What is a Community Health Internship?

Are you an aspiring doctor? Are you looking for your specialization? If you are not particularly interested in working in big hospitals or medical facilities, you might want to try specializing in community health. Here, you will be trained to handle being a community doctor. You will learn how to connect with people, build trust, and help prevent community transmissible diseases. So how would you know if this is the best path for you? Well, you might want to take up an internship!

Community health interns are engaged in fieldwork activities. They are assigned to community health centers to assist there. They are mentored by licensed doctors in the community and other staff of the health centers. It is important for community health interns to be passionate about what they do. This role is not for the weak of heart.

If you are interested, you better do your research on what is expected of you as an intern. It would be a great experience to be mentored by established doctors, too.

What Does a Community Health Internship Do

There are certain skills that many community health interns have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, instructional skills and writing skills.

Learn more about what a Community Health Internship does

How To Become a Community Health Internship

If you're interested in becoming a community health internship, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 72.9% of community health interns have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 15.6% of community health interns have master's degrees. Even though most community health interns have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Community Health Internship
Top Community Health Internship Jobs Near You

Community Health Internship Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a community health internship can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as mental health counselor, progress to a title such as therapist and then eventually end up with the title director of social services.

Community Health Internship

Average Salary for a Community Health Internship

Community Health Interns in America make an average salary of $32,586 per year or $16 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $44,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $23,000 per year.
Average Community Health Internship Salary
$32,586 Yearly
$15.67 hourly
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Roles and Types of Community Health Internship

The role of a community health internship includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general community health internship responsibilities:

  • Researching a broad variety of scientific topics
  • Not limited to: program participants must complete scheduled training
  • Assists in circulating duties with a registered nurse, as directed. Assist in scrubbing duties with a registered nurse or certified surgical technician assists with prepping patient for procedures, as directed. Assists in positioning

There are several types of community health internship, including:

Clinical Externship

Role:

A clinical externship is part of the learning journey of a medical student at the end of the program. The candidates shadow healthcare professionals at work in their chosen field of interest and gain hands-on experience to support their theoretical knowledge.

Exact duties vary from case to case, but an externship always allows students to interact with patients and assist in doctors carrying out examinations, assessing medical cases and creating diagnoses, coming up with treatment plans, and performing medical procedures on patients.

Although medical externships take place after graduation from med school, this is an unpaid position - if you are lucky enough and manage to find one you do not actually have to pay for yourself. As these positions provide many learning opportunities and prepare candidates for obtaining residency positions, being humble, following orders, and accepting criticism gracefully is an essential part of the job.

  • Average Salary: $35,831
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Mental Health Counselor

Role:

If you've a strong sense of compassion, enjoy helping people, and are willing to learn and grow by facing new challenges, you may enjoy the role of a mental health counselor. In general, a mental health counselor is a person who helps people manage or overcome psychological and emotional disorders and problems with their families and relationships. As a mental health counselor, you may deal with individuals, families, groups, and communities as you help them overcome their cognitive, behavioral, or emotional issues and improve their mental well-being.

A career as a mental health counselor brings a lot of potential benefits with it. One of the remarkable rewards of being a mental health counselor is the gratification and fulfillment you get by helping people and improving their quality of life. Other than potential meaningfulness, a role as a mental health counselor offers you high earning potential, flexible schedules, and an opportunity to work with new people every day. Not only this, but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a growth rate of about 22 percent for mental health counselor employment, which is significantly faster than the average for all occupations.

Many aspiring mental health counselors hold a bachelor's degree in a human services field such as psychology, sociology, or social work. However, earning a master's degree in counseling or a related field may help burnish your resume. Further, you may specialize in areas such as trauma, addiction, or youth services. The licensing and certification guidelines vary state by state. As a mental health counselor, you may work in various family services, outpatient mental health, substance abuse centers, hospitals, government schools, or a private practice. Typically your hours will include frequent one-on-one patient contact. Other hours may consist of time leading group counseling, meeting with supervisors and peers, and reviewing notes. What's more, once you get experience under your belt, you may start your own private therapy practice to earn an even better living.

  • Average Salary: $49,471
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Mental Health Worker

Role:

A mental health worker provides care for people with mental health concerns or developmental disabilities. You will mostly work under the supervision of a registered nurse in psychiatric hospitals and residential mental health facilities. Some of your core job responsibilities include assessing and interacting with patients to develop treatment plans and strategies, administering therapeutic care, monitoring patients, leading individual, family, or group therapy to foster group support and growth. You will be involved in case management, brokerage services, pharmaceutical assistance, chart documentation, and other insurance concerns.

You are also expected to facilitate communication between care, service, and support providers. Important skills for any mental health worker are crisis intervention, mental health, patient care, CPR, vital signs, and great verbal and non-verbal communication skills. The average mental health worker earns $17.72 per hour or $36,000 annually. Most of them have a bachelor's degree in psychology, social work, criminal justice, or other related fields.

