Work Experience

Mutleybm1996

Well, the title pretty much says everything about the topic of this post. I was wondering what relevant work experience everyone currently has, and anyone who has an offer had, when applying for Medical Schools?

If you could include the amount of weeks spent that would be helpful, i'm just trying to get some ideas.

thank you :smile:

Reply 1

callummj6747

Original post by benwalters1996

Work experience is good, the truthful answer is as much as you can. I know people who have got in with 1 afternoon. The most important thing you can do is caring volunteering, this being in a nursing home or in a hospital, where you show a long term commitment to patients. I got rejected from Liverpool last year because I hadn't done enough local volunteering.

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Reply 2

Mutleybm1996

Original post by callummj6747

May i ask how much you had done at the time of rejection?

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Reply 3

callummj6747

Original post by benwalters1996

May i ask how much you had done at the time of rejection?

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I had done 2 weeks with a tribe in the Peruvian Amazon, my local hospital volunteering was delayed because the lady running it had a heart transplant, so I missed the deadline, I've been volunteering just less than a year now

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Reply 4

callummj6747

Original post by benwalters1996

May i ask how much you had done at the time of rejection?

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Thats volunteering, all together I've done 2 weeks clinical, 1 week biomed and I work for Cardiff uni in the medical trials unit as work experience

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Reply 5

Pittawithcheese

Original post by benwalters1996

Do you mean for graduate or non-graduate programmes?

I only ask as graduates will have had 3-4 extra years (at least) to rack-up some time in the workplace, so a comparison between the two would show huge imbalances and would probably just cause a lot of people unnecessary worry that they do not have "enough".

My (personal) interpretation of the work experience requirements are that quality matters more than quantity. That is to say that most (not all) admissions tutors will be looking to see how much you learned during your time spent volunteering and working, rather than just opting for the applicants who have done the most....

Reply 6

Mutleybm1996

Original post by Pittawithcheese

Undergraduate :smile:

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Reply 7

Quilverine

Graduate Entry applicant here.What you do isn't important, it is being able to identify what relevant skills you learned that matters.

7 years with Riding for the Disabled, this involves being responsible for the safety of people with Down's syndrome and Autism on a horse. Skills developed: communication, patience, responsibility, hazard awareness, maintaining a calm and confidence inspiring demeanor in the face of hazards.
6 weeks Nuffield bursary placement: research with biomedical PhD research scientists. Skills and findings: lab techniques, research skills, knowing pure research is not a path I want to go down.
3 years: breast feeding peer support. Skills: Empathy, communication, community health care
1 year: CrySis phone worker. Skills: identifying vulnerable families, support, empathy communication, helping people to help themselves.
16 weeks: clinical placement in NHS hospitals, initially shadowing as a student then working professionally on wards, clinics and hospital photography studios.
1 week: filming a documentary on the National Bio Resource. I was the makeup artist but I got to meet and talk with consultants and research scientists, learning about the potential for hospital doctors to work alongside research scientists and getting patients and their families involved in research.
Informal discussion with healthcare professionals in a range of roles to understand the demands of a variety of jobs that interest me to gauge how appropriate they would be for me.

Find ways of making your job or hobby relevant:
Eg. as a professional makeup artist I had to learn about health & safety, infection control and hygiene and teach this to my clients too, in order to prevent prevent spreading infectious disease or using inappropriate products on people's skin. I also had to learn to gain the trust of my clients quickly as I would be touching their faces, sometimes it would be the first time we met on the day of their wedding. This ability to inspire confidence is also important in medicine, patients need to trust you.

If you work in retail you learn to communicate effectively with a wide range of people, do you educate people on anything? What do you get praised for? Are you methodical, manage a team effectively?

For community care experience go to your local GP and see if they run a companion scheme. If you are tied to the house because of lack of transport or kids or whatever try a phoneline charity. You get training and you log in with your landline to take calls from the demographic that the charity serve.