Dear College/University Representative,

My name is Dahlia Luongo, and I am reaching out to you as the Program Coordinator of the Volunteer and Outreach Programs at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine. I am writing to provide information regarding our upcoming summer volunteer opportunities, detailed below, as the application portal for these programs is now open. We kindly ask that you share this email and information with your pre-health students. Our programs accept undergraduates, recent graduates (those whose graduation took place within one to two years prior to program start dates), post-baccalaureates, and master’s students who are interested in a career in Emergency Medicine, or any other medical field or health profession. In this email, please find details regarding our Emergency Department, and the three summer volunteering opportunities that are housed within it.

Emergency Medicine Department

NYU Langone Health is the #1 hospital in New York State. All our volunteer and outreach programs take place within our designated Level 1 Trauma Centers. NYU Langone Health has seven Emergency Departments across all five boroughs, with over 600 healthcare locations across New York City. Our Emergency Departments see over 500,000 annual patient visits and employ more than 400 Emergency Medicine providers. Our hospitals are teaching hospitals, meaning that our mission is not only to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our patients, but also in the lives of our students, trainees, volunteers and the larger NYC community through excellence in clinical care, education, and research. To this end, our volunteers truly have a robust, immersive, and diverse experience.

Programs

Project Healthcare

The Project Healthcare (PHC) program is one of the most competitive and attractive programs in the nation offered to a collegiate pre-health population. Our most popular program, PHC is offered in Manhattan (NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue) and Brooklyn (NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn) locations. 

 

As a member of Project Healthcare, volunteers are given the unique opportunity to play a prominent role in patient care in NYU’s most active Emergency Departments. Founded in 1981 by Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, our program has seen 92% of its alumni achieve careers in medicine, with many past participants gaining acceptance into some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the nation (including NYU Grossman School of Medicine itself, #10 in the U.S.). Many of these individuals continue to cite their experiences in Project Healthcare as transformational, fostering the motivation and dedication that propelled them throughout their careers. For our volunteers, interactions with individual patients tend to be singularly meaningful, as many express their deep appreciation of the stories, narratives, and trust that patients share with them.  

Through hands-on experience, our volunteers are given the opportunity to explore the reality of a career in medicine. Volunteer participants are meant to be patient advocates by providing patient support during procedures, comforting family members and loved ones, and establishing consequential relationships with patients. Patient advocacy also directly translates to providing food, water, blankets and clothing to patients, as well as to tasks such as making stretchers, interpreting on behalf of non-English speakers (either by way of certification or translational equipment), assisting with undressing patients, and stocking and preparing medical equipment. In addition to interaction with residents, attending physicians, RNs and NPs, our volunteers engage in meaningful conversation with hospital janitorial staff, patient care technicians, behavioral health assistants, and certified nursing assistants; volunteers gain an understanding of the breadth of personnel necessary to operate an Emergency Department.

In addition to Emergency Medicine, all participants rotate through other specialties, facilitating patient care in the Operating Room, Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Triage, Urgent Care (Fast Track), and Safety Net Clinic. They also spend time with ED Social Work staff in an effort to grasp the nuanced social needs of the diverse patient population at Bellevue Hospital and NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn. 

Additionally, our volunteers attend mandatory community engagement events, participate in a medically relevant curriculum composed of informative lectures and a climate medicine course, and also research and assemble a scholarly presentation for departmental leadership. Our program aims to bridge clinical experiences with classroom learning.

Health Career Opportunity Program

Founded by Howard A. Rusk, MD, and sponsored by the Wallace Foundation, the Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP) has graduated approximately 5,700 volunteers throughout its 50-year history. Offered in partnership with Rusk Rehabilitation, this program is unique in that it offers volunteers the opportunity to explore the field of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine-related rotations and finely curated program activities.

