SNHD offers a variety of learning opportunities for students and guides prospective research investigators in research opportunities. To be considered for a learning opportunity, students must receive academic credit through an affiliated institution, submit a complete application packet, and complete required online trainings. To be considered for a research opportunity, students must be from an affiliated institution. All students are subject to an interview, and will be notified of placement or non-placement.

The following types of opportunities are available for students to partner with SNHD and its staff:

• Internships
• Practicum experiences
• Capstones
• Rotations
• Service learning experiences
• Observations
• Preventive medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine residencies
• Public health education and training

To inquire about an internship, rotation, or other learning or research opportunity, please email internships@snhd.org

• Applicant is registered as a student receiving internship credit through a college or university
• Resume
• Cover Letter (include which internship you are applying for, if applicable)
• Copy of college/university preceptor manual (or any document from the academic institution)
• Completed application packet
• Required online training:
  • Public Health 101 Training
  • Emergency Evacuation Training
  • Hazard Communiction Training
  • HIPAA Training

Students are also required to attend orientation which will be scheduled by the Academic Affairs Coordinator.

• Health Equity Internship
• Chronic Disease Prevention Internship
• Health District After Dark

Applications and inquires related to internships, rotations, and other student experiencers should be directed to the Academic Affairs Coordinator at internships@snhd.org. Do not contact division directors, program managers, or any staff directly.

SNHD is proud to be the first Academic Health Department (AHD) in Nevada and one of only five AHD’s in the Western United States. The AHD is a partnership between SNHD and two academic institutions: University of Nevada Las Vegas and Touro University Nevada. Our goal is to partner with every academic institution in Southern Nevada.

What is an AHD?

An AHD is a “formal affiliation between an academic institution(s) and a public health practice organization.”

Key characteristics of an AHD include:

• A formalized written agreement between the two entities.
• Shared personnel, resources, and compensation.
• Collaborative education and training for students and staff.
• Joint research, grants, projects, and services.
• Shared provision of public health services.
• A shared role in executing the three core functions of assessment, assurance, and policy for healthier communities.

The AHD exists to strengthen the linkage between public health practice and its broad academic base and is designed to enhance public health education, training, research, and service.

Implementing an AHD model can help address several key issues facing the field of public health, such as:

• Concerns regarding separation of education and public health practice and the relatively low percentage of public health practitioners with formal public health education, faculty with public health practice experience, and graduates seeking employment in health departments.
• Concerns related to the level of preparedness of students and public health professionals to meet local public health needs.
• Health departments’ limited abilities to access the expertise necessary for assessing and responding to community health needs.
• The lack of quality community-based or applied public health research.
• The need for continuing education and exposure to public health innovation for public health professionals in both academic and practice environments.

Specific benefits that have been demonstrated because of AHD relationships include:

• Increased awareness of and appreciation for public health practice and respect for public health professionals.
• Increased capacity for performing core public health functions and meeting community health needs.
• An ability to maximize and target the use of scarce resources.
• Additional, and better qualified, professionals providing public health services.
• Public health graduates better prepared to enter the workforce with a solid foundation and skills in public health theory and practice.
• Enhanced career opportunities and broader career options for public health graduates.
• Enhanced opportunities for recruitment of public health graduates and professionals into practice environments and public health practitioners into academic environments.
• Better integration of public health principles in health sciences curricula.
• Lifelong learning opportunities for public health professionals.
• Increased opportunities for applied research addressing local public health issues, as well as access to communities and community-based data for research purposes.
• The exchange of fresh ideas and perspectives.
• Increased access to academic resources and expertise to improve the provision of public health services.
• The exchange of fresh ideas and perspectives.
• A broader and more cohesive communication network for disseminating information relevant to public health.
• Advances in the science of public health and an expansion of the knowledgebase for public health decisions and policies.
• A rethinking of the division within public health in which academic institutions focus on education and research, while practice institutions focus on service.