Ben’s Friends provides a limited number of volunteer internship positions for those who are considering applying to medical school or similar professional training.
Please click and watch a short video about Ben’s Friends from this link and have a look at our website.
Internship Basic Info:
- We prefer university students with at least one successful academic year completed. Grads are welcome too, of course!
- Internships are continuous entry, and can be started at any time during the year.
- Most of our interns start off by acting as a greeter on one of our communities
- Experienced greeters may be invited to act as intern moderators
- Interns should have strong written communication skills
- All work is online, and can be done at your convenience, but is expected to be regular: 10-15 hours per month, minimum, but very flexible.
Functions:
- Greet new members to our communities (you will work on two or three communities)
- Monitor community discussion and interaction, and discuss with moderators and/or administrators as necessary
- Help members navigate and use the community site
- Leverage other social media to boost visibility of Ben’s friends
- (Interns with a year’s successful experience) Act as mentors for new interns, and as intern-moderators, facilitating discussion, admitting new members, and resolving conflicts.
Benefits To You:
- Strengthening communication skills (your writing is your voice)
- Learning to approach strangers with warmth, empathy and confidence
- Broadening of medical knowledge
- Understanding the patient’s everyday burden and personal struggles
- Opportunity to coach and teach online skills to novice, and sometimes reluctant, users of computer technology
- Flexibility: your Ben’s Friends volunteer work can fit in around your work, school or family commitments
- Visible easily-accessed online samples of your progress and your volunteer work for your portfolio
- Good karma: after all, you’re working to help rare disease patients in need.
Interested? Please click and fill-up the Patient Advocacy Internship Form.
Email internship@bensfriends.org if you have any questions.