Updated October 2026
TL;DR
This guide lists 12 hands-on medical camps for high school students in Ohio across seven areas: clinical skills, nursing, allied health, neuroscience, pharmacy, lab research, and public health. Each camp has the same quick facts (location, cost, cohort size, dates, deadline, and eligibility), plus a short description of what you’ll do and who it’s right for. A goal-based table helps you match a camp to your interests, and a second table compares all 12 by cost and length. If you want to research a medical question of your own with one-on-one guidance from a PhD mentor, you can apply to the Horizon Academic Research Program.
If you’re a high school student planning a career or major in medicine, a summer medical camp is a smart choice. Unlike longer programs or internships, these camps are short, small, and hands-on. In a few days or weeks, you might practice clinical skills on a manikin, run experiments at a lab bench, or rotate through nursing, pharmacy, and therapy labs to see which field fits you best. This guide takes you through 12 such camps based in Ohio and explains how to apply to each one, with all the key facts on cost, dates, deadlines, and eligibility. For more options beyond Ohio, see our list of online medical summer programs for high school students.
What do you actually do at a medical camp?
At a medical camp, you practice real health care skills in a short, hands-on setting, usually over one day to three weeks. The camps on this list fall into four main types: clinical skills camps, career sampler camps, lab science camps, and specialty camps focused on a single field.
Clinical skills camps like MD Camp and UToledo’s Future Doctors Camp have you practice procedures such as phlebotomy, suturing, intubation, and IV placement on manikins and simulators. Career sampler camps like HRS Camp and the UToledo Health Professions Career Summer Camp rotate you through fields like physical therapy, respiratory therapy, and dietetics, so you can compare several careers in a few days.
Lab science and specialty camps focus on one area of health care. UC’s Medical Sciences Summer Institute offers a week of lab work in cell biology, molecular biology, or medical informatics. NEOMED’s Pathways to Pharmacy Camp has you compounding medications in a pharmacy lab. If you’re looking for a full summer of lab research, see our list of summer medical research programs for high school students.
How do you pick the right Ohio medical camp?
Start with eligibility, since several camps limit who can apply by residency, region, or grade. Then compare length and cost.
| If you want | Look at |
| A taste of medical school with physician shadowing | MD Camp |
| Advanced procedures in a simulation center | Future Doctors Camp |
| A free, short introduction to health careers | HRS Camp, Heritage College Medical Academy |
| Nursing | UH Future Nurse Academy, UToledo Nursing and Respiratory Care Camp |
| Physical, occupational, or respiratory therapy | HRS Camp, UToledo Health Professions Career Summer Camp |
| Neuroscience | Explorations in Neuroscience Summer Camp |
| Lab bench research skills | Medical Sciences Summer Institute |
| Pharmacy | Pathways to Pharmacy Camp |
| Something open to freshmen and younger teens | MedEx Summer Camp, Camp Public Health |
| A camp that continues into the school year | Heritage College Medical Academy |
Medical Camps for High School Students in Ohio
Here are 12 hands-on medical camps in Ohio, starting in Columbus and moving to Toledo, Cincinnati, and Northeast Ohio!
1. MD Camp, Ohio State College of Medicine
Location: Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH (day camp; you arrange your own housing and transportation)
Cost: $325; full and partial scholarships based on financial need and application quality
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 8 to 26)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: March 17)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are Ohio residents
This is the closest thing on the list to a mini medical school. It’s run by rising second-year medical students and sponsored by the Ohio State Area Health Education Center. For three weeks, you hear faculty lectures on everything from head-and-neck anatomy to the physiological changes behind a heart attack. You work through clinical cases in small groups and practice phlebotomy, suturing, intubation, and using a stethoscope. You also shadow physicians at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In the finale, you assess and treat a standardized patient.
Who is it right for? Ohio students who are fairly sure they want to be doctors and want a realistic three-week preview.
2. Explorations in Neuroscience Summer Camp, Ohio State
Location: Ohio State College of Medicine, Columbus, OH (day camp; no housing provided)
Cost: $750, including breakfast, lunch, snacks, supplies, and a T-shirt; payment is due only after acceptance; financial hardship scholarships available on request
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published (80 students in 2025)
Program Dates: June 6 to 11, 2027
Application Deadline: March 12, 2027 (applications open January 2027)
Eligibility: Rising juniors, rising seniors, and graduating seniors; out-of-state students arrange their own housing
This one is focused on the brain and spinal cord. You learn neuroanatomy in a hands-on lab and hear clinicians explain new treatments for conditions like spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease. You rotate through research labs in small groups and watch demos of physiological recordings, microscopy, and behavioral experiments. You also debate current topics, like the use of animals in research.
Who is it right for? Juniors and seniors curious about neuroscience, neurology, or neurosurgery.
