Studying pre-med? ACR Homes offers valuable paid experience
As a pre-med college student, you understand how important it is to accrue work hours and real-life experiences in medical settings.
Pre-Med & Pre-PA interns with Daniel Plack, MD (and former employee!) at Mayo
Finding those relevant experiences isn’t always easy. But those who have interned at ACR Homes often consider it the ideal solution because they’re able to gain ground in their careers by getting hands-on experience with clients as a Direct Care Professional, have the opportunity to conduct research on their chosen topic, and then use this experience to send a stand-out resume to medical school programs.
The quality of an ACR Homes internship is affirmed by Northwestern University Professor Bruce Simat, who notes that meaningful work experiences at ACR Homes have helped his pre-med students achieve a 90% acceptance rate into professional programs. His mantra to pre-med undergrads? “Get yourself hired at ACR.”
Here’s what undergrad pre-med majors can expect to gain through an internship with ACR Homes:
Patient care hours
As a Direct Care professional, you’ll be working closely with the residents themselves and given a certain amount of responsibility for their daily needs. Not only can you accrue hands-on work hours for future applications, but you’ll learn standard medical procedures, interact with medical professionals and experience the joys and challenges of real-world medical care. Much of that simply can’t be taught from a textbook. “I’ve learned more about diseases and diagnoses than I could in any classroom or lab,” noted one pre-med student.
Research opportunities
As part of a rare opportunity, interns choose and design their own research projects that are supervised, then evaluated, by ACR executives. You can study a topic relevant to your career goals, then add it to your list of accomplishments. “I was working with a resident who had a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and decided to do a research-based internship on MS,” remembers former intern Madison. “The research enabled me to better understand the science behind why she was having pain.”
Meaningful work
Many ACR Homes employees comment that their work here is the most satisfying and worthwhile they’ve ever had. You’ll have a direct opportunity to make a true difference in the lives of our residents and to leave each day feeling like you contributed. “I absolutely love being ‘that person’ who could impact quality of care,” one intern reports.
Chance to discover your passion
Working among a variety of medical professionals in a number of different situations, you may find yourself drawn to a certain specialty. You can also drill down into whether you really like the medical field before you invest thousands more dollars into a related education.
Resume highlights
As Simat points out, time spent in a hands-on role at ACR Homes can only make your resume appear more well-rounded. From an experience perspective, you will be head and shoulders above other undergrads who have never stepped foot behind the scenes of a medical facility — especially if you make the most of your internship and take advantages of opportunities to learn.
Stronger communication skills
While learning to communicate effectively with people who have a variety of disabilities — as well as co-workers and family members — you’ll become intrinsically better at both listening and making yourself understood. “This has translated well into medical school because communication is key as a physician,” writes former ACR Homes employee Cory. “You need to be able to communicate with your patients to get the right diagnosis and get compliance from your patients in their medical treatment. You also need to be able to present cases to your attendings and dictate orders to ancillary staff.”
Extra learning opportunities
Because they wanted to make the internship program exceptional, ACR Homes execs have incorporated extra activities such as a trip to Mayo Clinic highlighted by a seminar with Mayo professionals.
A paycheck
ACR Homes understands students are often on tight budgets, which is why we ensure our interns are paid and not just working to gain experience. Patient care, valuable experience, internships…and a paycheck— all in one place.
Learn more about our internships or contact us to get started on your application.
Want to hear what an ACR Homes internship is like from a real-life intern? Check out this brief video featuring on-the-job footage of pre-med student Jordan Bruss.