The Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP) at NYU Langone Health’s Rusk Rehabilitation offers candidates with minimal clinical experience the opportunity to explore a variety of health professions.

Available to college students, recent college graduates, and high school seniors who are at least 18 years old, this free program consists of three internship sessions that are each four weeks long. Participants are provided with relative hands-on, observational clinical experience in a variety of health fields.

Founded by Howard A. Rusk, MD, and sponsored by the DeWitt Wallace Foundation, the program has graduated more than 6,000 students in its 55-year history.

Internship Training and Schedule

As a student in our program, you would be assigned to a single specialty for a full four-week session. Participation is entirely voluntary, and interns do not receive a salary or stipend.

Internships take place Monday through Friday at Tisch Hospital, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, NYU Langone Orthopedic Center, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, or NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Center East 38th Street. All group activities take place in Tisch Hospital.

Each of the three internship sessions opens on the first day with a general orientation, during which you receive an overview of the program. Details regarding your responsibilities and dress code as interns at NYU Langone Health, as well as information about Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, fire safety, and the hospital’s code of conduct, are all provided after you are accepted.

During orientation, you also receive a program jacket and a photo ID badge. If applicable, you may also receive scrubs or a lab coat. You must return all apparel and your photo ID badge on the last day of your session.

You can expect to start the day between 8:00AM and 9:00AM—but some departments expect students to arrive earlier—and end the day at 4:00PM. You spend most of the day observing healthcare professionals and the roles they play in your assigned specialty. Each day at 3:00PM, you join your fellow interns for a one-hour lecture about a branch of rehabilitation medicine or a health profession, a seminar given by Princeton Review, or a Q&A panel of healthcare professionals. There are also weekly conferences during which interns are invited to discuss medical ethics and the obstacles faced by people with mobility issues.

2025 Internship Schedules and Specialties

The 2025 internship schedules are as follows:

• Session One: Monday, May 19–Friday, June 13, 2025
• Session Two: Monday, June 16–Friday, July 11, 2025
• Session Three: Monday, July 14–Friday, August 8, 2025
• Sessions One and Two (for research only): Monday, May 19–Friday, July 11, 2025
• Sessions Two and Three (for research and emergency medicine only): Monday, June 16–Friday, August 8, 2025

On conclusion of each session, students must pass a final exam that tests your knowledge of material covered in group meetings, lectures, and discussions. Students who pass the final exam receive a personalized signed certificate attesting to at least 140 hours of observation and instruction they completed at NYU Langone Health.

Depending on your academic institution, it may be possible to receive school credit for participating in our program. Please check with your school’s administrator.

Internship Housing

Interns who are in need of summer housing receive information on how to apply to Summer Housing at NYU, which is available for all three internship sessions. We typically reserve a floor in an NYU dorm. To ensure you secure a spot and improve your chances of being placed with another intern participating in the HCOP, we encourage you to apply for housing as soon as you are accepted.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the program, email us at HCOP@NYULangone.org.