Introduction

When does a rewarding and mutually beneficial internship or work experience morph into an unethical employment practice? Internships can expose a junior practitioner to high-profile settings and aid in building clinical skills, deepen knowledge and broaden their network. These true gains will bolster the intern’s resume, particularly if the mentor is a senior clinician.1 2 The price for what is essentially advanced, specific training is that the intern work at a reduced salary or pro bono.

Against this background, it is open to sporting clubs to abuse the demand for internships to obtain cheap labour. We base this claim on a number of published advertisements we have seen which contain many or all the features of our Southern County All-Star Manatees job profile (figure 1) and from speaking with colleagues and those who consider themselves victims. In this editorial, we provide seven tips for potential interns and call for guidelines relating to advertisements for internships in our sporting community. We also highlight potential red flags associated with internships and employment.