Program immerses interns in hospital experience

Rider students have taken advantage of the hands-on, real-world experience that the Rider Hospital Intern Program has to offer since the 1960s when Dr. Thomas C. Mayer, professor emeritus of biology, started it at Helen Fuld Medical Center (now Capital Health Regional Medical Center) and St. Francis Medical Center.

Rider University and Capital Health System have linked together to create an opportunity that allows students registered in BIO 210, the hospital intern program, to be immersed in the experience. Throughout the course of the two-week program, students work in the emergency room, the operating room, at paramedic stations, and in clinical, radiology and laboratory settings.

“This is a life-changing experience for them,” says Dr. Bryan D. Spiegelberg, associate professor of chemistry at Rider. “The quality of this experience is due in part to the hard work of Capital Health employees and their willingness to open up their workplace to our budding health professionals.”

During the program, the students were asked to keep a journal documenting what happened during their time in the hospital. All of them shared a sense that the knowledge and understanding they gained were unparalleled.

"I followed a nurse to the operating room to observe a mastectomy,” wrote Wilenny Rodriguez, a biology major. “All of the nurses, personal assistants and doctors were very nice to me and they took the time to explain what they were doing during the operation.”

Students were allowed to jump head first into each experience. Some were involved with patients and their families, and those interactions often left indelible impressions.