HCOP provides volunteers with hands-on observational clinical experience and exposure to various health professions across the larger New York City area. The program takes a holistic approach to the Emergency Medicine field and includes rotations in complementary areas. Volunteers can expect to spend each weekday morning clinically observing in an Emergency Medicine rotation or another specialty, such as: Surgery, Pediatrics, Social Work, Internal Medicine, Stroke Care, Orthopedics, Virtual Urgent Care, Dance Medicine, and Sports Medicine. The afternoons comprise mandatory Health Career Opportunity Program lectures, small group discussions, and MCAT preparatory classes. Volunteers integrate with and work alongside multiple emergency care team members including physicians, physician assistants, residents, fellows, nurses, medical students and other volunteers. The breadth of shadowing opportunities across several departments and geographical locations within HCOP affords volunteers an exceptional experience. As a participant in this program, volunteers are expected to travel to various health centers in neighborhoods around New York City (including, but not limited to, Hell’s Kitchen, Cobble Hill, Sunset Park, the Financial District, Kips Bay, and Midtown West).

Research Associate Internship 

The Research Associate Internship grants students an opportunity to experience and observe multiple aspects of clinical research. Research Associates develop basic research skills and become an integral part of research projects and grants. Research Associates may be taught to collect and enter data and maintain databases, participate in laboratory meetings, and gain Principal Investigator mentorship and shadowing experiences. Research Associates also become oriented to the Institutional Review Board process for human subjects research. The current study seeking Research Associate candidates is the Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment, Opioid Education, and Naloxone Distribution (SBIRT-OEND) study.

The SBIRT-OEND study is a clinical initiative that takes place in the Emergency Department at Bellevue Hospital. The goal of SBIRT-OEND is to identify and deliver early intervention and treatment services to patients who screen positive for substance use, as well as to those who are at risk of developing a substance use disorder. SBIRT-OEND screens patients for substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and a variety of drugs. Patients’ severity of substance use is assessed and a tailored brief intervention is provided (Research Associates receive training in how to conduct brief interventions). Patients who use, have used, or know individuals who use opioids are offered a Naloxone kit aimed to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. Research Associates may also be trained in administering Naloxone themselves. These services are provided in addition to the regular services patients receive while in the Emergency Department.

Research Associate responsibilities include: screening and interacting with patients using an approved script to identify those at risk, assisting Emergency Department staff with patient care, identifying risky substance use among patients and providing them with appropriate intervention (through opportunistic identification designed to find and aid those not seeking help for their substance use disorder, and preventative identification, meant to reduce the likelihood that risky users will become substance dependent) and assisting with all other responsibilities assigned.

Applications

All programs require completion of a program application, submission of a personal statement, a current resume, and two letters of recommendation. Please note that no particular previous experiences are required. Each year, in selecting our volunteers, we look for a diverse group of applicants with equally diverse interests and experiences. More information on how to apply can be found here, while pertinent program dates are listed below. All interviews will be held virtually.

Program	Location	Term	Program Dates	Length	Application Window
Project Healthcare Bellevue	Bellevue Hospital	Summer	June 3 – August 9, 2024	10 weeks	November 1, 2023 – February 1, 2024
Project Healthcare Brooklyn	NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn	Summer	June 10 – August 9, 2024	9 weeks	November 1, 2023 – February 1, 2024
Health Career Opportunity Program	Various NYU Locations	Summer	June 17 – August 9, 2024	8 weeks	November 1, 2023 – December 21, 2023
Research Associate Internship	Bellevue Hospital	Summer	June 3 – August 9, 2024	10 weeks	November 1, 2023 – February 1, 2024

Information Sessions

To learn more about our programs, feel free to join one of our virtual information sessions on December 8^th, 2023 (2:00PM – 3:00PM), or January 5^th, 2024 (11:00AM – 12:00PM). To register for either event, please complete this Google form. If you (as a student or university representative) would like to be added to the department’s mailing list to receive further details about our volunteer programs, please complete this form.

Should your institution be interested in scheduling a virtual information session for your College/University students specifically, please reach out to me at [log in to unmask]. Furthermore, should there be a different contact individual at your institution for this type of communication, please send a reply to me with the updated contact name and email address. If you would like to be removed from our list, you can also email me directly with this request.

Best,

 

Dahlia Luongo

Program Coordinator

Volunteer & Outreach Programs

Division of Health Equity

Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine

NYU Langone Health | Bellevue Hospital Center

462 1st Ave., Room A349A

New York, NY 10016

T 845-608-1607

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