The Student Room Group

Prospective Medical Students: What kind of voluntary work have you commenced or done?

If your a current medical student, then how many voluntary work should be sufficient? Which sort? for How long? Thank you.
Reply 1
It's not how much you do; it's what you get from it. That's what I was always told at the open days, and in your personal statement and interviews you need to be able to communicate that you really got a feel for what the job was like when you did your work experience. I only did 5 days overall - 2 days in A and E and 3 days in a GP surgery. I've got an unconditional, and I know a lot of people who did loads more than me and didn't get in. It's all about being able to reflect on your experiences (:

More to the point, volunteering at your local care home is always a good plan. I did that for a bit. As long as you have a bit in a hospital/GP surgery and are able to talk about it you should be fine :biggrin:
Reply 2
Original post by Future_Dr
If your a current medical student, then how many voluntary work should be sufficient? Which sort? for How long? Thank you.



exactly what the person above has said, I know people who have had 2 months worth of hosp experience and 5 years of volunteering but because they were effectively listing it off, it backfired. So its about quality, and what you gained.

Original post by JackG1
It's not how much you do; it's what you get from it. That's what I was always told at the open days, and in your personal statement and interviews you need to be able to communicate that you really got a feel for what the job was like when you did your work experience. I only did 5 days overall - 2 days in A and E and 3 days in a GP surgery. I've got an unconditional, and I know a lot of people who did loads more than me and didn't get in. It's all about being able to reflect on your experiences (:

More to the point, volunteering at your local care home is always a good plan. I did that for a bit. As long as you have a bit in a hospital/GP surgery and are able to talk about it you should be fine :biggrin:


congrats! which uni is your uncon for? and did you gap year? I'm considering a gap year before applying next year :smile:
Reply 3
How easy was it for you to get the work experience

Our GP surgery has said no to my daughter citing "confidentiality" is it easier to get into a hospital e.g. A&E or did you simply know someone that you could talk to
Reply 4
Original post by TenOfThem
How easy was it for you to get the work experience

Our GP surgery has said no to my daughter citing "confidentiality" is it easier to get into a hospital e.g. A&E or did you simply know someone that you could talk to


Find a GP from an ethnic minority background (S. Asian in particular), they tend to be more willing to allow students to do work shadowing. :smile: (Well it's what I have noticed)
Reply 5
Original post by sony-pony
Find a GP from an ethnic minority background (S. Asian in particular), they tend to be more willing to allow students to do work shadowing. :smile: (Well it's what I have noticed)


Thanks
Reply 6
Original post by TenOfThem
How easy was it for you to get the work experience

Our GP surgery has said no to my daughter citing "confidentiality" is it easier to get into a hospital e.g. A&E or did you simply know someone that you could talk to


Try a GP further away, who doesn't treat you or your family.
Reply 7
Original post by Pandabär
Try a GP further away, who doesn't treat you or your family.


Good thinking ... less likely to be seeing people she knows ... I will suggest that
Is it worth Work Experience at GP in the administartive side? :s-smilie:
Reply 9
Original post by Future_Dr
If your a current medical student, then how many voluntary work should be sufficient? Which sort? for How long? Thank you.


I did about 9 months once a week in the A&E department of a big hospital, with no other medical work experience, and I've got three offers :smile: As previous posters have said, it's the quality and what you get out of it (specifically how you write about it in your PS) that matter, not the quantity.

Hope this helps :biggrin:
Reply 10
I'd definitely say its the quality of the work experience and what you learn from it. When I was doing my short stint in A&E, one of the consultants said to me "You're not doing the work experience to learn medicine, that's why your going to medical school". You want to be doing things where you can learn how things are run, as well as things like "communication skills" and getting a fair idea of what your life is actually going to be when you (hopefully) become a doctor
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 11
Original post by Future_Dr
Is it worth Work Experience at GP in the administartive side? :s-smilie:


A lot of people do do this it seems, and it would give you an insight into how the practice works, but not what the doctor does. So yeah its a bit useful, but probably not enough.


EDIT: Oh, and for my volunteering - the first time I applied I had been volunteering at my hospital once a week for about a year, and was just starting some volunteering with Age UK. Second time round, I'd stopped doing the hospital volunteering, had been doing Age UK for about a year, and had done a week and a half on holiday with Sense. However, what I actually wrote about was mostly Sense, and a small mention of Age UK and hospital volunteering (literally, about a sentence each)
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by TenOfThem
How easy was it for you to get the work experience

Our GP surgery has said no to my daughter citing "confidentiality" is it easier to get into a hospital e.g. A&E or did you simply know someone that you could talk to


Try asking a GP surgery that is a bit further away, so the people that come in aren't people you might know.
Reply 13
Original post by AishaTara
congrats! which uni is your uncon for? and did you gap year? I'm considering a gap year before applying next year :smile:


Dundee :biggrin:
Original post by JackG1
Dundee :biggrin:


well done :smile:
did u take a gap year?

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