At MedQuest College, we pride ourselves on producing top-notch health care professionals, especially at a time when the country is facing a health care worker shortage.
But being a qualified health care professional doesn’t happen just from attending classes. You also need to practice the skills you learn, which is where our medical externships come in.
Externships are required for all MedQuest students before they graduate and are conducted through partnerships with local medical, dental or veterinary offices.
Want to learn more about how MedQuest’s medical externships set students up for success? Keep reading!
What is a medical externship?
Externships are a partnership between a school and an employer with the goal of providing students with experience in a real-world work environment. Medical externships, specifically, give students the opportunity to apply classroom skills in the real world by treating patients alongside professionals with years of experience.
Over the course of an externship, students will learn everything from how a medical or dental office runs to how to interact directly with patients. Students also provide care to patients and assist with treatment plans.
These externships set students up for success by helping them build confidence in the skills they learned in the classroom.
How do students get placed?
Students apply for a position at the medical externship of their choice and go through an interview process to secure the job. While this might seem intimidating, MedQuest makes sure students are well prepared before sitting down for an interview.
All students also participate in a course on professional development led by MedQuest’s Career Services before they start their externships. During that time, students learn how to write a resume and develop a professional portfolio. Students will also participate in a mock interview to help them prepare for all externship interviews.
Do students take classes during their externships?
By the time students are ready to start their medical externships, they have completed all their classes, which means they can focus completely on their externships instead.
This also ensures that students have learned all the skills necessary to be as successful as possible during their externship time.
How long are the externships?
The length of an externship is different for each program. For example, dental assisting requires 320 externship hours, while veterinary technology requires 240 hours. While the hours may differ one thing is true for all programs: Students have ample time to learn the skills they’ll need to be successful post-graduation.
If you want to learn more about each program’s specific externship requirements, check out the Student Catalog.
Can a medical externship lead to a job?
It’s common for students to receive job offers after completing their medical externship. This is great because it allows students to feel comfortable at a new job from day one.
For those who don’t accept a job at their externship location, the skills learned make a great addition to a resume. Professional experience like externships always impresses employers, which can make it easier to land a job.
Interested in starting a great career in health care and landing a medical externship? MedQuest College offers six programs for students in Kentucky and Indiana: practical nursing, dental hygiene, dental assisting, medical assisting, veterinary technology and sonography. Want to learn more about one of our programs? Click to request more information or schedule a tour.