The Project SEARCH Transition Program is a unique, business-led, one-year school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations. The primary goal of the program is for each young adult to build skills that will lead towards competitive employment.
About the program
Founded in 1996 at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Project SEARCH is an international program and has over 600 host sites around the world. Since 2011, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center has been a host site for Project SEARCH, with 50+ individuals successfully completing the program.
Through a series of three 10-week targeted internships, the students acquire competitive, marketable and transferable skills which enable them to apply for related positions. During this time students also work on their soft skills such as; communication, teamwork and problem-solving that are important for their overall development as an employee. Although there is a classroom component with a formal curriculum, interns spend the majority of their time building employment skills in an internship at the hospital.
Curriculum topics are:
- Financial literacy
- Health and wellness
- Maintaining employment
- Preparing for employment
- Self-advocacy
- Team building
- Technology
- Workplace safety
There are a variety of work experiences that each intern has available to them. We are proud to say that the following departments are currently Project SEARCH internship sites:
- Audiology (ENT)
- Blood Bank
- Central Mail Room
- Endoscopy – scope reprocessing and admissions
- Environmental Services – housekeeping and waste management
- Food and Nutrition – patient dietary and dining services
- Gastroenterology – administration and clinic
- General Internal Medicine
- Hematology Oncology
- Human Resources
- Nursing – ISCU
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Supply Chain – linens, transportation and warehouse
- Surgical Services – perioperative care and central sterile reprocessing
Project SEARCH is a collaborative effort between:
- Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
- Hartford School District in Vermont
- Lincoln Street Inc.
- New Hampshire Vocational Rehabilitation
- Vermont Vocational Rehabilitation
Newsletters
Read back issues of our Project SEARCH Happenings newsletter:
Contact us
For more information, please contact Kathleen MacLean, Project SEARCH Instructor and Program Coordinator.