Founded in 1981 by Lewis R. Goldfrank, MD, the Project Healthcare Summer Volunteer Program is an immersive clinical and educational program.

Offered through NYU Langone’s Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine, we aim to inspire participants to become more interested and engaged in the field of health care, emergency medicine and medicine.

Project Healthcare is offered every summer, and students may participate in Manhattan, at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. or in Brooklyn, at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn.

Project Healthcare at Bellevue

Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital is an intensive summer volunteer program for enthusiastic, inspired, and dedicated students. Our program at Bellevue Hospital offers a comprehensive overview of emergency medicine, providing participants with a unique and authentic healthcare experience.

Participants rotate through various clinical areas of Bellevue Hospital’s emergency department, including adult emergency services, pediatric emergency services, trauma intensive care unit, fast track, social work, operating rooms, triage, cardiac catheterization lab and safety net program.

To begin, participants are oriented the first week of the program through trainings, guided tours, departmental speakers, and additional hospital personnel. Orientation is an extensive five-day event that includes an introduction to the Bellevue Hospital emergency department and additional rotation areas, informational lectures from the emergency medicine service chiefs and other representatives from each department, along with mandatory educational and compliance trainings and courses.

From there, participants work 8 clinical weeks (shifts range from 7am – 11pm, including holidays), and participants can except to work 40 total shifts for the entire summer, or an average of 25-hours-per-week. The last week of the program, participants present on health promotion initiatives that they are assigned at the beginning of the summer.

In addition to clinical experience, Project Healthcare also offers educational opportunities through weekly meetings. Weekly meetings and lectures that are modeled on a current medical school curriculum are a staple of Project Healthcare. Weekly meetings have five components: guest speaker, objective, activity, reading materials, and discussion. Meetings bridge the distance between classroom learning and current emergency medicine practice. They also provide opportunities to discuss medical issues in the community, reflect on shift experiences, and hear from accomplished speakers.

Finally, other program components of Project Healthcare include a resident mentor program, an organized Health Fair, and a literature review.

Speakers include NYU Langone Health and Bellevue Hospital faculty and staff, authors, administrators, residents, and medical students who speak on topics within an extensive curriculum. Participants also attend a social medicine course taught by an attending physician.

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Program Requirements & Expectations

Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital is a very demanding summer program that requires serious commitment from participants.
The program lasts for 10 weeks, and participants must be present for the entirety of the program.

Shifts are not flexible. Participants are permitted to enroll in other courses or programs, but any other schedule must not interfere with Project Healthcare shifts. Special accommodations cannot be made, and students are expected to commit to their assigned shift schedule for the entire summer.

Participants receive their shift schedule during orientation week. Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital mimics the intensity of a career in healthcare, and participants are required to work nights, weekends, and holidays. Clinical rotations are divided into 5-hour shifts: morning, afternoon and evening, from 7:00am – 11:00pm.

During shifts, participants perform structured tasks to assist doctors, nurses, social workers, patients, and administrators. 
Most important, volunteers act as patient advocates, carrying out such tasks as talking with patients, supporting them, making phone calls on their behalf, monitoring their length of stay, and helping their emotional and physical wellness within the purview of a volunteer. Participants simultaneously provide an invaluable service to Bellevue Hospital and receive an unparalleled opportunity to observe and assist with clinical care.

Participants should plan on working additional hours to prepare for the Bellevue Hospital Health Fair, engage in health promotion initiatives and present on their work. Volunteers are also required to attend the weekly meetings.

If the Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital schedule is too demanding, please consider our Project Healthcare at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn program, detailed below.

Project Healthcare at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn

Launched in the summer of 2018, Project Healthcare at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn is directly modeled after Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital but participants volunteer at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn.
Project Healthcare at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn maintains a set schedule and a significantly smaller class size of 15-20 students. It parallels Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital in intensity and extent of immersion, and provides participants with an equally comprehensive and enlightening healthcare experience.

Project Healthcare at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn is specifically designed for those who demonstrate a keen interest in the experiences afforded by the program and would benefit from learning in a smaller, more intimate group setting and/or have scheduling conflicts that prohibit them from participating at Project Healthcare at Bellevue Hospital. Participants have a fixed shift schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10am to 3pm.

Participants rotate through many clinical areas in the emergency department at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, including adult, pediatric, and psychiatric emergency rooms; triage; social work; operating rooms; and emergency medical services, where they have the chance to observe NYU Langone emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

Participants perform similar structured tasks as those at Bellevue Hospital, which includes serving as patient advocates. As patient advocates, participants speak to patients, support them, and provide emotional and physical comfort all while observing in an active emergency department. They provide an invaluable service to NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn while receiving a vast range of clinical experiences as they assist doctors, nurses, social workers, patients, and administrators.
To begin, participants are oriented the first week of the program through trainings, guided tours, departmental speakers, and additional hospital personnel. Orientation is an extensive five-day event that includes an introduction to the NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn emergency department and additional rotation areas, informational lectures from the emergency medicine service chiefs and other representatives from each department, along with mandatory educational and compliance trainings and courses.

From there, participants work 7 clinical weeks (shifts range from 10am – 3pm, excluding holidays), and participants can except to work 28 total shifts for the entire summer, or an average of 20-hours-per-week. The last week of the program, participants present on health promotion initiatives that they are assigned at the beginning of the summer.

In addition to clinical experience, Project Healthcare also offers educational opportunities through weekly meetings. Weekly meetings and lectures that are modeled on a current medical school curriculum are a staple of Project Healthcare. Weekly meetings have five components: guest speaker, objective, activity, reading materials, and discussion. Meetings bridge the distance between classroom learning and current emergency medicine practice. They also provide opportunities to discuss medical issues in the community, reflect on shift experiences, and hear from accomplished speakers.

How to Apply

Learn more about Project Healthcare application materials and timeline.