Harvard CFV Summer Fellowship in Pediatrics & Family Medicine: 2026 Pilot

Information for Host Sites

The CFV Fellowship is a new, competitive opportunity designed to build and support the pipeline of physician leaders in pediatrics and family medicine. The Fellowship aims to expand experiential learning and clinical opportunities for undergraduates to apply the skills they are developing in professional healthcare settings. In this pilot year, CFV Fellowship opportunities will be available to students from Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and UVA.

At Harvard, the CFV Fellowship will be piloted by the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) and support student access to summer clinical internship experiences in pediatrics and family medicine in the U.S. that are often limited to students who can earn credit or bring their own funding to the opportunity. Harvard CFV Fellows will receive a generous stipend to support their summer experience. MCS will both source fellowship hosts and encourage students to identify their own host sites in the communities they hope to serve. Harvard CFV Fellows can also perform research and/or administrative tasks, but there must be a clinical component to the overall experience.

General Expectations

The following guidelines are intended to support hospitals, practices, and other healthcare providers interested in hosting a Harvard CFV Summer Fellow. Some potential hosts already have their own clinical internship processes and procedures that meet these expectations. Sites new to hosting summer interns may use or adapt these guidelines to develop their own qualifying experience.

Requirements:

  • Internship Length: 8–10 weeks (typical summer duration)
  • Minimum 30 hours/week, hybrid internships must be minimum 3 days/week in-person
  • Compensation: Harvard provided CFV Fellowship Award
  • Target Candidates: Rising juniors, and seniors interested in careers in pediatric medicine and child health

Sample Student Responsibilities:

  • Greet and escort pediatric patients and families
  • Support preparation of exam rooms and necessary supplies
  • Assist with play or comfort-based interventions during exams
  • Enter non-clinical information (e.g. family history, social determinants of health) under supervision
  • Adhere to all clinic protocols and patient confidentiality and privacy guidelines (HIPAA compliance)
  • Provide administrative support as needed (e.g. scheduling, filing, reception)
  • Observe patient assessments and treatment procedures (as appropriate and with patient/family consent)
  • Participate in health education activities (e.g. nutrition, hygiene), departmental meetings, case discussions, and professional development
  • Other duties as assigned

Sample Host Responsibilities:

  • Pre-Start Requirements
    • Background check and health screening (immunizations, TB test)
  • Orientation
    • Overview and introduction to clinical site
    • Detailed review of policies/procedures for pediatric patients
    • Introduction to electronic medical records (view-only, if permitted)
  • Ongoing Supervision
    • Weekly check-ins with assigned clinical mentor or program coordinator
    • Mid-term and final evaluation and feedback sessions
    • Opportunities to attend educational seminars or grand rounds (when available)
  • Program Assessment
    • Submit brief, written student and program midterm and final assessments through MCS-provided portal

Application Timeline:

  • Student CFV Fellowship Application Deadline: March 30, 2026
    • Student must have a signed Internship Confirmation Letter or similar agreement from your organization by March 30, 2026.
  • Student Receives Award Notification: April 17, 2026
  • Student Accept/Decline Deadline: April 20, 2026
  • Student Waitlist Processes: concluded by April 27, 2026
  • NOTE: As selection for CFV Fellowship funding is not guaranteed, host sites should be aware that a student may not be able to continue with the experience without this financial support.

Recommended Competencies and Learning Objectives

Below is a brief summary of recommended responsibilities and expectations adapted from the AAMC Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students. Though not all components are necessary for an opportunity to qualify a student for the CFV Fellowship Award, this is a helpful framework for designing a meaningful clinical experience.

1. Application of Academic Knowledge

  • Connect coursework (biology, chemistry, psychology, child development) to daily clinical practice.
  • Explore common pediatric illnesses, developmental milestones, treatments, and preventive care.

2. Core Skill Development

  • Train in basic clinical skills and protocols:
    • Take and record vital signs (under supervision).
    • Assist with patient intake and history-taking.
    • Prepare and organize exam rooms.
    • Observe pediatric procedures (e.g. vaccinations, physical exams).
  • Follow protocols for infection control, hand hygiene, and confidentiality (HIPAA).
  • Observe pediatric clinical workflows, patient management strategies, and interdisciplinary care.
  • Develop an understanding of patient- and family-centered care.

3. Communication

  • Build effective, age-appropriate communication skills for engaging with children and families.
  • Practice both personal and professional interactions (e.g. comforting anxious pediatric patients, explaining procedures in child-friendly terms).
  • Share and receive information with interdisciplinary team members.

