“This internship offered a diverse group of students a unique opportunity to get an early start in health care and acquire hands-on medical experience,” said Susan Holiday, chair of the Auxiliary of Lenox Hill Hospital. “We developed a multifaceted curriculum to give students a wide variety of experiences, so they can make informed decisions as they continue their education.”

At the culmination of their internship in August, students gathered to reflect on what they had learned under the tutelage of Northwell Health clinicians. Many remarked that the program solidified their decision to pursue a career in health care, while others said they have a firmer idea of which field of medicine they’d like to pursue.

“I don’t have family in medicine, so I didn’t know anyone who could talk to me about it. The time spent in this hospital, interacting with medical professionals gave me great insight into what my career could be like,” said Isabella Martinez, a student at St. Vincent Ferrer High School. “I came in here thinking I wanted to be an OB/GYN but I really liked cardiothoracic surgery. While I was in the operating room, surgeons talked me through what was going on which I thought was an amazing experience.”

The Auxiliary has been offering internships to high school students for the past 12 years and maintains relationships with the students as they go onto complete their education. Several alumni of the program who have gone on to medical school credit the internship with making a job in health care accessible.

“This internship was a turning point in my life. It solidified my decision to pursue medicine as a career after having the interest since childhood,” said Elaine Chen, alumni of the internship program and a first-year medical student at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. “Being able to see health care workers from multiple departments working together to treat patients with personalized care first-hand largely inspired my decision to become a med student.”

The Auxiliary of Lenox Hill Hospital is an organization working to benefit the hospital and community through various initiatives designed to improve patient care and employee satisfaction at all three of Northwell Health’s Manhattan sites, which include Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital, Lenox Health Greenwich Village and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital.

About Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital 

Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital is a 450-bed, fully accredited, acute care hospital located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side with a national reputation for outstanding patient care and innovative medical and surgical treatments. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Lenox Hill among the nation’s best for cardiology and heart surgery; orthopedics; obstetrics and gynecology; neurology and neurosurgery; geriatrics; pulmonology and lung surgery; ear, nose and throat; diabetes and endocrinology; and cancer. In addition, the hospital received designations from U.S. News for its performance in 19 procedures and conditions. Lenox Hill was also named among ‘America’s 50 Best Hospitals’ by Healthgrades, placing it in the top 1 percent of all hospitals nationwide. For more information, go to www.lenoxhill.northwell.edu. 

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