  • Average Salary: $41,081
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Community Health Internship Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active community health internship jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where community health interns earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Community Health Internship Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California4,348$43,085
2Texas2,416$24,917
3Georgia1,710$28,506
4Ohio1,636$28,677
5Michigan1,538$36,551
6North Carolina1,530$29,854
7Virginia1,266$37,427
8Minnesota1,247$33,390
9Washington1,228$36,551
10Indiana1,181$30,912
11Maryland1,028$34,075
12Tennessee1,019$29,138
13Arizona991$29,588
14New York980$37,142
15Missouri960$29,925
16Wisconsin918$32,948
17Pennsylvania887$33,650
18Florida879$30,916
19Massachusetts864$37,420
20Colorado801$32,640
21Illinois789$35,490
22Alabama634$27,619
23New Jersey577$35,627
24Iowa573$32,268
25Oklahoma568$29,037
26Kentucky542$31,142
27Louisiana487$29,164
28Arkansas485$31,070
29Kansas430$30,178
30Oregon412$35,628
31Utah380$31,609
32Nebraska355$30,837
33Idaho348$33,624
34South Carolina338$27,013
35Connecticut322$39,343
36Mississippi317$28,249
37Nevada257$39,524
38New Hampshire231$41,171
39Delaware214$40,353
40Vermont199$37,412
41South Dakota193$31,011
42Rhode Island188$42,091
43New Mexico180$30,088
44North Dakota177$37,790
45Maine158$31,199
46Hawaii148$39,006
47Alaska137$47,557
48Montana135$33,866
49Wyoming130$32,300
50West Virginia96$32,778

Community Health Internship Education

Community Health Internship Majors

Psychology
28.6 %
Public Health
8.6 %
Social Work
7.3 %

Community Health Internship Degrees

Bachelors

72.9 %

Masters

15.6 %

Associate

6.8 %

Top Colleges for Community Health Internships

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

3. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,399

Enrollment

7,356

4. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

6. San Jose State University

San Jose, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,796

Enrollment

27,125

7. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

8. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

9. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

10. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,942

Enrollment

13,871

Top Skills For a Community Health Internship

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.8% of community health interns listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and instructional skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Community Health Internship Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Community Health Internship templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Community Health Internship resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Community Health Internship Resume
Community Health Internship Resume
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Community Health Internship Resume
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Community Health Internship Resume

Community Health Internship diversity

Community Health Internship Gender Distribution

Female
Female
76%
Male
Male
25%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among community health interns, 75.5% of them are women, while 24.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among community health interns is White, which makes up 55.2% of all community health interns.

  • The most common foreign language among community health interns is Spanish at 56.1%.

Online Courses For Community Health Internship That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Assessing and Improving Community Health

coursera

This course is intended to serve as an introduction to population health from both the vantage point of both public health and healthcare. We will examine the key components of community health needs assessments, how they are used, and how to compare population health assessments across subpopulations and time. We will also explore the epidemiological sources and criteria by which to select high quality data sources to estimate population health indicators and to select evidence-based...

2. Foundational Skills for Communicating About Health

coursera

Effective communication is a core skill that nearly every health professional will need and use during their careers. Yet, few health professionals receive even basic training in how to design communications to be clear and successful. As “foundational skills,” the content in this course can be applied to both oral and written communication, within and beyond health. Learners will develop the skills to: analyze and tailor a communication effort for different audiences, develop clear messages,...

3. Addiction & Mental Health (Dual Diagnosis) Integrative 12hrs

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4.7
(1,379)

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions: Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health - Integrative Holistic Approach...

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Best States For a Community Health Internship

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a community health internship. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, California, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Community health interns make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $47,557. Whereas in California and Rhode Island, they would average $43,085 and $42,091, respectively. While community health interns would only make an average of $41,171 in New Hampshire, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Alaska

Total Community Health Internship Jobs: 137
Highest 10% Earn:
$57,000
Location Quotient:
1.24

$47,557

Avg. Salary

View 137 Community Health Internship Jobs In AK

2. Delaware

Total Community Health Internship Jobs: 214
Highest 10% Earn:
$59,000
Location Quotient:
1.29

$40,353

Avg. Salary

View 214 Community Health Internship Jobs In DE

3. Vermont

Total Community Health Internship Jobs: 199
Highest 10% Earn:
$53,000
Location Quotient:
1.96

$37,412

Avg. Salary

View 199 Community Health Internship Jobs In VT
Full List Of Best States For Community Health Interns

How Do Community Health Interns Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Community Health Internship Employers

Most Common Employers For Community Health Internship

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Deborah's Place$40,795$19.618
2International Rescue Committee$40,378$19.4119
3Sheppard Pratt$39,008$18.759
4Centers For Disease Control And Prevention$36,727$17.669
5Planned Parenthood$36,612$17.6018
6Kimberly-Clark$35,593$17.119
7The Walt Disney Company$35,577$17.1010
8Kaiser Permanente$35,102$16.8853
9UF Health Jacksonville$34,626$16.658
10iCIMS$33,580$16.1424
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Community Health Internship Related Careers

Community Health Internship Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs

Updated April 6, 2023