4. Cultural Competence and Compassionate Care

  • Interact with children from diverse backgrounds.
  • Prioritize empathy, patience, and kindness when addressing the needs of children and their families.
  • Apply principles of trauma-informed care.

5. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

  • Observe and reflect on clinical decisions, ethical considerations, and patient safety practices.
  • Participate in case discussions and debrief sessions.
  • Offer ideas to improve patient flow or safety, when appropriate.

6. Teamwork and Professionalism

  • Collaborate closely with pediatricians, nurses, medical assistants, and ancillary staff.
  • Engage actively in case discussions and team meetings.
  • Follow expectations regarding punctuality, dress code, and professional behavior.
  • Receive regular feedback and guidance from an assigned mentor.

Additional Information and Follow Up

For additional information regarding the Harvard CFV Summer Fellowship, please contact cfv@fas.harvard.edu. For more general information about the CFV Fellows, including connecting with the other participating universities, please contact cfvfellows@gmail.com.

To participate by posting a summer internship experience with us, please complete this Harvard CFV Fellow Host Site Interest Form. The form will gather the following information:

  • A specific contact person (name and email) for Harvard MCS and direct student inquiries.
  • An internship description or a website url where you currently accept intern applications.
  • The ability to adhere to the CFV Fellowship application and decision timeline.

To support your efforts, you will find the following attachments:

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What qualifies/distinguishes a “clinical” internship or experience?

A: Although there is no one definition of what constitutes a “clinical” experience, medical schools expect applicants to have tested their interest in medicine through hands on experience engaging with patients and patient care. For examples of the clinical experiences a Harvard CFV Fellow can expect to gain see the “Sample Student Responsibilities” which can include greeting patients, gathering intake information, observing medical practices, and more. The opportunity does not need to be exclusively clinical. An intern can also perform research and/or administrative tasks and still be eligible for the CFV Fellowship if there is a patient care component to the overall experience.

Q: Will “clinical research” meet the clinical experience requirement?

A: If the clinical research experience includes in-person interactions with human subjects or participants, then it qualifies for the CFV Fellowship. Sample interactions include participant screening and assessment, survey administration, measuring vitals, specimen collection, etc. In addition, the opportunity does not need to be exclusively clinical. An intern can also perform research and/or administrative tasks and still be eligible for the CFV Fellowship if there is a patient care component to the overall experience.

Q: Why is “Family Medicine” included in the Fellowship in addition to pediatrics?

A: The “family medicine” terminology exists to recognize that some healthcare settings do not serve pediatric patients exclusively. As long as the intern’s experience includes in-person interactions with children (patients from birth up to age 17), it can qualify for the CFV Fellowship.

Q: What if my organization has never hosted a summer intern before?

A: MCS has created these guidelines to support healthcare providers who may not have hosted an intern in the past. Please contact MCS (cfv@fas.harvard.edu) for additional information.

Q: What if my hospital/practice requires that interns have insurance or receive academic credit?

A: This requirement is often waived when an intern receives a stipend from their home college or university. Check with your HR team to verify that this will be the case for a Harvard CFV Fellow.

Q: What if my organization can only support a student for a part-time or shadowing experience, not a full-time summer experience?

A: In this pilot year, Harvard is only supporting full-time summer clinical internships through the CFV Fellowship Program. However, based on your feedback, we may be able to support experiences more broadly in future cycles.

Q: What if the application timeline does not align with my organization’s typical process?

A: To increase transparency and streamline student decision-making, Harvard standardizes application, notification, and award timelines for funded summer opportunities. Therefore, the application timeline is set for this year. However, based on your feedback, we may alter the timeline in future cycles.

Q: What if I want to hire an intern, but they do not end up receiving the CFV Fellowship?

A: We anticipate that this will be a competitive Fellowship, and not all qualified students will receive an award. If this is the case for a student you select, you are not required to host the student for the summer. However, here are a few other options if you and the student are both amenable to alternative arrangements:

  • You may provide a small stipend through your own organization. It does not need to be as generous as what would be provided to a CFV Fellow.
  • Harvard students may be able to apply for academic credit through the Experiential Study Course (EXPSTDY). The student must be a rising junior or senior studying specific disciplines for this to apply.
  • Though not recommended, you may continue to hire a student as an unpaid intern if the experience meets the Test for Unpaid Interns and Students from the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as any additional criteria stipulated by your city and/or state.
  • You may convert the experience into a shadowing or other short-term or part-time experience that would not substantiate the need for a stipend.