Intern (General)

Position: Intern
Working hours: Temporary internship; hours based on program needs and internship agreement
Working hours: Schedule determined with supervisor; occasional events outside regular hours
Salary: Nonexempt (Unpaid or Paid, as specified in the internship agreement)

Job Summary:
The Public Health Intern supports Douglas County Health Department programs while gaining supervised experience in public health practice. Assignments may be in outreach, health education, nursing, behavioral health, or administration, depending on the intern’s interests, qualifications, program needs, and available supervision. The intern reports to the assigned supervisor.
Specific projects, schedule, learning objectives, and any academic requirements will be established at the start of the internship.

Duties/Responsibilities:
•    Assist with planning, preparing, and evaluating public health education, outreach, and community engagement activities.
•    Help coordinate events, presentations, resource materials, and communications for assigned programs.
•    Gather, organize, and summarize program information, community feedback, and nonconfidential data for reports or improvement projects.
•    Support partnerships and referrals by helping maintain resource lists and coordinating approved community contacts.
•    Assist with surveys, needs assessments, IPLAN activities, and other public health projects as assigned.
•    Draft educational materials, flyers, website or social media content for staff review and approval before use.
•    Support nursing or behavioral health teams with appropriate nonclinical tasks, such as preparing materials, organizing resources, or assisting with approved projects.
•    Help with administrative tasks, including scheduling support, records organization, meeting preparation, and data entry as authorized.
•    Follow supervisor direction, communicate progress, meet agreed deadlines, and participate in learning opportunities and team meetings.
•    Other related duties as assigned within the intern’s training and authorized scope.

Qualifications and Requirements: 
•    Regular predictable attendance is required. 
•    Clear written and verbal communication, active listening, and willingness to learn.
•    Respect for diverse communities and commitment to professional, culturally responsive service.
•    Organization, attention to detail, and ability to manage assigned work and deadlines.
•    Ability to work collaboratively with staff, clients, and community partners.
•    Ability to protect confidential information and follow DCHD privacy, safety, and conduct policies.
•    Ability to use common office software and learn program-specific systems as authorized.
•    Ability to travel to approved community sites or events when required by the assignment.
•    Complete required orientation, training, background checks, and documentation before beginning applicable work.

Education and Experience:
•    Current enrollment in or recent completion of a program in public health, health education, nursing, behavioral health, social work, health administration, communications, or a related field preferred.
•    Coursework, volunteer experience, or interest related to community health or public service preferred.
•    The intern does not independently provide clinical care, counseling, diagnosis, or services requiring a professional license. Any patient-facing activity must be authorized and directly supervised as appropriate.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disability to perform the essential functions.
•    DCHD is a smoke free and drug-free workplace in compliance with federal guidelines.