Interns in the Health Career Opportunity Program at NYU Langone Health work alongside world-renowned specialists in their fields. The number of health fields students can participate in changes every year. This year’s specialties are as follows.

Anesthesiology

Students receive daily assignments in the operating room covering several surgical specialties, including cardiology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, plastic surgery, and urology. Students learn about anesthesia and how to safely prepare patients for surgery, as well as reviewing x-rays and engaging in case discussions. They are expected to read about cases the night before surgery to maximize the learning experience. Under an attending anesthesiologist’s supervision, students also give a case presentation to a small group of department members.

Intensive Care Unit

Intensive care units (ICUs) specialize in the care of patients with various conditions that require constant treatment and continuous monitoring. Students placed in an ICU observe all staff members: physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, and others. They attend rounds and meetings and participate in a dynamic department that offers care to our most vulnerable patients. Interns are also able to observe bedside procedures. The following three ICUs are open for application: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and Neurocritical Care ICUs at Kimmel Pavilion and the Critical Care Medicine ICU at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn.

Clinical Nutrition and Food Services

Students divide their time between shadowing nutritionists and working in our food service facilities. While shadowing nutritionists, students have the opportunity to observe the entire medical team during rounds and conferences. They also learn how to read charts, conduct patient interviews, and offer nutritional counseling. While working in our food service facilities, students can help prepare food as well as assist in conducting taste test evaluations with the food service team. Students in the past have had the opportunity to co-write a newsletter with dietitians.

Creative Arts Therapy

Students work with music and art therapists and participate in creative arts therapy sessions with both adult and pediatric patients. Students will see how music and art are used to help patients improve motor function, verbal skills, cognitive skills, and enhance their emotional well-being. Patients' populations include stroke, brain injury, spinal disfunction and other genetic conditions. Students learn how to use a variety of artistic mediums to guide a patient through recovery, while interacting closely with patients to provide support.

Emergency Medicine

Throughout the course of four weeks, students will be in one hospital’s emergency department, last year students were in Cobble Hill Brooklyn. Students receive exposure in several specialties, emergency medicine, social work, pharmacy, nursing, and radiology through shadowing, conversations, and more. It is all subject to change, apart from the emergency medicine discipline.

Harkness Center for Dance Injuries

Students obtain exposure to various careers in dance medicine, including orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, athletic training, education, and not-for-profit arts and healthcare administration. Students participate in many on- and off-site clinical programs, injury prevention assessments and workshops, and continuing education offerings. Harkness Center for Dance will be conducting interviews as a part of the accepting process.

Horticultural Therapy

Students work with horticultural therapists involved in direct patient care during individual, group, and co-treatment sessions with adult patients. Students will see how plants and nature are used to help individuals recover physical and cognitive skills as well as improve their emotional wellness. Patient population includes stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, orthopedics, and more.

Neurology

Students experience what it is like to be a neurology resident. During the four weeks spent at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, students work with neurology residents and faculty on the neurology inpatient ward and the neurology consultation service, where they participate in rounds, learn about the neurologic exam, and meet a diverse patient population. In addition, students attend daily didactic lectures and present, under the guidance of a supervising faculty, on a neurologic topic of their choice.

Nursing

Students shadow a nurse practitioner or a group of staff nurses, depending on their assignment, and gain insights on their interactions with inpatients, outpatients, doctors, and other healthcare professionals. Students learn about various medications and procedures in a specialized nursing setting.

Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant

Students shadow a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant and observe provider handoff between shifts, patient rounds, and patient care at different phases of the patient care experience at admission, during inpatient stays, and at discharge. They observe patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment processes and gain insight into the intricacies of the interactions between patients and these advanced practice providers (APPs). They also learn how APPs interact with other healthcare clinicians, such as nurses, social workers, and physicians to optimize patients’ plans of care. Students leave the experience with a clear understanding of the role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the inpatient environment.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists help patients develop or regain the skills they need for everyday activities after injury or illness. Interns may observe therapists working with patients on tasks such as dressing, grooming, or using adaptive tools to improve function and independence. The experience offers insight into how occupational therapy supports recovery by addressing both physical and cognitive challenges in a patient’s daily life.

Pharmacy

Students shadow pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and observe them performing various tasks in an inpatient setting. By working in a hospital pharmacy and retail division, students perform a broad range of diverse job roles. Students may also be assigned to observe a clinical pharmacotherapist during rounds.

Physical Therapy

Students observe and assist physical therapists during sessions with patients every day and help prepare materials and equipment needed for patient treatment. Depending on availability, students may be placed in a number of subspecialties, including pediatric, adult, inpatient, outpatient, acute, cardiac, pulmonary, and vestibular physical therapy.

Rehabilitation Medicine

Students attend rounds and conferences alongside attending physicians and residents and learn about physical medicine and rehabilitation. They attend therapy sessions across various subspecialties (such as physical therapy and exercise physiology) as well as track progress for patients on a daily and weekly basis.

Research

Under appropriate supervision, students assist healthcare professionals who are conducting research projects with data entry, data processing, literature searches, some writing of research protocol, and basic statistics in the lab of JohnRoss Rizzo, MD. Students must commit to at least two sessions and can choose between the first two sessions and the second two sessions.

Orthopedic Hand Surgery

Students observe and follow surgical teams over the course of many surgical and nonsurgical procedures. While four days of the week will be spent in the office observing pre-op, post-op, and follow-up appointments, the student will observe surgeries in the OR once a week.

Social Work and Care Management

Students shadow a social worker during meetings with inpatients and outpatients and learn how to assess clients and write summaries and comments about the patients they meet. Students can also practice counseling and evaluation with staff members who role-play as patients.

Speech–Language Pathology and Swallowing

Students observe and shadow Speech Language Therapists which may include observation of sessions with individuals with feeding/swallowing difficulties, speech, language and communication difficulties and/or cognitive impairments.  Depending on availability, students may be placed in a number of units within the hospital system/ subspecialties, including pediatric (inpatient or outpatient), adult (acute, inpatient or outpatient).

Vascular Surgery – Long Island

Vascular Surgery on Long Island offers participants firsthand exposure to a comprehensive range of vascular procedures and patient care. Interns will observe daily hospital rounds, major inpatient surgeries such as carotid endarterectomy and aortic aneurysm repairs, and outpatient procedures including endogenous laser ablation for varicose veins. Additionally, interns will attend weekly vascular conferences, participate in outpatient clinic hours, and gain insights into the arterial and venous systems, vascular pathology, and treatment modalities. This experience provides a robust understanding of vascular surgery within a dynamic clinical setting.

Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling

Vocational rehabilitation specialists support patients returning to work, school, or other meaningful roles after illness or injury. Interns may observe how specialists assess a patient’s strengths, interests, and goals while addressing cognitive, emotional, and physical factors that impact employment readiness. The experience highlights the role of work and productivity in a patient’s overall recovery and long-term independence.