The Student Room Group

Work experince! Help?

Hi there!
I want to do work experince at a hospital and one of the questions on the appliation form is: How will a placement aid your future career plans?
I'm not quite sure how to answer it...I want to be a neaurosurgeon in the future...and it would be great if anybody could help me out here. Thanks!
Reply 1
Just basically say things about how you think doing your WE at a hospital will help you to see what your life may be like when working as a neurosurgeon and you wanted to see what it's like from now so you can advance your plans for the future
Original post by Wolfram Alpha
Hi there!
I want to do work experince at a hospital and one of the questions on the appliation form is: How will a placement aid your future career plans?
I'm not quite sure how to answer it...I want to be a neaurosurgeon in the future...and it would be great if anybody could help me out here. Thanks!


Don't mention you want to become a neurosurgeon. You're too young to choose a specialty and they won't believe it. Even Med students don't know what they want to specialise in yet. Obviously read stuff around what you're interested in becoming but don't mention it :smile:

To answer that question, tell them that it'd help you decide whether Medicine is the career you wish to pursue and that being able to speak to doctors + surgeons will give you an insight into the world of Medicine. You will be able to see the importance of doctor-patient relationships and teamwork within the hospital. Say you want to witness that.

Don't go into too much detail, this is a hospital, not a medical school.
Original post by jenigma
Don't mention you want to become a neurosurgeon. You're too young to choose a specialty and they won't believe it. Even Med students don't know what they want to specialise in yet. Obviously read stuff around what you're interested in becoming but don't mention it :smile:

To answer that question, tell them that it'd help you decide whether Medicine is the career you wish to pursue and that being able to speak to doctors + surgeons will give you an insight into the world of Medicine. You will be able to see the importance of doctor-patient relationships and teamwork within the hospital. Say you want to witness that.

Don't go into too much detail, this is a hospital, not a medical school.


Thank you very much!!! Your answer was very helpful! I've put this down so far:
A placement at Birmingham Children’s hospital will aid my career plans as I will enhance my communication skills and gain experience of working with a wide range of patients, visitors and staff. I will have a taste of the skills required to work within the NHS and confirm which career path I want to pursue.
And if you don't mind me asking, when they ask me what to expect...what do i say? Because to be compleely truthful I have no idea of what to expect! Thanks a lot
Tell them that yu will know how it feels like to become a doctor and that you can choose whether this career is the right option for you...
Original post by Wolfram Alpha
Thank you very much!!! Your answer was very helpful! I've put this down so far:
A placement at Birmingham Children’s hospital will aid my career plans as I will enhance my communication skills and gain experience of working with a wide range of patients, visitors and staff. I will have a taste of the skills required to work within the NHS and confirm which career path I want to pursue.
And if you don't mind me asking, when they ask me what to expect...what do i say? Because to be compleely truthful I have no idea of what to expect! Thanks a lot


Birmingham Children's Hospital? I'm jealous :wink: I did mine at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

I've edited it for you:

A placement at Birmingham Children’s hospital will allow me to decide if Medicine is the right career path for me. Being able to observe doctors and surgeons will inform me of the importance of good doctor-patient relationships and also how vital it is to have good communication skills with colleagues and work as a team.

You won't be able to improve communication skills or be able to work with a wide range of patients/staff and definitely not visitors! This is a chance for you to stay in the background and see what's going on, not to come forward and help out. You might get the chance to shadow nurses too. They're just as important as doctors, sometimes even more important, so don't pass up the opportunity because you think they're not. Everyone is as important in the healthcare team.

You can add things to what I've edited because I'm not sure how long it's supposed to be! How old are you by the way?

And what do you mean they're asking you what you'd expect?
Original post by jenigma
Birmingham Children's Hospital? I'm jealous :wink: I did mine at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

I've edited it for you:

A placement at Birmingham Children’s hospital will allow me to decide if Medicine is the right career path for me. Being able to observe doctors and surgeons will inform me of the importance of good doctor-patient relationships and also how vital it is to have good communication skills with colleagues and work as a team.

You won't be able to improve communication skills or be able to work with a wide range of patients/staff and definitely not visitors! This is a chance for you to stay in the background and see what's going on, not to come forward and help out. You might get the chance to shadow nurses too. They're just as important as doctors, sometimes even more important, so don't pass up the opportunity because you think they're not. Everyone is as important in the healthcare team.

You can add things to what I've edited because I'm not sure how long it's supposed to be! How old are you by the way?

And what do you mean they're asking you what you'd expect?


Thanks for the edited-much appreciated. Not sure how long but its a section where we should promote ourselves and can include hobbies etc but im just going to send my CV separately. I am 14 years old, 15 in December. The question is:
What are your expectations of a placement at Birmingham Children’s Hospital?
Sorry for not making it clear enough and i appreciate all the help you provide me with!!! Thank you!
Is that question the same as the one we've already answered or are there 2 questions?

You're way too young to observe surgeries! But you might still get a chance to talk to surgeons though if you politely ask them. Many are grumpy but that's because they've just been standing for 10 hours doing a spinal surgery and haven't eaten or something so be nice :biggrin:

I don't think a CV is required for this, do they ask for it?

Do you volunteer? You could include that.
Original post by jenigma
Is that question the same as the one we've already answered or are there 2 questions?

You're way too young to observe surgeries! But you might still get a chance to talk to surgeons though if you politely ask them. Many are grumpy but that's because they've just been standing for 10 hours doing a spinal surgery and haven't eaten or something so be nice :biggrin:

I don't think a CV is required for this, do they ask for it?

Do you volunteer? You could include that.

Yes, there are two separate questions. Sorry for the confusion
Okay then, Ill just include the main points from my CV. Yes, i do voluntary work at a charity shop so I'll also put that down.
Thanks a million!
For the 'How will it aid you?' question, you could talk about what I said earlier.

For 'What are your expectations..?', you could say something like 'I hope to have the opportunity to speak to doctors as they will be able to provide me with knowledge of the NHS and also of what being a doctor is like.'

It sounds similar to the answer for the other question but I'm not entirely sure what to say! The questions are basically the same (':

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