High School Programs

High School Senior Summer Internship Program

The High School Senior Summer Internship Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is an 8-week program in which graduating high school seniors work 20 hours per week with a mentor in one of 8 pediatric clinical specialties. This internship is a paid, part-time position for Cincinnati-area graduating high school seniors only. The program is very competitive, offering an exciting opportunity for highly motivated students interested in pursuing higher education (MD, PhD, or MD/PhD) to learn more about careers in Medicine and Clinical Research. A letter inviting Cincinnati area graduating seniors to apply is attached here.

Important Details

Interns work part-time (20 hours per week) and are paid a maximum of $1,408 ($8.80/hr). Attendance is mandatory on Orientation Day, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Please note that applicants must be a resident in the Cincinnati metropolitan area graduating from high school in 2021.

The ExperienceHide

All Summer interns will shadow their primary mentor in the clinic and can participate in clinical or research projects (see photos from past summers below). Follow the links to mentor faculty webpages in the box below to help you decide which specialty and faculty mentor you would like to work with. You will be asked to rank the top 2 specialties you are interested in and discuss your reasoning for your ranking in an essay. Faculty are organized under categories of primarily clinical shadowing, a combination of shadowing and research and primarily research. Each summer intern will have a unique experience. Interns also have the option of observing in other specialties (ER, OR, NICU, etc) upon request. All interns attend a weekly group luncheon every Thursday to network with their peers and interact with other specialists. There are also scheduled group activities including an afternoon hands-on training session with computerized simulated pediatric patients in the SIM Center (see photos), a Summer Intern Alumni lunch, and a presentation by the assistant dean for admission at UC College of Medicine on tips for preparing for Medical School admission. At the end of the internship, students present a summary of their unique experiences to the group at the graduation party.

Mentors and SpecialtiesShow

Follow the links below to the mentor faculty webpages to help you rank the specialties and faculty mentor you would like to work with. The first 2 specialties offer primarily clinical shadowing. The rest are primarily research with some shadowing.

Primarily Clinical Shadowing with Some Research

Pediatric Surgery / Trauma - Rebeccah Brown, MD
Pediatric Surgery / General - Jason Frischer, MD

Primarily Research With Some Shadowing

International Adoption / Infectious Diseases / Vaccine Research - Mary Allen Staat, MD, MPH
Hematology / Oncology / Fanconi Anemia - Kasiani Myers, MD
Hematology / Oncology / Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation – Christopher Dandoy, MD
Neuropsychology / Sleep and Neurobehavioral Functioning – Dean Beebe, PhD
Adolescent Medicine / Sexual and Reproductive Health / HPV Vaccine Research – Jessica Kahn, MD, MPH
Pulmonary Medicine / Bioengineering / Sleep Medicine Research - Raouf Amin, MD

Application ProcessShow

Completed online applications are due by Friday, March 12, 2021 at 5pm. Click here for instructions for filling out the online application. Access the online application and upload the following files:

Academic record (official transcript, GPA, and class rank through fall semester, 2020
All standard test scores, if available (SAT and ACT preferred, PSAT scores not necessary).
Resume featuring leadership in extracurricular activities, community service, and employment. Evidence of leadership is an important part of the selection criteria.
Student essay: Please upload a one page or less essay on why you want to participate in the program, including how you decided on your ranking of clinical specialty areas of interest. (We make every effort to match interns with their specialty of greatest interest.)

Applications are due on Friday, March 12, 2021 at 5PM.

Please have two references send their support letters evaluating the applicant's scientific potential, maturity, and responsibility directly to:

Lisa Higgins
Children’s Hospital Medical Center, MLC 4000
3333 Burnet Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45229
lisa.higgins@cchmc.org

This is a highly competitive program. We had 62 applications last year and the average ACT score of the students accepted into the program was 32.5. In addition to excellence in academics we look for evidence of leadership potential.

How to Reach UsShow

Interested students with questions about the application process should contact Lisa Higgins at Lisa.Higgins@cchmc.org. For questions about summer programs contact the program director, Cindy Bachurski, PhD, at Cindy.Bachurski@cchmc.org.

Macy Corley with her mentor Dr. Patty Manning. Macy graduated at the top of her class from Walnut Hills High School and worked with Dr. Manning in the Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children's in the summer of 2018. She is now attending The Ohio State University.

Samuel Schloss graduated at the top of his class from Madeira High School in 2018 and shadowed Dr. Frischer in the OR. He is now attending Miami University.

Madeline Gates graduated as Valedictorian of her class from Highland High School in 2013. She shadowed Dr Frischer in the Colorectal Center that summer. Maddie obtained a BS in Science Business and Poverty Studies at Notre Dame and is now attending Medical School at UC.

Nisha Giridharan receiving her certificate from Dr. Straus at the final graduation party. Nisha graduated at the top of her class from William Mason HS and shadowed Dr. Marc Levitt in Colorectal Surgery in 2010. She earned a BS in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and a BA in Journalism from Emory University. Nisha obtained an MD at UC College of Medicine and is now a Neurosurgery resident a Baylor College of Medicine.

