Denver Health Internship Programs: Launching Your Healthcare Career

Denver offers a wealth of internship programs for students and recent graduates seeking to gain experience in the healthcare and public health sectors. These programs, offered by institutions like Denver Health and the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), provide invaluable opportunities to explore career paths, develop professional skills, and contribute to the well-being of the community.

Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) Internships

DDPHE provides internship opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career in public health or for those pursuing a capstone or practicum project. To be eligible for an internship position you must be enrolled in a college program. These internships offer hands-on experience in various areas, such as environmental quality, community outreach, and public health research.

Real-World Impact and Experiences

Interns at DDPHE have the chance to make a tangible difference in the Denver community. One intern in the Air and Water Quality Division supported recreational water quality sampling, vector control, and participated in educational outreach events. This experience allowed them to grow as an aspiring scientist and connect with the Denver community, ultimately solidifying their career path in environmental quality sampling.

Another intern, as part of their master’s in public health program, focused on addressing houselessness in the Denver metropolitan area. Their research identified key health issues and gaps in services, providing valuable insights for shelters to collaborate and share resources. The intern felt welcomed and valued at DDPHE, gaining invaluable experience in survey creation, trauma-responsive interviewing skills, data evaluation, and analysis.

Community Outreach and Harm Reduction

DDPHE internships also offer opportunities to engage directly with the community. One intern was assigned to community outreach at concerts, church events, community resource events, and school events. These interactions ranged from brief elevator talks to comprehensive naloxone use trainings. The intern also worked on a project to streamline the distribution of Narcan kits and fentanyl test strips, contributing to harm reduction efforts.

Applying Classroom Knowledge

Interns at DDPHE can apply what they are learning in school to practical use. The exposure gained on the job helps connect real-world experience to classroom learning. Meghan Clark with the Family Advocacy and Support Team (FAST) received an award from Regis University, Criminology Department for showing students options for non-traditional career paths, to include advocacy & death investigations.

Denver Health's Medical Career Collaborative (MC2)

For high school students interested in medical careers, Denver Health offers the Medical Career Collaborative (MC2) program. This health careers pathway program provides youth, starting in high school, the opportunity to gain experience and exposure to the world of healthcare and access to ongoing support in their pursuit of healthcare professions.

Program Overview

MC² broadens students’ horizons and builds a strong foundation for a future career in healthcare through paid internships, mentorship, certification opportunities, and career coaching. Many graduates of MC2 have gone on to pursue careers in health and are now working as nurses, doctors, researchers, laboratory scientists, public health professionals, medical interpreters, technicians and more!

Program Components

Accepted students begin their journey with MC2 as high school juniors with programming taking place during students’ junior and senior years and beyond. Programming activities include:

Field trips, workshops and trainings: High school juniors and seniors participate in monthly field trips, workshops, and trainings to learn about the variety of fields within healthcare, build their skills towards a career in health or medicine and earn mini health related certifications.
Internships: Juniors complete a 100-120 hour paid internship at Children’s Colorado or Denver Health. Students are placed in a department within one of the hospital systems and are paired with hospital staff to gain valuable hands-on experience working in the field.
Mentoring: Each student is matched with a mentor(s) at Children’s Colorado or Denver Health with whom they work alongside and learn from throughout the internship component of the program. Mentors represent a wide variety of healthcare professions and may include those working as CNA’s, technicians, nurses, paramedics, therapists, physicians, and more!
Seminars: Throughout the internship students participate in weekly seminar sessions facilitated by MC2 staff, where students share about their internship experiences, discuss topics important to healthcare and learn medical terminology.
Post-secondary assistance and guidance: Seniors receive assistance with their goals toward post-secondary education. Students are supported in searching for schools and programs, learning about financial aid, searching for scholarships, gathering letters of recommendation, and writing college and scholarship essays.
Access to ongoing professional supports: As students graduate from high school and become alumni of the MC2 program, alum have access to career coaching and assistance, healthcare related certification programs, and professional development and networking opportunities.

Student Testimonials

Students rave about the opportunities this program provides.

Renicia: "MC2 provided me with an opportunity to experience what working in the medical field was like before even graduating high school. Such a chance is rare and helps students like me to better determine what their passions are and what they want to pursue within the healthcare field."
Shelnna: "As a first generation student heading off to college, I thought that becoming a nurse or doctor or any other role in healthcare would be difficult, but being in MC2 allowed me to believe I can be who I want to be with the support of the people I have met along the way in the program."
Isha: "MC2 has not only helped me learn so much about medicine but has opened up so many new opportunities, goals and support systems for me!"

Eligibility and Application

MC2 is offered at Denver Health and several Children’s Hospital Colorado locations, including Anschutz Medical Campus (Aurora), North Campus (Broomfield), South Campus (Highlands Ranch) and Colorado Springs. Applicants only need to fill out one application to be considered for any of the MC2 program site locations.

