The ECHO Pre-Health Summer Program is an eight-week enrichment experience for students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare. Students chosen for the program have the opportunity to volunteer at the ECHO Free Clinic on Saturdays and attend virtual seminars on weekdays for a lecture series on Health Systems and Health Equity as well as a research component titled Foundations of Scientific Inquiry.

In-clinic roles available for volunteers on Saturdays include:

• Patient Advocate

• Spanish Interpreter

• Front/Back Desk Volunteer

• Community Outreach Volunteer

Seminars about Health Systems and Health Equity will be delivered by healthcare providers and community-based leaders affiliated with the ECHO Free Clinic, the Institute for Family Health, and the Montefiore-Einstein Healthcare System. Eight lectures will be held on Monday evenings throughout the eight-week experience – students will be required to attend six for successful completion. Themes include:

• Racial Justice and Advocacy in Medicine

• Common Comorbidities: Case Presentations

• Environmental Health and Climate Justice

• Immigration and Health

Seminars about the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry will be delivered by PhD and MSTP candidates at Einstein. Students will receive guidance on writing their own literature review and will also have the opportunity to present their findings at a symposium towards the end of the program. Eight seminars will be held on Wednesday evenings throughout the experience – students must attend all eight for successful completion of the program.

There will be additional opportunities for in-person professional development and exposure (e.g., CV Workshop, Anatomy Lab, Suture Clinic, Simulation Center). Volunteers will also be matched with a medical student mentor for guidance with graduate and/or medical school applications.

Application Information

Applications for the 2026 ECHO Pre-Health Summer Program are now open through Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM.

👉 Apply here: https://forms.gle/45QMJvhsKF92sQAr5

Applicants must be over 18 years old. Undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate students in their gap year(s) are eligible to apply. For questions, please contact our Pre-Health Program Coordinators at echo.prehealth@gmail.com.

During the course of the year, ECHO relies on the help of pre-health and medical students to serve as volunteer interpreters. Applicants have the opportunity to select between taking on a clinical interpreting role or interpreting in the front/back desk.

Clinical interpreters are responsible for interpreting all conversations between the patient and non-Spanish speaking clinical staff during the entirety of the patient’s visit.

Front desk interpreters are responsible for the initial encounter the patient has with clinic staff when they first arrive, which includes helping patients complete triage forms.

Back desk interpreters are responsible for incoming and outgoing calls that the clinic makes or receives from Spanish-speaking patients.

Pre-health students chosen for these roles have the opportunity to not only utilize and strengthen their medical Spanish, but also get to connect with medical students and see how a student-run free clinic operates. This position also allows for students to experience the impactful nature of the patient-physician relationship, while actively dismantling language barriers!

The interpreter volunteer application for pre-health students opens three times during the year (for the Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters).

Our application for Fall 2023 can be found here and is due by July 28, 2023 at 3PM. For questions regarding the ECHO Volunteer Interpreter Position, please contact our Interpreter Coordinator at echointerpreters@gmail.com.

ECHO is staffed by the first- and second-year students on the administrative side, while the third- and fourth-year students provide clinical services under the supervision of licensed physicians. The administrative work typically consists of patient registration, medical chart organization, referrals and medications, lab work, health education, translation, nursing, and clinical shadowing.

Our Saturdays begin at 8AM when we meet in front of Einstein and drive over to the clinic. The clinic opens at 8:45AM and we register patients until noon. The day's work is generally completed by 3 or 4PM depending on the number of volunteers and the volume of patients.

There will be an orientation held in the beginning of each school year that will explain the application process.

Third year medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine are required to work at the ECHO Free Clinic on two Saturdays during their Family Medicine Clerkship. For more information please see the Department of Family and Social Medicine's clerkship course book.

There are also several administrative volunteer roles for third- and fourth-year medical students.

Additionally, there is a 4th year ECHO elective in which students are required to spend ten weeks in clinic as a session coordinator in addition to two weeks of didactics and two weeks to complete a summary project.