Medical Research and Education Policy Internship

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a nonprofit organization working toward compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion. Since 1985, the Physicians Committee has led the way for reforms of federal nutrition policies, and our clinical research programs are breaking new ground in diabetes, cancer, and other serious medical conditions. We have fought for an emphasis on prevention, higher ethical standards in research, and scientific advances in basic research and effective drug development. Over the years, we have taken on battles to end ethically questionable experiments involving children and inhumane animal experiments and have worked to improve science education. We have worked with physicians, federal regulators, politicians, researchers, educators, students, and concerned citizens. And we have so much more work to do.

About this Internship Opportunity

The Physicians Committee’s Research Policy team works to improve research and medical training by replacing the use of animals. The team does so in a multi-faceted way, engaging federal lawmakers and regulators, educating medical professionals at institutions nationwide, and promoting our work through traditional and social media.

If you are a student or recent graduate who would like to have a real world impact on issues relating to the use of animals in medical research while increasing your knowledge of policies related to this field and gaining advocacy and campaign coordination skills, then consider applying for this unique opportunity to work with an organization at the forefront of this important ethical issue.  

The Medical Research and Education Policy intern will be mentored by our talented team of research policy experts, including our research and education programs coordinator, associate director of research policy, and associate director of laboratory medicine. Interns may also have the opportunity to participate in campaign events, staff education sessions, journal article discussions, Capitol Hill briefings, and other Physicians Committee events. All interns will receive a full-day orientation at the start of their internship and ongoing support from their staff mentor.

The Medical Research and Education Policy intern will assist with various campaigns, including our burgeoning program to modernize emergency medicine residency training and pediatric training and national efforts to shift federal research funding in the areas of alcohol abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. Specific projects will include researching human-based alternatives to research and training methods, including visiting the National Library of Medicine (a short subway ride from the Physicians Committee office) to obtain articles, reviewing and creating detailed summaries of documents obtained through public records requests, and drafting correspondence to institutional officials and Physicians Committee members.

Qualifications:

If you are a team player with an educational or employment background in the natural sciences or a medicine-related field who is committed to promoting alternatives to the use of animals in research, training, and testing and has excellent research, problem-solving, and writing skills, we'd like to hear from you.

Terms: The Physicians Committee is located in the Metro-accessible Friendship Heights neighborhood in Washington, D.C. This unpaid volunteer internship is not available as employment. Free housing accommodations near the Physicians Committee office may be available if needed. The Physicians Committee will assist interns in obtaining course credit if applicable. The ideal candidate will be able to intern at least 20 hours a week and commit at least two months to the internship. Start and end dates are flexible.

The Physicians Committee welcomes applications from students or recent graduates from outside the US.

How to apply: Click here to complete our online internship application. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis for the fall semester.

For more information about PCRM’s internship program, contact the Human Resources department at careers@pcrm.org.