YouthWorks Values Partnership with Public Health Agencies

Many youth express interest in having a future career in the health field. Through our partnership with the Department of Public Health (DPH), San Francisco YouthWorks is able to provide youth with enriching  internships that enable them to see careers in the field firsthand. These internships provide youth with the ability to explore the various career opportunities in the medical field with the support of mentors and health partners.

YouthWorks provides an array of internships throughout San Francisco in several different public health sites. YouthWorks currently has interns placed in 13 Department of Public Health sites including clinics and hospitals such as Laguna and General Hospital. These youth are placed with mentors who do all kinds of work, from providing mental health services to supporting community programs to managing Information Technology.

Interns are also able to explore the different types of careers there are in the Health Department through Career Exploration Events that are organized by YW staff. Interns took a tour of General Hospital and were given an opportunity to speak with a panelist of health professionals. They were exposed to various career opportunities in the health care field.  One intern stated “Career exploration day really did open our eyes to numerous positions in the health care field.  It is a really great opportunity to explore new careers, and it’s fun too.” Svetlana Tauzhyanskaya.

Another group of interns visited UCSF’s Gladstone Institute where they were able to explore careers in Biomedical Research.  They toured the site and shadowed a doctor in the laboratory and seen first-hand how biomedical researchers look for ways to prevent, treat and cure diseases that cause illness and death in people and in animals.

SF YouthWorks would like to say thank you to the Department of Public Health and it mentors for their continued support of our program. With their support and mentorship interns are able to gain knowledge of careers in the medical field and gain real hands-on experience that builds their job readiness. They are also one step closer to achieving their career goals of one day working in the medical field.

Blog post written by Employment Coordinator Linda Rosa, who manages internships in the DPH.