On September 9, Tenafly juniors and seniors received an email outlining an opportunity to join Englewood Hospital’s medical internship program. The internship program, which has been running for 25 years, offers students an opportunity to receive hands-on medical training and an early exposure to medical fields.
The internship program is composed of three cohorts of six students: the fall cohort begins in September, the winter cohort begins in November, and the spring cohort begins in March. However, only the winter and spring cohorts are offered during the 2025-2026 school year. Accordingly, six seniors will be selected for the winter cohort and six juniors will be selected for the spring.
Additionally, the program entails both clinical exposure and educational enrichment. The program allows students to shadow physicians and receive hands-on lab training. Both medical lectures and assistance in career planning are offered. Students may also have the opportunity to write papers and contribute to their authoring.
“The internship offers high-quality, organized, job-embedded medical research exposure that is rarely available to high school students, especially during the school year,” Mrs. Woleslagle, the Tenafly Supervisor of Science, said. “The fundamental training in surgical suturing and lab protocols, and the practice of doing rounds and attending research lectures would give our interns an early opportunity to participate in doing the procedures, diagnostic tests, and practices of medical students and doctors with actual practitioners. Again, we’re grateful to Englewood Hospital for this opportunity!”
“Whatever [career] you may be thinking that you’re interested in, you would probably change your mind several times,” Dr. Robert Pergolizzi, Englewood Hospital’s coordinator, said. He emphasized the importance of genuinely knowing what field of study one may want to pursue. “As you go through various rotations [through the program], you [will] learn what different specialties are really like. And it’s not just your TV conceptions. We’re getting you exposed to the reality of these different medical specialties early. And that’s really what this program is about.”
Running for about 13 weeks, the program occurs on Wednesdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Hence, the selected students will miss morning classes and return to school by the end of lunch. Therefore, if a student is selected, they are responsible for communicating with teachers to make up for missing work from their Wednesday morning absences.
For students who applied early, the Medical Internship Information Session was available to attend via RSVP during lunch in the library on September 15. During the session, information regarding the application process, the selection process, and a Q&A session was presented and discussed.
Interested students are still able to submit their Initial Interest Form found in the email sent out on September 9 by 3:15 p.m. on September 19. Applying juniors and seniors must be 16 years or older by the time the cohort begins, provide their own transportation, and possess interest, academics, attendance, and interpersonal skills.
Due to the low number of students in each cohort, the selection process is rigorous. After interested students submit the Initial Interest Form, they will be notified from September 22 to 26 whether they have been selected to move on to the next stage of the application process. The next stage entails applicant videos, interviews, and background checks, anticipated to be conducted during October. Moreover, final selections for cohorts are expected to be made in November.
