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Career Pathways

Career Pathways

UW Health Career Pathways is part of the Allied Health Education department and exists to cultivate the next generation of healthcare talent by developing accessible pathways into healthcare careers for young people. Career Pathways manages several stackable programs that span the Work Based Learning Continuum for youth and young adult learners.

The programs in Career Pathways are:

If you are interested in learning more about or participating in any of these programs, please contact Career Pathways at careerpathways@uwhealth.org.

Health Occupations and Professions Exploration (HOPE)

HOPE is a day-long experiential learning seminar that is designed to offer groups of high school students the opportunity to learn about the breadth of careers in healthcare. Offered several Saturdays in November, December, February and March, HOPE gives high school students a chance to pair up with college-age mentors and engage in hands-on learning activities led by healthcare professionals from a variety of backgrounds. By the end of a HOPE Day, participants will have met and learned from professionals representing Direct Care, Indirect Care and Administrative and Support roles that come together to ensure positive patient outcomes. HOPE sessions conclude with participants developing a “roadmap” into the career in which they are most interested.

Currently, HOPE is offered to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from several participating school districts and community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout Dane County.

Student participants can learn about and sign up for the program at “recruiting events” hosted at participating high schools. If you are a high school educator interested in getting your school involved in HOPE, please contact Career Pathways at careerpathways@uwhealth.org.

College mentors play an important role in HOPE. In addition to learning about healthcare careers alongside high school participants, volunteer mentors support UW Health staff by supervising the high school participants they are paired with and encouraging them to actively participate throughout the day. To be a volunteer college mentor, you must be currently enrolled at a college or university, undergraduate or graduate, with any declared major. You must be willing to have a background check completed, and you must be able to attend the entirety of at least one HOPE session. If you would like to be a HOPE mentor, please fill out this form.

If you would like to support the efforts of the HOPE program financially, you can make a donation to the HOPE program through the University of Wisconsin Foundation. All donations are fully tax-deductible. Checks should be made payable to: UW Foundation (HOPE Program). Checks should be mailed to:

UW Foundation
ATTN: Danielle Kamps
1848 University Ave
Madison, WI 53726

Donations to HOPE support purchasing t-shirts, food, transportation, and printed materials for participating high school students and college mentors. Donations to HOPE also make offering HOPE sessions possible for community organizations who serve historically underrepresented and disadvantaged populations.

Learn more about HOPE
HOPE link

HOPE Summer Internships (High School)

HOPE Summer Internships provide an essential learning experience for prior HOPE participants hoping to pursue careers in healthcare. In a high school HOPE Summer Internship, students will explore a variety of issues facing healthcare, meet stakeholders from UW Health and other institutions, and design and present a proposal for how UW Health might address a chosen issue.

Internships span six weeks during the summer (typically mid-June to the end of July), approximately 15 hours a week. Work hours are a combination of synchronous time at a UW Health facility and asynchronous team time decided upon by Intern teams. Interns work regularly under the guidance and supervision of the UW Health Career Pathways team.

UW Health HOPE Summer Internships are placement opportunities for students participating in summer internship programs offered by community-based organizations (CBOs). To be eligible for a HOPE summer internship, candidates must be current high school students who are participating in programming offered by a partnering CBO and have participated in a HOPE session during the prior school year.  Current CBO partners for summer internships are:

  • Boys and Girls Club of Dane County
  • Centro Hispano of Dane County
  • Urgan League of Greater Madison
  • Maydm

If you represent a CBO with a summer internship program and would like to partner with UW Health Career Pathways for internship spots, please reach out to us at CareerPathways@uwhealth.org. Students who wish to be considered for a summer internship must apply through their community organization; individual applications will not be considered.

HOPE Summer Internships (College)

Summer Internships provide an essential learning experience for students hoping to pursue careers in healthcare. Career Pathways places its college summer interns into placements across UW Health, where interns will have a chance to learn and support departments that align with their long-term interests. By interning with Career Pathways, college students will have a chance to explore their career interests, do real work, and learn on-the-job in an authentic healthcare setting. The internship culminates in a presentation to UW Health leaders about the experience and how it has contributed to each intern’s growth.

