High School Students

Looking to gain work experience or volunteer?

BCCHR is a working healthcare and research facility. Our work involves specialized equipment, complex procedures, and strict safety and privacy requirements that take years of training to manage safely. As a result, it is not always suitable for high school learners to be here. While we know this may be disappointing, this is to protect patients, students and the important research happening on our campus.

We do not offer any formal placements for students who are looking to volunteer, job shadow, gain work experience or complete a capstone project or co-op term. We are unable to respond to individual inquiries about these opportunities, and encourage you to explore the programs listed below instead.

Students who are especially interested in research can explore profiles for BCCHR researchers online, and contact research teams directly about potential opportunities.

Please keep in mind:

• Opportunities are extremely limited, and many research teams may not have the capacity to take on high school students. Supporting students requires significant supervision and time commitment, and our researchers’ demanding workloads mean they often do not have the capacity to provide this level of support.
• You must be at least 16 years old to work onsite
• You must be 18 years or older to be involved in research with patient contact or patient data
• Provincial regulations do not allow job shadowing of physicians in clinical settings for students who are not enrolled in a regulated health professional program. These rules are in place to protect patient privacy, safety, and confidentiality. 

If you’re looking to gain experience in a healthcare environment, you may want to explore volunteer opportunities at: BC Children’s Hospital, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. These organizations offer structured programs that are designed to support student involvement.

Students interested in learning more about research are encouraged to explore other programs offered across BC, both in-person and virtually. Please note that BCCHR is not affiliated with these programs and is unable to provide additional information. For any questions, please contact the program organizers directly.