Alissa Wuorinen worked with Dr Mary Staat in International Adoption/Infectious Diseases. She graduated Valedictorian from Finneytown HS in 2017, and is now a Biomedical Sciences major (Music and Neuroscience minors) at Marquette University.

Lily Rodgers receiving her certificate from Dr. Strauss. Lily graduated from Covington Latin HS in 2010, and was mentored by Dr. Sue Rose in the Division of Endocrinology. She earned a BS in Biology from Notre Dame in 2014, an MD from the UK College of Medicine in 2018 and is now a MedPeds resident at the University of Michigan College of Medicine.

Alexandra (Alex) Stevens’ action photo in the operating room. Alex graduated as Valedictorian from Mother of Mercy High School and shadowed Dr. Becky Brown in 2017. She is now studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Carolina.

Stuart Nicholas worked with Dr. Melinda Butsch-Kovacic in the Division of Asthma Research. He graduated in the top of his class from Scott High School in 2017, and is now an Engineering/preMed major at UK.

Erin Roberts graduated from the Biomedical Sciences Academy of Kenton County and participated in several clinical research and outreach projects with Dr. Melinda Butsch Kovacic. She is now a pre-Veterinary Medicine major at Purdue University and plans to pursue a DVM/PhD.

Samantha Gilbert graduated from St Ursula Academy and worked with Dr Falcone in Surgery. She is now a Biochemistry major at the Ohio State University in the Honors Program with the career goal of being a pediatric surgeon.

Arjun Sheth learning about the MEG scanner from Dr Douglas Rose in Acute Care Neurology. Arjun graduated from Indian Hill High School and earned a BS in Human Biology from Stanford university in 2019. He is now a Health Education Specialist at Health Connected, East Palo Alto, CA

Group luncheon series offers a chance to hear about other medical specialties. One of the luncheons includes tips on how to prepare for the medical school application process.

One of the Summer Internship group activities is hands-on training with the computerized pediatric simulators.

Ayrenne intubating a pediatric simulator.

Aryenne Adams intubating the pediatric simulator in the summer of 2006. This was the first year that this activity was added to the program. Aryenne graduated Salutatorian from Summit Country Day HS and interned in General and Community Pediatrics. Aryenne earned an MD/MPH at Emory University in 2017, was a Resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is now an Assistant Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Working with the simulators is a great team building activity. Everyone gets a chance to participate.

Rohan Soman modeling a vest used in the pulmonary clinic. Rohan graduated from Lakota West HS in 2008 and attended Johns Hopkins University. He worked on a sleep medicine research project during his internship with Dr Amin. Rohan is currently an MD/PhD student at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Rebecca Kim working on the fluorescent microscope. Rebecca graduated from Indian Hill HS and worked in Dr Bissler’s lab in 2008. She earned a BA at Northwestern, and a PhD in Genetics at UCSF in 2017. Dr Kim-Yip is now a postdoc in the department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University.

Dr. Strauss presenting a certificate to Gabriel De Vela at the graduation party. Dr. Strauss, former chair of Pediatrics, is supportive of all of the Cincinnati Children’s outreach programs. Gabe graduated from Sycamore HS in 2009, obtained a BS from Notre Dame and MD from UC College of Medicine. Dr. De Vela is now a staff physician in Oncology at Cincinnati Children’s.

high school summer-slideshow-Derek-Shu-treating-Dr-Timm-200_jpg

Dr Timm being “treated” by his intern, Derek Shu. Derek was Valedictorian at Mason HS in 2014. He graduated from Duke University with a BS in Biology and is now a Medical Student at UC College of Medicine.

Alyssa Questell graduated from Indian Hill High School and worked on a research project on Cystic Fibrosis in Dr Naren’s lab. She is now a Biomedical Engineering major at Vanderbilt University.

The 2019 High School Summer Internship Alumni luncheon featured left to right: Jill Bange (M4) and Rahul Sandella (M1) medical students at University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Brad Miagawa (Pharmacology PhD) student at UCCOM, and Ashley Dundon (M1) at Creighton University School of Medicine

2021 Summer Internship

The 2021 High School Senior Summer Internship program will be held from Wednesday, June 16 thru Tuesday, August 3, 2021.

Applications are due by Friday, March 12, 2021 at 5pm.

Click here to access the application.

Contact Us

Interested students with questions about the application process should contact:
Lisa Higgins
lisa.higgins@cchmc.org

For questions about summer programs contact:
Cindy Bachurski, PhD
Program Director
cindy.bachurski@cchmc.org

2019 Summer interns

2018 Summer interns

2017 Summer interns

2016 Summer Interns

2015 Summer Interns

2014 Summer interns

High School Programs

High School Senior Summer Internship Program

Important Details

Primarily Clinical Shadowing with Some Research

Primarily Research With Some Shadowing

2021 Summer Internship

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