HonorHealth teen volunteer opportunities

HonorHealth’s teen programs provide high school students with valuable opportunities to engage with their local community while gaining an understanding of the healthcare industry. Summer volunteers work directly with patients, families, guests, and team members. Explorer Club teens interact with a variety of healthcare professionals and have hands-on activities as they are introduced to health professions.

HonorHealth is seeking teens who are kind, mature and able to provide excellent customer service. Prior to applying, teens are asked to carefully consider the required time commitment. Neither program includes job shadowing, research, or internship opportunities. Teens in our program fill a variety of volunteer roles, focused on providing our patients and their families with an extra layer of care and comfort while at HonorHealth.

Summer Teen Volunteer Program

The application for the 2026 summer program is now open. Online applications are due at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

The Summer Teen Volunteer Program is open to Arizona students who will be a junior or senior in high school during the 2026–27 school year. Current seniors should not apply. Students must have completed 10th grade and be at last 15 years old at the start of the program. High school seniors who will be 18 years old by June 1, 2026, may complete the adult volunteer application starting Wednesday, April 15.

Please note: The minimum age requirement has changed beginning in 2026.

Students who participated in previous summers should email their supervisor to express their interest to return. Students who participated previously should not fill out the application unless directed to do so.

Time commitment

The program is a seven-week session running from June 1 to July 17 and requires a commitment of two (2) four-hour shifts each week, with a minimum of six weeks of participation. If a teen misses three or more shifts during the seven-week session, they may be removed from the program. Volunteer shifts are available between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. If your family has a two-week vacation scheduled during the program dates, you are not eligible for the program as you cannot miss more than one week of service.

Examples of volunteer duties

Our teen volunteers perform a variety of duties in our medical centers and at Desert Mission Food Bank. Teens will interact with HonorHealth team members, patients, and family members. This experience allows them to improve communication skills and build confidence while giving back to the community.

Below are examples of volunteer titles and duties:

Information Desk volunteer: Greet visitors and patients arriving for care, escort family members to visit patients, support administration as needed and respond to guest questions.
Supply Chain volunteer: Deliver supplies to nursing units and various areas of the medical center, assist with stocking materials and log data into a computer.
Surgery Waiting volunteer: Greet patients arriving for surgery, support families in the surgery waiting area and work with team members in perioperative services.
Desert Mission Food Bank volunteer: Sort donated food, organize the warehouse and fill grocery carts to distribute to families and individuals.

Upon acceptance to the summer program, volunteer placement will be based on the needs of the campus.

Please note, there are no positions that perform direct patient care. Teens are not permitted in patient rooms to assist medical professionals due to confidentiality regulations. HonorHealth does not offer shadowing opportunities. Teens will focus on customer service, supporting patients and their families, and assisting team members.

Education opportunities through M.E.D. sessions

In addition to volunteering, summer participants take part in Meet. Explore. Discover. (M.E.D.) sessions, which provide healthcare-related education and career exploration. There are more than 20 M.E.D. sessions, focused on career exploration through conversations with physicians, researchers and clinical staff, and tours of our facilities.

Examples of previous M.E.D. sessions include: “Tour of the Sterile Processing Department”, “Exam of Forensic Nursing”, “Discussion of Pediatric Care” and “Tour of a Trauma Facility”. Teens accepted into the summer program will learn more about these education opportunities during the onboarding process.

Frequently asked questions

To learn more, please review the Summer Teen Volunteer Program FAQs.

How to complete an application

There are two steps to complete your application.

Step one:

Fill out an online application by Wednesday, February 25 at noon. When you submit your application online, you will be required to upload an unofficial transcript and a student statement answering the questions below. Please have your unofficial transcript and student statement ready to upload prior to starting the online application. You will not be allowed to submit your application without these documents.

Step two:

After submitting your online application (with your unofficial transcript and student statement), please email your recommendation form to studentvolunteers@honorhealth.com. The online recommendation form must be completed by someone outside of your immediate family. You can download the form here. This should be someone who can speak to your work ethic and/or character.

Your recommendation form is due by Wednesday, March 4 at noon. If you do not submit your recommendation form, your application will be incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Documents received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Student statement questions:

What is one aptitude or personal trait that will make you a great volunteer?
HonorHealth is guided by our ICARE values of innovation, collaboration, accountability, respect, and empathy. Which of these ICARE values is most important in your own life and why?
If you are accepted to the Summer Teen Volunteer Program, you will volunteer two four-hour shifts each week for seven weeks (all shifts are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. Teens in their first summer are not allowed weekend or weeknight shifts.) If you miss three shifts, you may be removed from the program. How will you prioritize this commitment and balance your other summer activities, which may include family time, work, time with friends, sports, clubs, etc.?

Other notes for success:

If you have questions as you prepare these items, please contact studentvolunteers@honorhealth.com.
Email your recommendation form to studentvolunteers@honorhealth.com. Please list your name in the subject line.
We encourage you to send your recommendation form at least two days prior to the deadline to ensure all materials are received.

This is a competitive application process and there are limited positions available. View our FAQ page to learn more about the Summer Teen Volunteer Program and the important dates of the program.

Explorers Clubs

The application for the 2025-26 academic year is now closed.

Please check back in mid-May 2026 for the next academic year's application.

HonorHealth Explorers Clubs are student-run and expose students who are interested in healthcare careers to a variety of hands-on events, learning opportunities and chances to interact with healthcare professionals. Meetings are held once per month and teens must be at least 13 years old and in high school, grades 9-12 during the academic year, to participate.

If you would like to be notified for when the next application will open, please email Volunteer Services.

Medical Explorers Club

The Medical Explorers Club covers a wide variety of healthcare professions and is offered at HonorHealth Thompson Peak, Deer Valley and John C. Lincoln Medical Centers. The club exposes students to hands-on events, learning opportunities and the chance to interact with healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines.

Each meeting is built upon club members’ interests and involves:

Speaking with nurses, physicians and other professionals about medical education and career paths.
Visiting departments within our medical centers.
Hands-on learning activities.

In past club meetings, students have:

Dissected sheep hearts with a cardiologist.
Sutured bananas with an emergency department physician assistant.
Wrapped casts with an orthopedic surgeon.
Learned how to prepare for surgery with an HonorHealth physician.
Received advice about preparing for medical school.

Nursing Explorers Club

The Nursing Explorers Club focuses on the diverse careers within the nursing profession and is located at the HonorHealth Center of Clinical Excellence near Deer Valley Medical Center. Club meetings are run similarly to the Medical Explorers Club, but activities and speakers focus on nursing.

Example activities:

Learn to insert an IV with a med-surg nurse.
Read blood pressure with an ICU nurse.
Dissect a pig heart with a respiratory therapist.
Receive advice about how to prepare for nursing school from nurse educators around the Valley.

For new applicants, there is a non-refundable club membership of $55 per year. For renewal applicants, there is a non-refundable club membership of $45 per year. Financial aid is available.

Due to the hands-on nature of the clubs, space is limited at each campus. Detailed, completed applications are strongly encouraged.