Undergraduate Medical Education

Hennepin Health Systems (HHS) has a long tradition of medical education since its establishment as the first teaching hospital in Minnesota. We serve as a major teaching hospital for medical/professional students, observers, and shadows, and collaborate and affiliate with other hospitals and educational institutions to fulfill our education mission.

If you are interested in a medical student rotation, Observership, or Shadow please see the tabs below.

Medical Students

Medical Students

Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), and Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) students registered with an accredited U.S. medical or professional school seeking clinical rotation experiences to provide direct patient care. An international medical student may be considered if an Affiliation Agreement can be made with their school.

We utilize an online platform called Clinician Nexus when applying for clinical rotations at Hennepin Healthcare. Sign up for a free account and find Step-by-step instructions for creating your profile.

Once your profile has been created in Clinician Nexus, you can search for opportunities at Hennepin Healthcare by specialty, type of experience, or keyword.

The Hennepin Healthcare Department you apply to will select and approve/decline applications for rotations based on the Department's requirements and capacity. Departments must reserve priority for the University of Minnesota medical students, according to clerkship registration deadlines (approx. 6 weeks prior to the start date of the rotation).

Once a rotation has been approved, onboarding begins. All steps are required and must be completed before the rotation’s start date, or the rotation will be canceled. Your steps will be monitored by the Hennepin Healthcare Medical Student Education Program Coordinator or the Department’s Site Coordinator.

EPIC training is required for all visiting students and takes place on the first morning of the rotation.

Any additional questions can be directed to the [email protected]

Patient Rights/Risk:

Patients are always given the opportunity and right to decline the care or presence of a medical student. Hennepin Health has the right to dismiss medical students at any time if the quality or safety of care provided to patients is at risk or institutional policies have been violated.

Observership

Observership

An Observership is for any professional healthcare student, medical graduate, resident, fellow, Advanced Practice Provider (APP), or physician from an international or non-accredited institution, who is seeking clinical experience to observe patient care and participate in patient care planning. Typical Observership rotations are 2-4 weeks but can be up to 12 weeks.

Applicants must have confirmed their request with a sponsoring Hennepin Preceptor and Department Coordinator before applying.

We utilize an online platform called Clinician Nexus when applying for Observerships at Hennepin Healthcare. Sign up for a free account and find step-by-step instructions for creating your profile.

Once your profile has been successfully created, your Observership application will be available on this page. 

Any additional questions can be directed to the [email protected]

Patient Rights/Risk:

Patients are always given the opportunity and right to decline the care or presence of an observer. Hennepin Health has the right to dismiss observers at any time if the quality or safety of care provided to patients is at risk or institutional policies have been violated.

Job Shadow

Job Shadow

Job shadows are available to anyone 16 years and older that is looking for a day in the life of a Hennepin Healthcare faculty member. These experiences are agreed upon by the faculty member and shadow applicant before the application is submitted.

Your SHADOW DATE (Schedule start date) must be at least 7 business days from the date of application submission. For example, you cannot submit an application today for a SHADOW DATE of two days from today. Any application submitted with less than 7 business days’ notice is subject to denial.

Job shadows cannot be more than five consecutive days.

Please do not submit your application until all components are complete (including TB testing within the last 12 months).

We utilize an online platform called Clinician Nexus when applying for job shadow experiences at Hennepin Healthcare. You can sign up for a free account and find step-by-step instructions for creating your profile.

Once you have created your profile and have confirmed your shadow date with the person you are shadowing, please use the following links to find your appropriate application:

Under age 18

Age 18 and over

Current Hennepin Healthcare Employee

Any additional questions can be directed to the [email protected]

Patient Rights/Risk:

Patients are always given the opportunity and right to decline the care or presence of a shadow. Hennepin Health has the right to dismiss shadows at any time if the quality or safety of care provided to patients is at risk or institutional policies have been violated.

Leadership

meghan walsh md contact photo

Meghan Walsh, MD is the Chief Academic Officer and Designated Institutional Officer. She oversees all of the undergraduate and graduate programs within the Office of the Medical Staff. She works primarily as an academic hospitalist in cardiology.
[email protected]
612-873-2984

shanika james medical education coordinator

Shanika James is a Medical Student Education Program Coordinator for undergraduate programs within the Office of Medical Education. Shanika proudly brings with her over 20 years of healthcare experience. She works with new and returning medical students by organizing onboarding tasks and orientation. She also oversees visiting medical students seeking audition rotations and is an administrator for Clinician Nexus.
[email protected]

Breid Kaylynn

KayLynn Breid is a Medical Student Education Program Coordinator for undergraduate programs within the Office of Medical Education. KayLynn has worked in healthcare for 12 years with the last 8 of those in education. She coordinates the HeLIX and HYBRID Programs through the University of Minnesota Medical School, and liaisons between the University of Minnesota and Hennepin Healthcare Student Coordinators. KayLynn is also an administrator for Clinician Nexus.
[email protected]