Palomar UC San Diego Health’s Pathmaker Internship provides pre-health students with the opportunity to explore diverse career paths within our organization through a competency-based approach to learning. In a matter of months, our interns gain hands-on experience, connect with peers, network with professionals and foster personal development as they prepare to enter the healthcare workforce.

The Pathmaker Internship provides opportunities for students interested in experiencing the clinical environment in one of our three hospital campuses (Palomar UC San Diego Health Escondido, Palomar UC San Diego Health Poway or one of our many outpatient facilities).

The Pathmaker Internship also offers our Medical Interpreting program (Level III) for fluent Spanish-language speakers who are interested in acting as the bridge to provide safe communication between patients, visitors and staff.

1. Determine appropriate program

• Check the admissions eligibility criteria at the top of the page.

2. Prepare application components

• Identify two (2) professional/academic references. They will each be sent a 5-10-minute electronic recommendation survey via email during the application window.
• Gather personal information for application (school, GPA, career goal) and prepare to answer one (1) short answer and one (1) long essay.

Please note, as a new intern, you will be expected to serve one 4-hour shift per week for the course of your first rotation without a gap between shifts of more than 14 days. This means that for 2025 B, you should anticipate applying only if you plan to be available for the onboarding dates above and on a weekly basis from May 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025.

• We have changed our internship rotational cycles. Interns are now accepted and onboarded every four months, with start dates of March 1, July 1 and November 1. Please note that interviews scheduled to take place around those times will be for the NEXT cycle (e.g. if you interview in March/April, you will be starting July 1).
• For any additional information, please contact us at PathmakerInfo@PUCSD.org

“This experience changed my life. It really solidified my career path. I participated in this program my senior year of high school and I feel that it really prepared me for nursing school, which I am in now. The nurses, patients, families, other interns and medical staff were all so helpful and made this experience more than just an internship but really an educational opportunity. I truly enjoyed having the opportunity to work on different floors in the hospital during the nine months I was in the program … I had some trying experiences in this internship as well, but I feel like they helped me grow and mature (even just as a 17-year-old senior in high school) and looking back, I think they helped shaped me to become the nursing student I am, and eventual RN I will be.” —College Graduate, Future Nursing Student