Health Fellows Program

The Trinity College Health Fellows Program is designed for those undergraduates who wish to observe and participate in a variety of health-related activities. These activities include research projects, clinical services, educational seminars, and rounds at Hartford Hospital, Institute of Living, and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. This program will provide students with valuable experience in a health-care setting. This experience can help guide their future career choices. For students interested in a career in medicine, medical colleges are more commonly accepting only those students who have had relevant experience. This type of intensive participation would certainly make Trinity students stand out. For students interested in a career in research, this program would also make them much more desirable to graduate schools. In addition, they will have learned important research skills, both specific to the placement and more general, such as formulating a hypothesis, methods of data collection, and methods of data analysis.

Ordinarily, supervisors at the hospitals will be physicians. Placements will be carefully screened to insure that they will be rigorous while providing students with a stimulating learning experience. All supervisors will be required to provide opportunities to participate in research as well as to observe clinical services. Supervisors will complete a questionnaire which describes their requirements and the possible opportunities at their placement. Each student and supervisor will be matched appropriately.

Working 30 hours per week for a professional in the health-care setting is valued at two course credits.  Additionally, each fellow will participate in a weekly seminar that includes a colloquium series, for which he or she will receive one course credit.  Separate grades will be given for the seminar/ colloquium and the clinical experience.  In some cases one of these course credits will count towards a major, but this is decided by the individual major departments. Students will also take at least one other course at Trinity.

The weekly seminar will cover general topics in health care, including current issues in health science and clinical applications of basic research, alternative medicine, Health Maintenance Organizations, and medical ethics. Readings will be assigned for each class mmeting and from these artivles the student will submit a written hypothesis and background.   Students will also be required to complete a research paper on a current health issue.   For the colloquium series, supervisors of the student fellows will be asked to give a presentation and provide appropriate readings.  As part of the site-based experience, students will be required to keep a weekly journal of experiences at the hospital and to present a clinical case, written in the format of a Grand Rounds. They will also be required to produce a written summary of the research they conducted. As much as possible this will take the form of a scientific journal article. This research will also be presented as a poster at the Trinity College Science Symposium held each May and as an oral presentation at the end of the semester..

Preference will be given to juniors and seniors, and it is expected that students will have completed two laboratory courses. Some placements will carry specific additional prerequisites. The program will be limited to 15 students. It is strongly recommended that "Medical Ethics" be taken either beforehand or concurrent with the internship. Some background in science will be strongly encouraged.

Interested students should contact the Health Fellows coordinator in September. Matches between interested students and supervisors will be completed by November. Students will begin work at the hospital with the start of classes in January. Students who participate in their junior year should bear in mind the option of remaining on site to complete a senior thesis.