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Work experience and Volunteering???

Hi TSR!!! I basically want to apply for medicine 2008 and was wondering what if you just do volunteering at a hospital and care home but no work experience or shadowing? Would this be enough to get you into med school? :confused:

Thanx 4 ur answers!

Reply 1

Emily17

I'm not sure as I am at the same stage as you, however if you do any hospital volunteering keep your eye out for junior doctors because when I was volunteering in the hospital I started talking to an F1 yr doctor and she offered me work experience shadowing her.. so it might be worth trying to get some that way?

Reply 2

shenzys

Thanks I'll keep that in mind :smile:

Reply 3

Johnny C.

Most med schools accept it can be very difficult to get work shadowing placements and so don't expect you to have it. Especially if you do plenty of voluntary work, you would have a good chance of getting into medical school.

However, a work experience placement does give you a lot to talk about on your personal statement and at interview. Tbh, there isn't really a better way to show that you have got an understanding of what working in a hospital is actually like, so you should definitely try and arrange something if at all possible.

Reply 4

Kicky

shenzys

Thanx 4 ur answers!

Hiya,
Shadowing is not compulsory and I didn't have any when I applied, but many people do, and if you can it's a really good thing to talk about at interview/on your PS as well as helping confirm that medicine is for you
Good luck
:smile:

Reply 5

rahmed

Taking care of the elderly or disabled is better than most other things. And then lie about what it taught you in the interviews.

Reply 6

brokenangel

rahmed

Taking care of the elderly or disabled is better than most other things. And then lie about what it taught you in the interviews.

Is that really fitting/appropriate of a someone applying to become a doctor I don’t think so.

Emily17

Yeah someone I meet on my placement last week had done that also you could try taking a wonder down to the education department they can often arrange work experience for you. Also you could try contacting BUPA our local one seem to be dishing out loads at the minute or alternatively try writing to your local police force doctor most people dont think of these so they are often more than happy to have you shadow them at their surgery. :rolleyes:

Reply 7

rahmed

sillyvicky

Is that really fitting/appropriate of a someone applying to become a doctor I don’t think so.

Well it's usually the case.

You're only doing all this stuff because you want to boost your application. Most wouldn't do this if they didn't have to...

Reply 8

Elles

rahmed

Well it's usually the case.

You're only doing all this stuff because you want to boost your application. Most wouldn't do this if they didn't have to...

You think? I wonder whether forums give a warped view of the whole application process sometimes or the average medical applicant has warped. :p:

My voluntary work was done before I had medicine in mind, work shadowing after. Other people I applied with had done community service type stuff too before they necessarily started keeping an eagle-eye on their PS content!

Reply 9

rahmed

well, you lot are a minority then :smile:

Reply 10

Cataclysm

I guess voluntary work benefits all, I mean universities like it on applications, and your local community benefits from getting some help. You get the useful experience to boost your application, etc.

So everyone is happy.

Reply 11

brokenangel

rahmed

Well it's usually the case.

You're only doing all this stuff because you want to boost your application. Most wouldn't do this if they didn't have to...

My youth club voluntary work I started before I looked into the whole application process the hospital stuff I wanted to do anyway.
If I get my first choice uni ill try and continue most of it even then.

Yes work experience I am doing as it a requirement but then again isn't everyone. If your doing voluntary work purely for your application then you aint going to stick at it.

Reply 12

rahmed

ok, all my comments seem to backfire - I'll stop now

Reply 13

Johnny C.

I started doing voluntary work to bolster my med application. But now that I'm actually doing it, I really enjoy it and am glad I started. And I'll definitely carry on doing it for as long as I can i.e. till university.

As for the thing about lying about what you learned from voluntary stuff - I'm certain if you think about it hard enough, you must have learned something about yourself or developed new skills no matter what you were doing. That said, the personal statement is all about spin so there's no harm in playing up what you got out of your voluntary work.

Reply 14

ph9

i did voluntary work at a nursing home for 6 months only and stopped because of exams and always meant to go back after but.. never got round to it. :-/ i mentioned in my ps that i did it for 6 months but thinking about it now, i'll probably get asked why i still don't do it now at interview. ooops. way to go ph9.

as for the lies, i don't know. i don't see how a few tweaks here and there could do some huge damage (unless of course you say something stupid and get caught out. everyone's worst interview nightmare?) because to be honest i didn't really learn much i didn't already know/expect during my work shadowing placement so i think i'm going to have to sugar coat my words when (if) asked about it...

don't know what on earth i'll say if asked about my 6 months volunteering at a nursing home. it was all really obvious and simple stuff like helping them get on the toilet and feeding them

am i just one of the rare cases that get really rubbish and mundane work experience/volunteer thingys? lol cos everyone else seems to have done lots of special stuff at theirs

Reply 15

rahmed

ph9

am i just one of the rare cases that get really rubbish and mundane work experience/volunteer thingys? lol cos everyone else seems to have done lots of special stuff at theirs

No I did filing of records for 3 hours each Wednesday instead of a games lesson at the local hospital.

Reply 16

Johnny C.

ph9

Did you not develop your interpersonal skills, particularly with regards to talking with elderly people?

Didn't you notice anything like how elderly people often don't like to complain or create a fuss, so they don't always tell you when they need help or if something's wrong?

Did you learn anything about dealing with residents/patients who were being difficult or uncooperative?

it's all the little things like these that you might mention...

Reply 17

Philosoraptor

I'm sure a lot of people exaggerate slightly or big themselves up a bit, but you have to to be competitive! (Or at least feel you need to at the time! All teachers whining at you about your personal statement etc)

Reply 18

ph9

ok rahmed you win. i have to do that one hour a week for an art company so at least it's more fun cos i get to look at the art and steal some postcards sometimes :biggrin:

johnny c, yeah you're totally right. i'll admit, the nursing home stuff really was, i don't know how to put it... educational? i really did learn a lot of the 'little things' like you say, which made it worth going there every week.

thing is, it was more what you'd consider 'fun' (even though i said it was mundane in my previous post lol). what i mean is i'd sit and listen to their stories, i'd play with them, make things, you know? but then what do i expect, it wasn't a hospital environment so it's not like i was about to witness surgery or anything.

but is that really what the interview people want to hear? about how good old john would tell me stories about his son in australia and such? (i realise i sound really ungrateful and rubbish right now but don't get me wrong, i LOVED going there and did pick up a LOT of skills. i suppose i just need to stop thinking the interviewers just want to hear about the scientific side to what i learned)

you know what, this thread has inspired me to go off and write as much as i can about what i learned in all of them so that if asked at interview i won't just sit there gawping at them like a moron. should have done this aaaages ago.

thank you :suith:

Reply 19

ph9

Philosoraptor

urgh yeah. my teachers were awful with my ps, always trying to make me change it. totally ignorant it's no wonder all the people who took their advice with it last year have had to reapply this year.