Gap Year Medical Assistant Internship Program
The Crossroad Gap Year Medical Assistant Internship Program offers recent graduates a full-time, paid opportunity to immerse themselves in a community health center while preparing for a career in medicine. Designed for students in their gap year, this program allows participants to gain direct patient experience, explore the integration of biblically-informed faith into medical practice and develop a deeper understanding of the health challenges that under-resourced and vulnerable patients face.
Gap Year Medical Assistant Interns are employed for 10 months or more with applications accepted throughout the year. Interns receive on-the-job training as Medical Assistants, becoming part of our clinical workforce for 32-36 hours per week as MAs with an additional 4-8 hours of paid time to contribute to quality improvement or other projects or helping Crossroad with referral orders, and mentorship that exposes Interns to primary care and the primary care medical home (PCMH) model, the community health center and safety-net programs.
In their MA role, Intern responsibilities include rooming patients, taking vitals, assisting with procedures, performing blood draws and injections, updating electronic medical records and supporting providers during visits. MAs also play a critical role in addressing barriers to care: scheduling referral appointments, navigating language differences and connecting patients with resources for food, housing and other social services. This work offers a powerful opportunity to serve vulnerable populations while learning how to deliver compassionate, whole-person care.
Interns may additionally contribute to a variety of quality improvement and population health projects aimed at enhancing patient care and clinical operations, such as clinical data analysis, process improvements and implementing new workflows that impact patient outcomes. Through this work, Interns gain valuable insight into the systems efforts that drive excellent, comprehensive, accessible care—building critical skills as future servant-hearted leaders in health care.
The Crossroad Gap Year Intern Program offers Interns the unique opportunity to explore how Christian faith and medicine intersect. Throughout the year, Interns receive mentorship, guided through readings and discussions, highlighting a Christ-centered foundation for health care that expresses God’s love and justice. Our mentorship is designed not only to deepen Interns’ understanding, but to build relationships that prayerfully support and encourage Interns in their journey as a future health care providers committed to serving in the name of Jesus.
Commitment
Gap Year Interns commit to working full time for a minimum of 10 months, prior to starting graduate school. During this time, they train and work as a Medical Assistant at one of our clinic locations (32-36 hours/week). Additionally, Interns assist in quality improvement and other projects (4-8 hours/week) in our clinical, measurement and/or population health service areas.
Requirements
This program is designed for recent college graduates who are taking a gap year before matriculating to medical school, physician assistant school or a related health professions program. While most of our participants are pre-med or pre-PA students, we welcome applications from individuals pursuing other clinical careers or health care-related fields.
Applicants should be able to commit to full-time work for the duration of the program and demonstrate a strong interest in patient care, health equity and community health.
Applicants should be comfortable working in Christian, faith-based setting. Mentorship in providing compassionate, Christ-centered care rooted in biblical principles that includes prayer and Bible-reading is available to those who are interested.
Exceptions to the traditional gap year timeline may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Application
Applications for our Internship Program are accepted throughout the year, with January through April as the most common time for submissions (for employment July through the following June as the typical length of the program).
Application to the Gap Year MA Intern Program is competitive, with position hiring based on Crossroad need (typically 2 positions per year).
If, after reading the above, and familiarizing yourself with Crossroad’s history, mission and values (LINK), you are interested in applying for a position as a Gap Year MA Intern, please complete the following online application. Once we receive your application, we will contact you to let you know if we would like to move forward with an interview as the next step in the process. If you have not heard back from us within 2 weeks of your application completion, please email us at the email listed below.
Questions regarding application to the Crossroad Gap Year MA Intern Program may be directed to crossroadhc@gmail.com.