Applicants must be current high school sophomores at the time of application, attend school in the Denver metro or Colorado Springs area and must be legally authorized to work in the United States to apply. If accepted, students begin the program at the start of their junior year.

The selection committee considers student essays, school activities, community involvement, student need, a recommendation, and GPA when selecting participants for the program.

Healthcare Interest Program (HIP) at Denver Health

The Healthcare Interest Program (HIP) supports Denver Health’s workforce development needs by creating pathways into the healthcare field for the next generation of healthcare providers. HIP is a Denver Health initiative that serves undergraduate students interested in healthcare careers. The program supports the academic and professional development needs of its students through a combined approach that includes professional mentorship, lectures, and workshops.

HIP Experience

The HIP experience includes:

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Complete 50+ hours of shadowing with a Denver Health provider in your field of interest
Obtain 1 credit hour per semester
Attend Friday seminars with fellow health professions students
Network with healthcare providers across the Denver Health system
Gain an understanding of the healthcare needs of different populations
Develop key professional skillsets to prepare for the next steps in your career journey

HIP maintains community-academic partnerships with three regional institutions to facilitate its work: University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Regis University. At this time, Denver Health can only accept students from these partner institutions.

HIP Vision

HIP invests in students who have a connection to the region served by Denver Health and an interest in returning to the community for practice. Often, our participants are the first generation in their families to complete post-secondary education and come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds as the patient population at Denver Health.

In the short-term, the goal of HIP is to increase the number of students who are ready to healthcare degrees within Colorado. In the long-term, HIP is an investment in the regional healthcare workforce seeking to foster community representation and, ultimately, helping to close the healthcare equity gap.

Student Perspective

One HIP student shared: "Prior to HIP and my shadowing experiences, I had serious career doubts and was unsure of what I wanted to do. I've learned from my experiences shadowing that I need to have confidence in myself and not be afraid to aim high. I had been debating going to medical school, but my interactions with my mentor have really inspired me. I can't wait to enter medical school and become a doctor."

HIP Application Requirements

Applicants are required to:

Be currently enrolled as an undergraduate, degree-seeking student at one of our three partner schools: CU Denver, MSU Denver, or Regis University
Have completed a minimum of 15 credit hours at their university
Meet a minimum GPA of 2.8
Have ability to enroll in HIP as a course for BOTH the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters
Have availability in academic schedules to attend HIP seminars on Friday afternoons
Have reliable transportation to commute to the main Denver Health campus and/or possible community locations for mentoring
Agree to additional internship requirements of your university.

Mentorship Opportunities

HIP is accepting new mentors! Being a HIP mentor can be an incredibly rewarding experience and a great opportunity to honor the mentors who supported you through your own career journey. HIP mentors will be assigned to one student for the academic year (August-May) and will be responsible for scheduling 8-10 shadowing hours per month with their mentee. One hour of each semester can be reserved for career advising meetings.

HIP mentors can represent any level of medical practitioner as well as healthcare fields including nursing, pharmacy, public health, dentistry, health admin, and more.

Denver Health Job Shadowing Program

The Denver Health job shadowing program is designed for students ages 14 years or older interested in a career in health care. The student must be enrolled in a high school or a college undergraduate program.

Program Guidelines

All shadowing individuals must be 14 years of age or older. Formal educational experiences. Denver Health does not find job shadow placements for applicants. All shadowing individuals are responsible for securing a job shadow experience with a Denver Health employee. Denver Health retains the right to refuse permission for any reason to an Observer who has requested a shadowing experience. Observers are not permitted to use or disclose protected health information. Observers cannot perform any direct patient care. Job Shadowing is limited to a total of 40 hours per year. Obtain a Job Shadow ID badge from the Badging Office prior to starting the job shadow experience. The Badging Office is located at 601 N Broadway, first floor. Dress appropriately, in accordance with the Denver Health dress code. Respect patient confidentiality. Do not provide any direct patient care. All shadowing individuals must be assigned to a specific Denver Health staff member who has agreed to allow the observer to accompany them during the designated period of time. This staff member is responsible for personally completing all assigned duties, appropriate supervision of the observer in accordance with this administrative procedure and ensuring patient safety. Identify the Denver Health provider or employee you are going to shadow. You should identify them and talk with them about this before you proceed. Sign the Observer and Confidentiality Agreement.

Health Career Connection (HCC)

Health Career Connection (HCC) also operates in Denver. HCC plans to provide paid 10-week internships, mentorship and professional development opportunities. The Denver program will target students from low- to middle-income households, first-generation college students and those from underserved communities.

Nationally, 71% of program alumni receive job offers or extended internships from host employers, while 96% of organizations hosting interns report a positive return on investment.

