Gaining real-world experience is essential for anyone pursuing a career in allied health. While classroom learning provides the necessary foundation, firsthand exposure to a professional healthcare environment helps make the connection between theory and practice. Allied health externships offer the opportunity to observe industry professionals, apply knowledge in real-world scenarios, and gain a clearer understanding of what a career in the field might entail on a day-to-day basis.
These short-term, immersive experiences also allow students to explore different allied health roles, develop professional connections, and build confidence in their knowledge. By taking advantage of these opportunities, you can make more informed career decisions and better prepare for the transition from education to employment.
What Is an Allied Health Externship?
Benefits of Completing an Allied Health Externship Program
Types of Allied Health Externships
How to Find Allied Health Externship Opportunities
What to Expect During an Allied Health Externship
What Is an Allied Health Externship?
Allied health externships present opportunities for students to get first-hand exposure to their chosen area of healthcare. These programs are designed to help bridge the gap between classroom education and practical experience, offering the chance for students to see how classroom lessons apply in real medical environments.
Externships are typically offered through partnerships between educational institutions and allied health employers, such as hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, and private practices. They provide students with a structured environment to observe daily tasks, interact with healthcare professionals, and ask questions that will help them prepare for their future careers.
Benefits of Completing an Allied Health Externship Program
Participating in an allied health externship is an invaluable experience for pre-health students, helping them build a solid foundation for their careers. These programs offer numerous benefits, including:
Introduction to the Healthcare Environment
Externships allow students to immerse themselves in a real healthcare setting, helping them understand the day-to-day operations of their chosen field. From observing patient interactions to learning how different departments collaborate, students gain practical knowledge about how healthcare facilities function. They also become familiar with essential workplace protocols, such as patient confidentiality, infection control procedures, and medical documentation.
Networking Opportunities
Building relationships with healthcare professionals during an externship can open doors to job opportunities down the road. During the externship, students are able to connect with mentors, supervisors, and colleagues who can provide guidance, make recommendations, and even offer employment opportunities after graduation.
Expectation Setting
Externships serve as a link between education and employment by preparing students for the demands of the allied health workforce. By experiencing the day-to-day responsibilities of practicing professionals, students gain a clearer picture of what to expect in their future roles.
Gaining Career Clarity
For students still exploring their career options, an allied health externship provides valuable insight into whether a career in the field is the right choice. Observing professionals in action and being present in an active healthcare setting can help students picture themselves working in a similar capacity one day — or show them that their interests and strengths might be of better service elsewhere.
Types of Allied Health Externships
Allied health externships can span a wide range of fields, providing students with opportunities to explore diverse areas of interest. Types of allied health externships include:
- Medical Assisting: Provides exposure to both the clinical and office management side of healthcare
- Phlebotomy: Enables students to focus on the collection, proper storage, and transport of blood samples for laboratory analysis
- Physical Therapy Assisting: Where students learn how to rehabilitate patients who are recovering from injuries and surgeries
- Physician Assisting: Immerses students in fast-paced medical practice or hospital environments where physicians diagnose and treat patients
- Dental Hygiene: Matches students with experienced dental hygienists, to observe tasks such as cleaning teeth, taking x-rays, and educating patients about oral health
- Occupational Therapy: Helps students learn how to assist patients with developing or recovering daily living skills after experiencing an illness or suffering an injury
How to Find Allied Health Externship Opportunities
There are several strategies and resources students can use to find allied health externship opportunities. Below are some effective ways to start your search.
Use the Resources Available at Your School’s Career Services Office
If you’re enrolled in a pre-health program at a college or university, one of the best resources you have is your school’s career center or healthcare career advising office. They may have existing partnerships with local healthcare facilities and employers that offer externship programs. If this is the case, they’ll be able to help you identify available opportunities and provide guidance on how to get the ball rolling.
Contact Local Facilities Directly
If you have a specific area of interest, consider reaching out to local hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, or private practices where allied health professionals work. Contacting these facilities directly can help you uncover externship openings that may not be advertised. When getting in touch, be sure to explain your educational background and be transparent about why you’re seeking an externship.
Get in Touch With Relevant Professional Organizations
Many professional groups for allied health fields offer resources for students seeking practical learning opportunities. These organizations may also have job boards and other career resources that you can tap into.
Leverage Your Network
When looking for externship opportunities, knowing the right people can pay off, which is why networking is key. Reach out to professors, alumni, and any healthcare professionals you know who might be able to make a connection or provide leads. These individuals may also be able to offer guidance, recommend places to look, and potentially introduce you to decision-makers at local facilities.
Enroll in a Training Program that Offers Externship Placement
Some allied health training programs or certification courses — such as those offered by Advanced eClinical Training (ACT) — include externship placement as part of their curriculum. By enrolling in a program that provides this service, you can ensure your chances of securing a meaningful externship as part of your education.
What to Expect During an Allied Health Externship
While allied health externships are exciting opportunities, it’s important to have realistic expectations about what the experience will look like. Unlike internships, which primarily focus on hands-on work and require extended commitments, externships are typically short-term observational experiences more closely related to shadowing.
Observation-Based Learning
This means that students will spend most of their time observing experienced allied health professionals in action. Whether in a hospital, clinic, or private practice, externs watch and learn as practitioners perform daily tasks and interact with patients. While direct patient interaction may be limited, students can still gain valuable knowledge by paying close attention during procedures, workflows, and care strategies.
Connecting Coursework to Real-World Scenarios
One of the biggest benefits of an externship is the ability to see how classroom learning applies to real-life situations. Students get to witness how medical terminology, clinical techniques, and ethical considerations come into play in everyday healthcare settings. Asking questions and engaging with professionals during the experience can help clarify concepts and reinforce learning.
Shorter Duration
Compared to internships, externships have a relatively short duration — typically lasting anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. This brevity makes it easier for students to explore multiple specializations within allied health and can ultimately lead to more informed career decisions.
Unpaid Experience
Externships are rarely — if ever — paid positions since they are primarily designed as learning experiences. However, the professional exposure, networking opportunities, and practical knowledge gained during an externship can be invaluable when it comes to securing future employment.
FAQs
What is an allied health externship?
Allied health externships present opportunities for students to gain first-hand exposure to their chosen area of healthcare, making it possible for them to see how what they’ve learned in the classroom applies in real medical environments.
What’s the difference between an allied health externship and other healthcare externships?
Not much. The main difference is that while other medical externships take place alongside physicians or nurses, for example, allied health externships provide firsthand exposure to allied health career paths. These include roles like medical assistant, phlebotomist, and physical therapy assistant.
Why should I complete an allied health externship program?
There are several benefits to completing an allied health externship, such as getting an introduction to healthcare environments and the industry you hope to work in, networking opportunities, and the ability to prepare for a career in allied health.
Where can I find allied health externship opportunities?
To find externship opportunities, you can use the resources available at your college or university’s career center, try contacting local facilities directly, get in touch with professional organizations, leverage your professional network, or by enrolling in a training program that offers externship placements.
An allied health externship is a valuable stepping stone toward a successful career in healthcare, providing students with firsthand experience and industry connections. If you’re ready to take the next step in your journey, explore ACT’s pre-health certification programs. With expert-led training and guaranteed externship placements, our programs can help you gain the skills and experience needed to excel in the allied health field. Explore our courses and enroll today to get started.
