- Home
- Giving
- Ways to Give
- Volunteer
- High School Volunteer Program
Volunteer
VolunTeen – Student Summer Volunteer Program
Every summer, The University of Kansas Health System in the Kansas City area offers a volunteer program designed for students who are interested in learning more about healthcare. Participants gain firsthand experience in clinical (patient care) and nonclinical areas of an academic medical center while making a meaningful difference for patients.
Rising freshman summer program
For students who will be freshmen in the fall, this program allows you to explore behind-the-scenes careers that make healthcare work. Meet the experts who support doctors, nurses and patients and gain real-world insight into what these roles look like. Build your confidence for freshman year and everything that comes next.
Details for the 2026 rising freshman program:
- The program schedule is half days on Friday mornings.
- Mandatory orientation for the rising freshman program is Friday, May 29.
- The program begins June 5 and ends July 31, with no session July 3.
- Participants are required to attend a minimum of 6 Fridays.
Rising sophomore-to-senior program
All students going into their sophomore, junior or senior years will have volunteer experiences in clinical and nonclinical areas. Each volunteer session for these students is Monday-Friday during the first week and Monday-Thursday the second week. All participants must attend an in-person orientation – no exceptions will be made.
Mandatory 2026 orientation dates:
- Sessions 1 and 2: May 28
- Sessions 3 and 4: June 26
Session dates for 2026:
- Session 1: June 1-11
- Session 2: June 15-25
- Session 3: July 6-16
- Session 4: July 20-30
Questions? Email VolunteerApplications@KUMC.edu or call 913-588-6560.
High school students share their volunteer stories
Speaker 1:
I always knew from a young age I wanted to be in the medical field, and so my heart is set on nursing, hoping to go here eventually. And I like seeing all the different areas of possibilities that nurses can work in because that's something that I didn't know.
Speaker 2:
I came into it thinking I would get experience for college and that's what I'm doing right now, but also I was thinking mostly doctor and nurse, but what you said, I didn't expect to see so many other different professions.
Speaker 3:
I ended up getting to hold a human brain, which is very cool. Yeah, it was squishy and rubbery, which was really weird.
Speaker 4:
I got to see a radio frequency ablation and I basically just got to see the doctor work with the patient and everything that goes behind the procedure is really cool.
Speaker 5:
I definitely want to go into the medical field, so getting to see their daily lives and what it looks like for them in a real hospital experience is really cool just to see.
Speaker 6:
Definitely to gain experience and especially since I'm volunteering in the unit I want to do when I'm older, is to just gain the respect you have for these patients who are here and they don't want to be here, but they have to be treated.
Speaker 7:
Listening to get to know people, because it's those small conversations that brighten up your day or make your day more interesting.
Speaker 8:
Honestly, just patient interaction. I like meeting new people and talking to new people. That's one of the things I look forward to a lot.
Speaker 9:
What I'm trying to gain here is learning about different areas and fields of medicine that I could pursue in the future.
Speaker 10:
I'm really curious about it, and after joining this program I've learned a lot more and I think it's something I want to pursue.