HCC’s summer health internships are designed for undergraduate students (4-year college or community college) and recent graduates (up to 3 years out of college) wishing to gain work experience in healthcare, public health, behavioral health, advocacy and biopharma-related settings. While the majority of HCC interns are college juniors, seniors, or recent graduates, we also consider sophomores and freshmen who demonstrate a commitment to community and interest in healthcare, public health, primary care, and/or behavioral health. International students are also able to apply; however, they must be attending school in the United States, and HCC and its sponsoring organizations cannot provide any documentation or support for immigration-related purposes (such as sponsorship or work visas). It is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain appropriate permissions and fulfill any governmental requirements.

HCC Program Components

The CHLP includes a robust series of interactive cohort-based learning sessions, virtual workshops, leading national speakers, career exposure panels, career planning activities, graduate education preparation and skill-based training. Participants build invaluable relationships, learn networking skills, develop new professional skills and increase their knowledge of key issues and strategies to become leaders who advance community health improvement for all.

CHLP Fellows learn to recognize and address geographic, cultural, and social contexts that undermine health challenges for rural and urban underserved communities. Most CHLP educational virtual activities take place between 9a-1:30pm PT/12pm-4pm ET Monday - Friday, though additional workshops and meetings may be scheduled at other times.

HCC Internship Requirements

You must be able to legally work in the United States to be eligible for the internship. If your Visa allows you to receive a stipend, you would qualify. You should check with your school’s student services or financial aid office. Let them know that the internship is an educational and training experience (as opposed to a salary for work performed) and the stipend is for that purpose, which can make a difference. Taking summer school classes, studying for standardized tests (such as MCAT or GRE), or assuming any other paid or voluntary positions during the internship period are not permitted. Many students have found that interning full-time and participating in HCC’s comprehensive educational programming for ten weeks has been more challenging than they anticipated. HCC requires that your involvement in our program be the main focus during the summer.

Language proficiency, other than English, is not required. Many of our host organizations work in communities and have projects where knowing a specific language is important in being able to work with their target populations and other stakeholders. HCC does not provide internet access to interns working remotely or in hybrid settings. HCC does not provide housing or transportation in the city of your placement.

HCC Internship Structure

Interns learning by doing through a hands-on internship placement and HCC’s comprehensive career and professional development educational program. This combination of program components requires a full-time commitment Monday through Friday during daytime work hours (schedule to be determined with the host organizations and by HCC scheduled educational activities). Internships are 10 consecutive weeks from your start day

The primary focus of the HCC health internship program and workshops are to provide students with an educational experience, exposure and work experience in public health and health-related settings. Summer workshops are a mandatory complement to student internships. HCC does not provide academic credit, but we do support students who would like to receive academic credit for their summer health internship. Many HCC interns are hired on a full-time or part-time basis and some summer interns may extend their internship or continue on a volunteer basis upon exemplary completion of their health internship. Yes, HCC encourages students to explore career options and fields through HCC internships.

Denver Health Doctoral Psychology Internship Program

The mission of the Denver Health Doctoral Psychology Internship Program is to produce highly skilled doctoral-level clinicians with a strong professional identity as psychologists. We provide outstanding clinical training and supervision that fully prepares psychologists and consistently produces highly effective health service psychologists who are valued members of health care organizations. In addition to experience with a core curriculum that includes psychotherapy, psychological assessment, and acute psychopathology, psychology interns develop an early career area of expertise through participation on a multidisciplinary team of professionals. The program has been fully accredited since 1980 by the American Psychological Association.

Internship Tracks

Denver Health is offering the following internship tracks:

Adult Psychology (two positions)
Child & Adolescent Psychology (two positions)
Adult Compassionate Substance Care (one position)
Family-Oriented Resilience, Growth, and Empowerment (FORGE) (two positions)
Adult Integrated Primary Care (one position)
Adult Neuropsychology (one position)
Adult Spanish Bilingual (one position)

Denver Health: A Leading Healthcare Institution

Denver Health is a nationally ranked, locally trusted, premier health care institution located in the heart of Denver, Colorado. Denver Health serves a diverse patient population of more than 280,000 patients receiving care in our hospital, 10 community health centers, and 19 school-based health centers. Each year, Denver Health care teams see patients who speak more than 200 languages, most commonly Spanish. With more than 8,400 employees, Denver Health is the 11th largest employer in Denver. Our medical staff includes more than 1,700 physicians and advanced practice physicians (APPs).

Denver Health is an integrated, high-quality academic health care system considered a model for the nation that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a 555-bed acute care medical center, Denver’s 911 emergency medical response system, 10 family health centers, 19 school-based health centers, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, the Public Health Institute at Denver Health, Denver Health Medical Plan and Denver Health Foundation.

Denver Health’s Mission is to:

Provide all in our community with access to the highest quality and equitable health care regardless of their ability to pay.
Educate the next generation of health care professionals serving our community.
Engage in research and community partnerships to better deliver the health care needs of our patients.

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