Internships span 12 weeks, up to 40 hours a week, during the summer months (typically mid-May until mid-August). Eligible candidates must be current undergraduates who have completed at least one year of postsecondary education, and who have volunteered to mentor at two or more HOPE sessions during the prior school year. All mentors will be alerted to the opportunity and can apply at a UW Health job posting. Interns can apply for an internship position for up to four summers, though they are not guaranteed a position.

Career Counsel

Career Pathways staff offer in-school career coaching to high schoolers throughout Dane County. In this program, high school students can meet one-on-one with a Career Pathways Coordinator to have detailed conversations about pathways into healthcare careers. Career Pathways staff will provide personalized support to students, including resume workshopping, mock interviewing, job searching and providing general advice.

If you are a high school educator and would like to get your high school involved, please contact us at CareerPathways@UWHealth.org.

Youth Apprenticeship

UW Health is a major employer of healthcare Youth Apprentices in Wisconsin. Youth Apprentices (YAs) are high school juniors and seniors who learn and work in placements across the UW Health system. YAs work in a variety of placements, including inpatient nursing, pharmacy, imaging, rehabilitation, lab, nutrition, ophthalmology, facilities and information services. In addition to learning on-the-job for a wage, YAs also earn school credit.

Youth Apprenticeship Opportunities at UW Health

UW Health offers multiple Youth Apprenticeship opportunities, including:

  • Nursing Assistant (need CNA)
  • Imaging Aide (multiple modalities)
  • Phlebotomist Aide
  • Lab Aide
  • Medical Assistant Aide
  • Pharmacy Tech Aide
  • Ophthalmic Assistant Aide
  • Facilities Maintenance Tech Aide
  • Clinical Nutrition Aide
  • Physical Therapy Aide
  • Occupational Therapy Aide
  • Information Services Aide
  • Biomedical Equipment Tech Aide
  • Medical Office Aide

Program Eligibility

To be eligible for a Youth Apprenticeship at UW Health, candidates must:

  • Be at least 16 years old;
  • Be a rising high school junior or senior;
  • Be enrolled in a school-based Youth Apprenticeship program;
    • Potential Candidates, please note that your application will not be considered if you have not already connected with your school district’s YA Coordinator about enrolling in Youth Apprenticeship
  • Be able to meet work hour requirements (450 hours minimum per school year, approximately 10-15 hours per week);
  • Have access to reliable transportation;
  • Have taken at least two related courses at school;
  • Have at least some prior work experience;
  • (For Nursing Assistant) Hold current Nursing Assistant Certification.

Program Length and Details

  • Recruitment
    • Dane County Information Night in January
    • Applications open in February
    • Interviews are in March/April
    • Offers are made in April/May
    • New YA Paperwork Night at end of May
  • Employment
    • Youth Apprentices begin employment at the start of the first pay period following July 4 Holiday. Each “program year” is from July to July
    • Youth Apprentices can be hired for 1 year (if hired as rising seniors) or up to 2 years (if hired as rising juniors)
    • Youth Apprentices must work at least 450 hours per school year, which averages to about 10-15 hours per week

Program specifics each year will vary. For the most up-to-date information, please contact your high school’s Youth Apprenticeship Coordinator.

Upon graduation, Youth Apprentices will have the opportunity to apply for open part- and full-time core staff roles at UW Health, including adult apprenticeship programs.

Job Shadowing

UW Health allows students of all ages opportunities to observe work at various locations. To apply for observation within any areas providing patient care, a student must be a minimum of 16 years old. Students younger than 16 may only observe in areas not providing patient care. To apply to observe, students must meet the requirements outlined in the UW Health Non-Physician Observer Policy and fill out an Observer Application. Supplemental documentation of immunizations, TB skin testing and compliance training also is required. For more information about job shadowing/observing, contact Career Pathways at CareerPathways@uwhealth.org.

Please note that Career Pathways only sponsors a limited number of non-employee job shadows each year. We will be happy to point you in the right direction, but we cannot guarantee a job shadow or that we will facilitate the process for everyone.

Volunteering at UW Health

UW Health has a large volunteer pool. Volunteers work in many locations throughout the organizations and in many capacities. To find out more about volunteering for UW Health, please visit Volunteer Services.