Medical students thankful to work unpaid internships.
Students in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine aren’t expecting to land a paid internship.
Only five percent of HCOM students even complete a traditional internship, although those are almost all unpaid, Kenneth Johnson, executive dean of HCOM, said. Most of that small sliver of students completes the internship between their first and second year of medical school, which comes after completion of an undergraduate program.
However, all students complete an externship during their third and fourth years of medical school. The externship, which is a part of the curriculum, involves working shifts at a hospital, Johnson said, adding that too is unpaid.
HCOM does offer an exclusive internship — the Summer Research Intensive at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Johnson said.
A student who completed the Summer Research Intensive last summer said there is more freedom working an unpaid internship.
“In paid internships, there are certain demands you have to meet with a project and that’s all you’re going to do all day,” said Saurabh Sharma, a second-year medical student. “You’re accountable to yourself in an unpaid internship. It’s a good way to test your passion because there is not tangible gratification.”
Sharma said two major downsides were that it can be very difficult to pay bills and loans weren’t available.
“You have to balance out your budget, and my advice is to plan in advance so you have enough money,” Sharma said.
Yet most seem to agree that unpaid internships are worthwhile in medicine.
“Paid would be better, but for our purposes, I need the doctor much more than he needs me, so I have to be willing to work if he’s willing to help me,” second-year medical student Matthew Sikora said.
Alexander Pennekamp, a second-year medical student who completed a medical internship at Grandview Medical Center in Dayton, said it’s unrealistic for medical students to get paid at an internship because of how much they’re benefitting.
“They (medical professionals) were not gaining anything from having us there, if anything they were slowed down,” he said. “The only thing they get out of it is that they’re training the next generation.”
Pennekamp said completing an internship helped to give him a leg up on his competition.
“We already have debt as medical students, and a summer worth of work helps you stand out when you’re trying to get into residency and get hired,” he said. “With unpaid internships, the payout comes later.”
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