3. HRS Camp, Ohio State School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Location: Ohio State University Columbus campus, Columbus, OH
Cost: Free; breakfast and lunch provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 1 to 3)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: April 24)
Eligibility: All high school students interested in a health care career
HRS Camp shows you health careers beyond doctor and nurse, like athletic training, dietetics, medical laboratory science, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and respiratory therapy. Over three days, you try an anatomy lab, a CODE BLUE response, intubation, heart and lung sounds, and a surgical skills lab. In a recent cohort, campers also performed ultrasounds, splinted ankle sprains, and ran plasma glucose tests and urinalyses.
Who is it right for? Students who like health care but haven’t picked a specific job yet.
4. Medical Academy, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Location: Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Dublin campus, Dublin, OH (you arrange your own transportation)
Cost: Free for selected students; lunch and parking included
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 9 to 12)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: April 20)
Eligibility: Central Ohio high school students starting junior or senior year in the fall, with at least two years of science classes
The Medical Academy kicks off with a four-day summer camp and continues with quarterly activities during the next school year. Working with medical and physician assistant students and clinicians from OhioHealth, you assess patient vitals, draw artificial blood from simulated models, and learn to read electrocardiograms. You also explore anatomy, medical imaging, and the doctor-patient interaction through case-based activities.
Who is it right for? Central Ohio juniors and seniors who want a free camp that keeps going after summer.
5. MedEx Summer Camp, Columbus
Location: Conference center at Drury Inn & Suites Columbus Polaris, Columbus, OH
Cost: $495 (2026); a few need-based sponsor scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous Columbus session: July 6 to 8)
Application Deadline: First come, first served
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 12
MedEx is a three-day camp run by Medical Explorers, a nonprofit, and taught by practicing family medicine physicians. Each day you move through hands-on workshops on CPR, suturing, stroke basics, anaphylaxis, wilderness medicine, and sports medicine. The format feels more like a medical conference than a classroom. Snacks are provided, but you bring your own lunch.
Who is it right for? Younger high schoolers, including freshmen, who want a fast, affordable sampler of clinical skills.
6. Camp Public Health, City of Columbus
Location: Blackburn Community Center, Columbus, OH (campers are transported to each day’s site and back)
Cost: $100 for Columbus residents; non-resident fees apply
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: July 27 to 31)
Application Deadline: TBA (registration runs through Columbus Recreation and Parks)
Eligibility: Ages 13 to 17
This week-long day camp shows you how public health keeps whole communities healthy. You learn from Columbus Public Health professionals about how doctors, nurses, social workers, and environmental health specialists protect people. You also visit Ohio State’s College of Public Health and OSU Extension’s Waterman lab. Past camps had campers play disease detective, run a mock pool inspection, and learn how to stop mosquitoes from spreading disease.
Who is it right for? Younger teens in Columbus curious about health at the community level.
7. Future Doctors Camp – University of Toledo
Location: Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center, UToledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH (no housing; an on-campus hotel is available)
Cost: $1,000, including a stethoscope, supplies, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and parking
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 8 to 12)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: May 22, or until full)
Eligibility: Students entering sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school (undergraduates can also apply)
If you want the most procedures packed into one week, this is the camp. Working alongside physicians in UToledo’s simulation center, you practice placing an IV, inserting chest tubes, central line insertion, surgical suturing, intubation, and casting and splinting. You also try robotic surgery and study anatomy in virtual reality on an Anatomage table, a life-size touchscreen that lets you slice through a 3D human body.
Who is it right for? Students set on becoming doctors who want serious procedural practice.
8. Nursing and Respiratory Care Camp – University of Toledo
Location: Howard L. Collier Building, UToledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH
Cost: $110, including a merch bag, lab supplies, and meals
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published (Approx 25 students per cohort)
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 16)
Application Deadline: First come, first served
Eligibility: High school students interested in nursing or respiratory therapy
This one-day camp packs a lot into 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. You practice hand hygiene and sterile gloving, compete in a PPE relay, and listen to heart and lung sounds. You also wear an “empathy belly” that simulates pregnancy and work through virtual patient simulations.
Who is it right for? Students curious about nursing or respiratory therapy who want a quick, low-cost first look.
9. Health Professions Career Summer Camp – University of Toledo
Location: University of Toledo, Toledo, OH (day camp)
Cost: $125, including materials, lab supplies, a T-shirt, breakfast and lunch both days, and a pizza dinner
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: July 14 to 15)
Application Deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Students who will be sophomores, juniors, or seniors in the fall
Over two long days, you try cadaver anatomy, therapeutic activities, and simulated patient experiences. In the previous cohort, the camp covered careers like physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory care, speech-language pathology, and public health. You also meet current UToledo students, faculty, and alumni in these fields and take a campus tour.
Who is it right for? Students drawn to allied health careers who want to compare several in two days.
