Students in search of elevating their skills and leadership or gaining experience and exposure in the field of rehabilitation will find Good Shepherd Rehabilitation a welcoming partner with exciting, high-level educational opportunities.
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation’s therapy student Fall 2024 application window is open between September 15, 2024, and October 15, 2024. Apply now for a 2025 student placement.
Observation Students
Good Shepherd’s student observation program allows individuals 16 years and older to observe the field of rehabilitation for up to 24 hours in several locations and settings throughout the network.
Criteria for observation:
- Can complete up to 24 hours of observation that includes no direct, hands-on patient contact
- Must be 16 years of age or older
- Must provide proof of Flu vaccination
- Must sign and return the Student Observation documents (with parental consent when applicable)
All observation opportunities are for 24 hours or less. Sign up for observation opportunities.
Undergraduate, Graduate & Post-Graduate Students
Good Shepherd offers observation and clinical student affiliation experiences in adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings, and long-term care settings. Good Shepherd provides clinical student affiliations in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, recreational therapy, respiratory therapy, care management (social work) and exercise physiology. Good Shepherd provides non-clinical student affiliations when available.
- Students must be 16 years of age or older.
- To complete a clinical student affiliation at Good Shepherd, you must complete and submit the necessary compliance documents.
Good Shepherd hosts two application windows for hands-on, for-credit physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and speech-language pathology (SLP) students seeking a placement within our network. There is an application window in the spring and then another one in the fall. Please visit our website periodically for updates on when our windows will be open.
The students who apply within an application window have their applications, resumes and subsequent interviews reviewed, scored and ranked as part of a match process. This rigorous process is designed to match top-tier students with the most appropriate experiences, settings and supervisors within our network.
NOTE: Students who apply for rotations with our network outside of the application windows will be added to our waitlist. If you wish to be added to our waitlist, fill out our application.
We offer opportunities at a variety of rehabilitation settings and locations:
- Inpatient Rehabilitation: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital (Center Valley, Pa.)
- Inpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital Emily Howatt Pliskatt Pediatric Unit (Bethlehem, Pa.)
- Long-Term Acute Care (LTACH): Good Shepherd Specialty Hospital (Bethlehem, Pa.)
- Long-Term Care: Good Shepherd Home – Bethlehem (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Good Shepherd Home – Raker Center (Allentown, Pa.)
- Outpatient Neurologic Rehabilitation: Hyland Center for Health & Technology (Allentown, Pa.)
- Outpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation: Three locations in eastern Pennsylvania
- Outpatient Rehabilitation: 20 locations throughout eastern Pennsylvania
- Geriatric Rehabilitation: Assisted-living facilities (Lehigh Valley area)
Learn more about volunteering at Good Shepherd (not for credit).
Nurse Extern Program
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation offers a 10-week summer program for nursing students who have completed a minimum of one clinical medical surgical nursing course in an accredited school of nursing. It is open to students entering their junior and senior years of nursing school.
Good Shepherd’s program provides nurse externs with a robust nursing orientation and eight sessions of educational, clinical and professional topics.
It also:
- Provides an opportunity to strengthen and reinforce nursing students’ knowledge base and skills in the practice of nursing under the direct supervision of a registered nurse partner or designee.
- Eases students’ transition to the work world through career planning and aids in the transition to the role of a professional nurse.
Externs follow nurses’ work schedules and patient care assignments at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital (adult inpatient rehabilitation) and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital Pediatric Unit (pediatric inpatient rehabilitation). When the preceptor is on vacation or unavailable, the extern will be assigned to a preceptor designee.
To learn more, email [email protected] or call/text 484.894.1659.
Internships
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation offers paid internships to current college students who are interested in obtaining valuable, hands-on experience and jumpstarting their careers in a health-care setting. The internship program is designed for juniors and seniors enrolled in an undergraduate program.
Currently, only non-clinical internships in areas such as information technology, institutional advancement/development and marketing, are available. In the future, clinical roles will be available.
During the internship, students work alongside Good Shepherd Rehabilitation managers and associates, gaining valuable insight into their field of study and professional growth. Additional learning opportunities will be provided by the Good Shepherd’s Talent Acquisition team.
NOTE: Our Summer 2024 application window has closed. Thank you for your interest.
If you have questions about the program, please contact [email protected].
For more information about Good Shepherd’s undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate student opportunities, please email [email protected].