How to hire a Medical Internship

How to hire a medical internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step medical internship hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a medical internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new medical internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Medical Internship do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a medical internship, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a medical internship to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a medical internship that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of medical internship salaries for various roles:

   Type Of Medical Internship	Description	Hourly Rate
   Medical Internship	Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice.	$15-37
   MD	A Doctor of Medicine or MD is the designation of a person who completed medical education. Generally, MDs focus on the treatment of conditions in need of medication... Show More	$12-107
   Medical Office Administrator	A medical office administrator is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties within a health care institution, supplying physicians and medical professionals with patients' information, and coordinating with insurance companies. Medical office administrators handle the information and data management system to ensure the accuracy of patients' details, medical history, and treatment plans... Show More	$12-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Vital Signs
   • Surgical Procedures
   • Surgery
   • EKG
   • Internal Medicine
   • PowerPoint
   • Medical Terminology
   • CPR
   • Patient Charts
   • Pediatrics
   • Insurance Verification
   • Emergency Room

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
   • Room patients, vitals, schedule, injections, clia waive tests, womb care ,
   • Learned how to triage patients and make sure they are ready for the doctor to see.
   • Organize and fill patient medical records, telephone triage, schedule appointments, and provide patient education.
   • Organize, prep, and assist patients in putting on heart monitors for EKG and heart rate readings in the lab.
   • Assist physicians in taking blood pressure, EKG, ultrasound, measuring heart beat and recording all vitals in physical examinations.

   More Medical Internship duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your medical internship job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A medical internship salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, medical interns' average salary in oklahoma is 55% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level medical interns earn 57% less than senior-level medical interns.
   • Certifications. A medical internship with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a medical internship's salary.

   Average medical internship salary

   $50,843yearly

   $24.44 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level medical internship salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 18, 2025

   Average medical internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	Massachusetts	$81,608	$39
   2	Pennsylvania	$71,379	$34
   3	Oregon	$66,482	$32
   4	Virginia	$64,879	$31
   5	Michigan	$60,430	$29
   6	Ohio	$60,202	$29
   7	Minnesota	$59,177	$28
   8	North Carolina	$56,836	$27
   9	Arizona	$55,623	$27
   10	Nevada	$54,352	$26
   11	New Mexico	$51,454	$25
   12	California	$51,397	$25
   13	Florida	$49,596	$24
   14	Colorado	$48,607	$23
   15	Tennessee	$47,857	$23
   16	Missouri	$47,702	$23
   17	Georgia	$47,466	$23
   18	Texas	$47,241	$23
   19	Kansas	$41,808	$20
   20	Oklahoma	$39,916	$19

   Average medical internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	$102,931	$49.49	37
   2	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$76,232	$36.65	7
   3	StMarysMadison	$61,154	$29.40
   4	Erlanger Health System	$61,081	$29.37	27
   5	Health Alliance	$59,641	$28.67	47
   6	EYP	$58,140	$27.95
   7	Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare	$57,632	$27.71	13
   8	Sharp HealthCare	$57,176	$27.49	7
   9	International Rescue Committee	$56,115	$26.98	4
   10	Natera	$53,738	$25.84
   11	HonorHealth	$53,628	$25.78
   12	LifePoint Health	$51,234	$24.63	216
   13	HealthTrust	$50,217	$24.14	1
   14	Indivior	$49,325	$23.71
   15	Medical City Arlington	$48,433	$23.29
   16	Crozer Health	$47,601	$22.89	7
   17	Beaufort Memorial Hospital	$46,480	$22.35	3
   18	University Of Minnesota Physicians	$44,328	$21.31	13
   19	Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare	$43,500	$20.91
   20	Henry Ford Health System	$43,231	$20.78	3

4. Writing a Medical Internship Job Description

   A medical internship job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a medical internship job description:

   Medical Internship job description example

   The Nurse Extern PRN position delivers high quality, patient-centered care by performing a variety of delegated basic patient care services related to common nursing functions and activities of daily living. Under the supervision of the registered nurse (RN), the Nurse Extern assists the nursing staff in providing patient care in accordance with the Nurse Extern’s skills/training and the needs of the Department, and consistently assists the patient care team with maintaining a clean, well-organized, and safe patient care environment. The Nurse Extern is currently enrolled and in good standing in an accredited school of nursing and can perform higher-level procedures once competency is achieved.
   
   Participates in the implementation of nursing care plans by performing direct and indirect patient care under the supervision of the licensed nurse.
   
   Obtains and records initial and ongoing patient information throughout the cycle of care, including admissions data, vital signs, height and weight, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, blood glucose levels, intake and output, and calorie counts.
   
   Documents observations, interactions, patient responses to performed activities, and any physical or behavioral changes at time of occurrence. Reports observations of individual patients to the RN/Team Leader.
   
   Assists with mobility by regular turning and positioning, dangling, and ambulating patients. Assists with use of walkers, crutches, canes, and wheelchairs. Transfers patients to and from other units, departments, or entities. Assists with discharges. Demonstrates proper body mechanics.
   
   Provides or assists with non-medicated support care, including non-sterile dressing changes, skin protection, application of heat or ice, oxygen delivery, and venous compression devices.
   
   Performs non-medicated support tasks, including oral suctioning, enema, catheterization and foley catheter removal, drain maintenance, and basic wound care. Increases variety and difficulty of tasks as competency is verified through nursing program.
   
   Obtains or assists in the collection of specimens for diagnostic or waived tests. Ensures accuracy of all labels and timely transfer of specimen.
   
   Retrieves medication from pharmacy, storage room, or tube system and delivers to licensed staff member as instructed.
   Assists with patient preparation for surgery or other procedure. Assists patients with activities of daily living to include eating and drinking, bathing, shaving, oral care, grooming, and elimination. Changes bed linens as needed. Performs hourly rounding and responds promptly to call lights and patient requests. Strives to anticipate patient needs and resolve them proactively. Follows patient and employee safety/security policies and protocols, including hand hygiene, use of universal precautions, use of personal protective equipment, and adherence to isolation procedures. Prepares and maintains clean, hazard-free patient rooms. Empties trash and removes soiled linens. Assists with patient/family/caregiver learning needs, abilities and readiness to learn. Identifies barriers to learning, such as language or culture. Integrates this information into the patient’s plan of care. Translates complex medical terminology to ensure patients/families/caregivers understand patient medical condition, patient status, treatment plan, medications and possible side effects, and follow-up measures. Educates patients/families/caregivers on healthy diet and exercise, disease prevention, and/or lifestyle changes that may be needed once a patient leaves the hospital. Prepares patients and families/caregivers for future self-management. Provides teaching material as needed (pamphlets, video, etc.) to enhance understanding. Documents each teaching episode. Assists with post-mortem care. Assists in the setup, removal, and cleaning of equipment. Identifies malfunctioning equipment and initiates repairs. Performs clerical work as needed, including greeting customers, filing, answering and transferring phones, and relaying messages. Prepares and maintains chart, MAR and Kardex on each patient admitted. Adds documentation forms to chart as needed. Ensures each form is properly labeled. Assists provider in obtaining medical records and diagnostic results. Requirements Currently enrolled and in good standing in an accredited school of Nursing – Required Basic Life Support (BLS) - Required 1+ year(s) of nursing school completed – Preferred

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find medical interns for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any medical interns they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level medical interns with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your medical internship job on Zippia to find and recruit medical internship candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit medical interns, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new medical internship

   Once you've selected the best medical internship candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new medical internship first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a medical internship?