Benefits of a Healthcare Externship

Key Insights:

• If you're interested in a career in the healthcare field, enrolling in a degree program that includes an externship can help you prepare.
• A healthcare externship can provide several benefits, including the opportunity to build your clinical skills for in-demand roles while under the supervision of experienced staff. Completing an externship may even make you a stronger job candidate once you're ready to enter the job market.
• Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) offers numerous healthcare degree programs that include an externship or professional practice experience.

Earning a degree in the healthcare field is about more than passing exams and mastering course materials. At some point, you must transition from student to professional. That shift can feel intimidating, especially for those who have never worked in a healthcare setting. A healthcare externship can help bridge this gap, providing future professionals with a variety of benefits.

What Is an Externship?

An externship is a form of professional experience in which students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and practice their skill sets within a real-world work setting, often as part of a postsecondary education program.

Learner-Based Benefits of a Healthcare Externship

Enrolling in a healthcare degree program that includes an externship can help adult learners:

Prepare for a growing labor market

Healthcare occupations are projected to grow much faster than average from 2024 to 2034, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with about 1.9 million openings expected per year, on average.¹ Participating in an externship can help you prepare for pursuing a role through hands-on experience.

Bridge the school-to-work gap

Externships in healthcare can expose students to direct patient care, documentation, clinical decision-making, and workplace routines. In these settings, learners have access to (and are supervised by) more experienced staff who can help them apply classroom and lab lessons within a functioning healthcare environment.

Develop clinical work readiness

It's one thing to take a classmate's blood pressure or temperature during clinical training. It's another to collect vital signs from a 90-year-old patient who has difficulty hearing or a 7-year-old child who fears medical visits. Healthcare externships can help prepare learners for situations they may encounter in a healthcare role that may not have been experienced in a lab setting.

Strengthen your position as a job candidate

In a poll of 500 hiring managers, 83% said they were more likely to hire entry-level employees if they had previous internship or work-study experience.² Once you're ready to enter the job market, having externship experience could give you an edge over applicants without this type of training.

"I finished all my classes, I did my extern[ship], and I got hired. And now I work with a doctor full-time."

Albany S., Ultimate Medical Academy Medical Assistant Program Graduate

"Try on" an employer

As an extern, you have the opportunity to see what it's like to work for a particular employer. This experience may help you determine whether a workplace environment aligns with your interests and goals.

For medical assistant students, externships align with employer expectations

The BLS notes that medical assistants typically complete a postsecondary program to prepare for this healthcare role, adding that these programs generally include supervised experience.⁴ Thus, employers may expect job applicants to have medical assistant externship experience.

Where Do You Do a Healthcare Externship?

Healthcare externships can occur in hospitals, physician offices, urgent care centers, long-term care facilities, dentist offices, retail pharmacies, and more. Your school can help you find a relevant organization to gain healthcare experience that aligns with your particular healthcare role.

Successful Externship Placement Requires Staying Proactive

When engaged in a healthcare degree program that includes an externship, it's important to work closely with your advisor to ensure that you fulfill the requirements for placement at an externship site.

For example, learners enrolled in Ultimate Medical Academy's (UMA's) Health Sciences – Clinical Medical Assistant Associate of Science / Associate of Applied Science Degree program must complete basic life support training, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), plus other requirements before starting an externship. Additionally, some employers may conduct pre-placement criminal records checks, background checks, or drug screenings.⁵

Your advisor can provide guidance throughout the process, but it is important that you:

1. Understand Requirements

• Review your program's externship duration, schedule, duties, and expectations.
• Check for prerequisites such as background checks, immunizations, or course completions.

2. Refresh Skills and Knowledge

• Revisit key concepts, clinical skills, and administrative tasks relevant to your field.
• Practice essential procedures (e.g., vital signs, EHR familiarity for medical assistants).

3. Prepare Documentation

• Organize identification, immunization records, resumes, and any required forms.
• Work with your advisor to submit externship applications and required documents if your program mandates them.

4. Set Clear Professional Goals

• Identify what skills you want to develop and what experiences you hope to gain.
• Discuss expectations with your supervisor if possible.

5. Practice Professionalism

• Arrive early, communicate clearly, and maintain a respectful attitude.
• Take responsibility for tasks, even routine ones, and look for learning opportunities.

6. Be Ready to Observe and Adapt

• Start by observing workflows and communication patterns.
• Ask for feedback and gradually take on more responsibilities.

Healthcare Externship Opportunities With UMA

Several UMA healthcare degree programs include an externship or professional practice experience component. These programs can help you prepare for pursuing roles, such as:

• Medical Assistant
• Pharmacy Technician
• Health Information Management
• Dental Assistant
• Patient Care Technician
• Phlebotomy Technician

Why choose UMA?

Ultimate Medical Academy prioritizes academic support and guidance. We understand that not everyone learns in the same way, and some students face more challenges or difficulties than others. We're here to help in any way we can, whether through our student services or by providing guidance toward potential resources, including childcare, transportation, and affordable internet.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you pursue your educational goals in the healthcare field.

FAQs

• What are the benefits of an externship in healthcare? An externship in healthcare can help learners build clinical skills via hands-on learning in a functioning work environment, enabling them to bridge the school-to-work gap. It could also increase their appeal to potential employers who value or require this experience.
• How can I get externship experience? Your school advisor can help you find an office or location to complete your externship. Depending on the program you are enrolled in, this could be at a hospital, physician's office, dental office, pharmacy, or other healthcare facility.
• How important is a medical assistant externship? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that medical assistants typically complete a postsecondary program to enter this role, and that program often includes supervised experience, such as a professional practice experience or internship.⁴ Therefore, employers may expect job applicants to have this type of training.
• Where do you do a medical assistant externship? Medical assistant externships may be completed at physicians' offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, or other healthcare organizations. Your school advisor can help you find a relevant location for your externship as a medical assistant student.