“We cannot build a more diverse workforce simply by wishing for it.”
Mission & Goal
The Berkman Summer Internship in Palliative Care is an innovative new program designed to provide a structured, experiential, and career-oriented opportunity in palliative care for medical students from under-represented/historically excluded populations. The goal is to increase early exposure to hospice and palliative medicine in order to promote diversity and inclusion in the field. Medical students (rising MS2) from any accredited medical school in the US are eligible to apply.
About the Summer
Students will spend an immersive 8-weeks on-site in Philadelphia, PA with the Palliative Care Program. This time will include:
- Interdisciplinary/inter-professional clinical exposure in both palliative care and hospice across a variety of settings, including inpatient, outpatient, and the home
- Small group instruction in primary palliative care education, including serious illness communication training
- Mentorship on a short-term scholarship project (case study, poster, survey, etc.)
- Personalized mentoring, including coaching and clerkship preparation, and the identification of a mentor relationship for regular check-ins
- Networking at Penn and beyond, including support for attending a national conference
Compensation
To support students in affording this experience, the program offers students a $5,000 living stipend for the eight weeks. In addition, students will receive a $2,500 stipend to support them attending The Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care, the premier national conference in the field.
Eligibility & Application Process
The internship is open to any student who will have completed their first year of medical school (rising MS2) in their first year of medical school at an accredited medical school in the United States. The application process will include brief personal essays and a CV. Finalists will be asked to participate in a brief virtual interview.
Timeline:
- Applications open: Early January 2024
- Applications due: February 9, 2024 at 11:59 pm, EST
- Interviewees notified: By February 23, 2024
- Decisions issued: By March 15, 2024
- Program begins: Monday, June 17, 2024
- Program ends: Friday, August 9, 2024
For 2024, the program has funding for five students. Students will be selected based on their interest in palliative care, and we are looking for students with broad skills, perspective, and experience to participate. The program has a special interest in reaching students who have a gap in their ability to access and be exposed to palliative care education during medical school.
Online Application
Under-Represented in Medicine (URM) refers to individuals from a background that is traditionally underrepresented in medicine, including populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are first generation in the United States or first in their immediate family to attend college, or who otherwise would increase the diversity and inclusivity of our learner populations.
Penn Medicine is an equal opportunity employer and adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of ancestry, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.
Contact
For more information about the program, please reach out to:
Niharika Ganta, MD, MPH
Interim Chief, Palliative Care Program
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Medical Director, HUP/PPMC Palliative Care
Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Palliative Care
Email: Niharika.Ganta@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Lindsay Haines, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
Palliative Care Program
Email: Lindsay.Haines@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Rachael Lutgen
Divisional Program Administrator
Palliative Care Program
Email: Rachael.Lutgen@pennmedicine.upenn.edu