10. Medical Sciences Summer Institute, University of Cincinnati
Location: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Cost: $1,100; limited scholarships and financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: five one-week sessions between June 1 and 26)
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: March 25)
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who are at least 16 by August 1 of the program year
This is a week of real lab work, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You choose a track:
- Molecular: recombinant DNA and protein biochemistry
- Cellular: cell-based assays and gene expression
- Medical informatics (new in 2026): data visualization and machine learning with health care data
You don’t need prior research experience. To apply, you send a one-page résumé-style summary and a one-page personal statement.
Who is it right for? Students who want to see the lab side of medicine before college.
11. UH Future Nurse Academy – University Hospitals
Location: Three Northeast Ohio sites (in 2026: Kirtland, Shaker Heights, and North Ridgeville); you attend one
Cost: No program fee listed; meals, materials, and field trip transportation provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA; 2027 sites and dates release in January (previous cohorts: June 15 to 26, July 6 to 17, and July 20 to 31)
Application Deadline: TBA; applications open mid-January and close mid-February (previous cohort: February 19)
Eligibility: Students entering 11th or 12th grade in the fall who meet health requirements
This two-week academy (Monday to Thursday the first week, Monday to Friday the second, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) is a hands-on look at nursing. You practice nursing skills in simulation labs and complete shadowing rotations. You also work with nurses at area hospitals and visit local nursing schools. University Hospitals runs it to help students build careers in Northeast Ohio, where they grew up.
Who is it right for? Northeast Ohio juniors and seniors who are serious about nursing.
12. Pathways to Pharmacy Camp – NEOMED
Location: Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH (day camp)
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: June 14 to 17, 2027
Application Deadline: TBA (you can sign up on the camp page to be notified when registration opens)
Eligibility: Current high school juniors and seniors
This four-day camp shows you what pharmacists actually do. You join workshops and compounding lab activities, where you mix medications the way a pharmacy does. You also learn about pharmacy career paths with NEOMED faculty and students. Past camps also covered patient counseling and medication management.
Who is it right for? Juniors and seniors leaning toward pharmacy who want a short, focused preview.
5 Tips for Getting Into an Ohio Medical Camp
1. Check where you’re allowed to apply from
Several camps limit who can apply. MD Camp takes only Ohio residents, the Heritage College Medical Academy is for central Ohio students, and Camp Public Health charges Columbus residents less. Read the eligibility line first so you don’t spend time on an application you can’t submit.
2. Plan for deadlines and first-come spots
Past deadlines ran from February 19 (UH Future Nurse Academy) to May 22 (Future Doctors Camp), and the neuroscience camp’s 2027 deadline is March 12. Some camps, like the Toledo ones and MedEx, fill first come, first served, and a few sold out in 2026. Put registration dates in your calendar in the fall and sign up the day they open.
3. Ask your recommenders early
MD Camp wants two recommendation letters, one from a math or science teacher, and the Heritage College Medical Academy asks for a letter from a teacher or counselor. Give your teachers a few weeks of notice and a short summary of why you want to go. That makes their letter more specific (and their life easier).
4. Sort out transportation, housing, and meals
Most of these are day camps, and many expect you to get yourself there each morning. MD Camp and the neuroscience camp don’t provide housing, and Camp Public Health and MedEx ask you to bring your own lunch. Figure this out before you apply, especially if you live outside the host city.
5. Come with questions
Camps give you time with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and students who were in your shoes a few years ago. Bring a few questions about their training and what a normal workday looks like. These conversations often help you decide what to study more than any single activity.
Where else can you get medical experience in high school?
If brain science is what pulls you toward medicine, our list of neuroscience research opportunities for high school students goes deeper than a one-week camp. Can’t get to a campus this summer? Our roundup of online medical summer programs for high school students has options you can do from home.
And if you’re willing to travel, our list of medical summer programs in Texas includes a few more hands-on camps.
Camps give you a quick, hands-on look at what medicine involves. If you’d like to spend a few months digging into one medical question of your own, the Horizon Academic Research Program is a selective online research program.
What you might still be wondering about Ohio medical camps
Mostly no. Nearly all hands-on practice happens on manikins, simulators, and standardized patients, who are actors trained to play patients. A couple of camps include supervised shadowing in a hospital, where you watch rounds and patient care.
Not usually. Most of these camps ask for interest, and one lab-based camp says outright that previous research experience isn’t required. A few have academic requirements, like at least two years of high school science or a recommended 3.0 GPA.
Often, yes. Most run between one day and one week, and past sessions were spread from early June to late July, so two short camps can fit in one summer if the dates don’t overlap. For more ways to fill the rest of your break, see our list of summer camps in Ohio for high school students.
No. Every camp on this list is in person, and most are day camps where you handle your own transportation. If getting to campus isn’t possible, the Horizon Academic Research Program is fully online and ends with a 20-page research paper written with a PhD scholar or professor.
Image source: The Ohio State University