June 10, 2015, Summit, NJ – Seventeen college students from New Jersey and New York were chosen to participate in a highly selective summer medical internship led by Overlook Medical Center vascular surgeon and Millburn resident, Clifford Sales, M.D. In its sixth year, only three per cent of applicants were accepted to the unique program.
The Overlook Summer Internship Program (OSIP) is a comprehensive four-week program developed to expose undergraduate college students to the health care field. It is designed to give students a close-up perspective of life as a physician in a wide range of specialties.
“The goal of this program is to help students make an informed decision about possibly entering one of the many exciting fields of medicine,” said Dr. Sales. “Experiences from the program may be valuable throughout the medical school application process.”
During daily rotations, the students shadow a medical professional - mostly physicians, but also therapists, administrators, nurses and social workers - who is committed to teaching and sharing their experiences. This gives the student an opportunity to see what life is like in each particular field. Rotations include experience in the operating room, emergency department, cancer center, labor and delivery, radiology, pathology, hospital floors, physician offices or meetings. Each student has the opportunity to interact on a personal basis with the health care professionals.
Each day, Monday through Thursday, begins with a one-hour breakfast discussion led by a professional who describes his or her field. The focus of this group is on the lifestyle and the pros and cons of each medical specialty. Thereafter, each student reports to an assigned mentor in the setting thought to be most appropriate for the student’s experience. The day is structured by the mentor and each day is very different.
Fridays conclude with a lunch session designed to exchange ideas about current experiences and discussion topics of interest to the group.
“Each year, we have students who are surprised to discover an area of medicine they never thought they would be drawn to, and we have others who decide being a doctor is not for them,” says Dr. Sales. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Students must have completed at least one year of college to apply to the Overlook Summer Internship Program (OSIP). Consideration will be given to class level and academic standing. All participants are provided with a letter of recommendation for future career and education use.
Students in the 2015 class are: Marissa Ayasse, of Smithtown, NY, graduate of Hauppauge High School and a junior at Seton Hall University, South Orange; Michael Budlow, of West Orange, graduate of Millburn High School and a senior at University of Miami; Caroline Burley, of Summit, graduate of Oak Knoll High School and a sophomore at Kenyon College, Gambier, OH; Jonathan Carcione, of Franklin Lakes, graduate of Ramapo High School and a sophomore at Princeton University; Marc Casale, of Freehold, graduate of Freehold High School and a sophomore at The College of New Jersey, Ewing Township; Julia Chimienti, of Scotch Plains, graduate of Academy of Allied Health Sciences, Scotch Plains, and a sophomore at Tulane University, New Orleans; Clare Cutri-French, of Lebanon Township, graduate of Voorhees High School and a sophomore at Rutgers University, New Brunswick; Joshua Ehrenberg, of Warren, graduate of Watchung Hills Regional High School and a sophomore at University of Miami; Shannon Glynn of Pearl River, NY, graduate of Academy of the Holy Angels, Demarest, and a junior at Georgetown University, Washington, DC; Adrienne Jarocki, of Middle Village, NY, graduate of Bronx High School of Science and a sophomore at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Aleena Karim, of Basking Ridge, graduate of Kent Place School, Summit, and a sophomore at Rutgers University, New Brunswick; Kristen Lee, of Scotch Plains, graduate of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School and a junior at New York University, New York City; Rachel Manci, of Morris Plains, graduate of Parsippany High School and a sophomore at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA; James McMahon, of Summit, graduate of The Pingry School, Basking Ridge, and a junior at New York University, New York City; Devanshi Mehta, of Warren, graduate of Watchung Hills Regional High School and a junior at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Kidist Nigussie, of Orange, graduate of Marylawn of the Oranges Academy, South Orange, and a sophomore at College of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station; Michael Sielski, of Wayne, graduate of Don Bosco Preparatory High School, Ramsey, and a sophomore at Brown University, Providence, RI.
For information about applying to the program in 2016, call 908-522-5926 or visit the Overlook Summer Internship Program>.