether you might be able to work or volunteer.
- Research at Harvard School of Public Health: Again, this site does not contain job listings, but will give you detailed information about HSPH’s research centers and institutes, research faculty, and research programs.
- Research Opportunities in the Sciences: A comprehensive database about undergraduate scientific research opportunities within Harvard’s centers and departments. The database allows for searches on keywords, concentrations, location, purpose of activity, and much more. Rising seniors can also use this tool to search for funding for post-graduate research opportunities.
- Use your own contacts. Speak to your professors, your teaching fellows, your pre-med tutors, or your clinical mentors about research opportunities.
Finding shadowing opportunities
There are many ways to arrange shadowing opportunities in the Boston area. It is important to remember that you must act in a professional manner. Arrive on time, professionally dressed and well groomed, and be prepared to respect patient confidentiality. Available resources include:
- Use your own doctor, dentist, nurse practitioner. If you are from the Boston area, ask your own health care providers about shadowing opportunities.
- Use your existing contacts. If you are already affiliated with a clinical facility through research, employment, or volunteer job, then ask about shadowing a health care professional there. Also, your House Premedical Tutors (both resident and non-residents) are excellent contacts.
- Crimson Compass: on-line database of Harvard alumni available for shadowing [using Compass]
- Radcliffe Mentor Program:As noted earlier, this program is now administered through the Harvard Women’s Center. To contact the Women's Center directly, please call (617) 959-4864 or e-mail marine@fas.harvard.edu.
Selected programs in public health and clinical care
Many of these programs have minimum requirements for the number of hours per week and the number of months of commitment. Most have mandatory orientation programs and health screenings before you can begin. Be prepared to start early in the school year. The sites below are only a small sample of the many opportunities in the area:
- Angell Memorial Veterinary Hospital: in Boston
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Boston Medical Center: BMC is a large hospital in Boston’s South End and emphasizes community-based care. BMC’s mission is to provide consistently accessible health services to all is the largest safety net hospital in New England. There are a wide variety of opportunities (i.e. chemo clinic, emergency room, refugee health, and women’s health).
- Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Medical Career Exploration Volunteer Program: Volunteers are expected to make a minimum commitment of 110 hours (30 hours of ambassador service and 80 hours in a department role), and a minimum commitment of 6 months is required. Large, but flexible time commitment, it is a great for first/second year students with little or no hospital experience.
- Cambridge Health Alliance: Cambridge Health Alliance is an innovative health system that provides care in Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Revere, and the surrounding Metro-North communities. It includes three hospitals (Cambridge Hospital, Somerville Hospital and Whidden Memorial Hospital), more than 20 primary care practices, the Cambridge Public Health Department, and the Network Health plan. Volunteer opportunities are available in a variety of offices, clinics and patient care areas and the minimum time commitment is one semester.
- Children’s Hospital
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute: Unique opportunities exist, such as volunteering in The Blum Family Resource Center Van and providing creative arts therapy for patients.
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts: Opportunities exist in patient care areas (i.e., recovery room), counseling, public affairs, educational outreach and several new internships have been created for 2006. There are also opportunities at PPLM’s Express Center in Davis Square. All of these positions fill quickly and require some pre-planning.
- Project Health: Project Health’s programs are based in Dorchester and Roxbury, including the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, Adolescent Clinic, Newborn Nursery, Women's Center and Madison Park Community Center. Volunteers are expected to a commit a minimum of 6 hours per week. This includes volunteering, transportation time, weekly reflection sessions, and follow-up phone calls to clients or mentees. Each student must volunteer for Project HEALTH for at least two semesters; most serve for the majority of their college career.
- South Cove Community Health Center: South Cove is New England's primary and preventive health center for Asian Americans with a special focus on the medically underserved by providing high quality, community-based health care and programs which are accessible and linguistically and culturally competent. There are opportunities in community health, medicine, administration, family and youth programs, and finance.
- The Sharewood Project: The Sharewood Project is a free healthcare clinic run by medical students and physicians in Malden, MA. There is high demand for undergraduates who speak Mandarin and Cantonese.
- Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center: Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center is a non-profit Catholic health care organization specializing in the care of adults and elders with disabling health problems. Excellent hands-on opportunities exist for students interested in rehabilitation services.
Additional Opportunities
See the following sites for further information:
- The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship: The fellowship is designed for students already enrolled in a health profession program. However, their website has extensive volunteer listings open to everyone.
- Volunteer Match: This is an extensive search engine of volunteer opportunities with the ability to tailor your search to your needs. For instance, you can search by zip code and interest area (animals, children/youth, crisis support, etc)
