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*Closed* - Work Experience and Voluntary Work [Part 1 of 2]
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Original post by akereem100
Shut up and go study
ahahah pm me lad
haha
I'm currently in year 11 and have 2 weeks of work experience at my local hospital in the summer. I'm planning on going abroad with projects abroad next summer for 2 weeks of work experience in a different environment. However today I was offered a 1 week placement at a private hospital, at which I could choose a department for the week, in the October half term, but it's £790 so I was wondering with everything else will it be worth doing?
Just ask yourself which one you could learn more from.
Original post by aliciaweaver99
I'm currently in year 11 and have 2 weeks of work experience at my local hospital in the summer. I'm planning on going abroad with projects abroad next summer for 2 weeks of work experience in a different environment. However today I was offered a 1 week placement at a private hospital, at which I could choose a department for the week, in the October half term, but it's £790 so I was wondering with everything else will it be worth doing?
There really is no need to pay anywhere near that sort of money for work experience placements.
It's incredibly shameful that a hospital is expecting you to cough up money for work experience, private or otherwise. Let alone almost a ****ing grand for it. Jesus.
Original post by aliciaweaver99
I'm currently in year 11 and have 2 weeks of work experience at my local hospital in the summer. I'm planning on going abroad with projects abroad next summer for 2 weeks of work experience in a different environment. However today I was offered a 1 week placement at a private hospital, at which I could choose a department for the week, in the October half term, but it's £790 so I was wondering with everything else will it be worth doing?
You already have the 2 weeks in local hospital planned, so personally I do not think there is any need to have some in a private hospital. Perhaps you could try a GP? Have you got volunteering in a caring environment too? So if you haven't already, then perhaps you could try and arrange some volunteering work for at least several months in a elderly care home, mental health clinic or hospice would be some ideas.
Hi guys! Need some advice, is this adequate work experience?
NCS (kind of like DofE)
Youth Council (a group of youngsters doing community stuff..)
2 weeks GP (starting June)
Hospital placement (awaiting start date)
2 weeks at a primary school working with year 3
Starting as a volunteer for Brownies (girl guiding thing)
Currently working at a elderly home once a week
Did a bit of fundraising for Red Cross
Summer School at Nottingham in July (Sutton Trust)
The problem is that not much of this is clinical, how big of a problem is this? Competition for medical school is fierce and I am terrified everyone else has shadowed doctors and that kind of stuff!
NCS (kind of like DofE)
Youth Council (a group of youngsters doing community stuff..)
2 weeks GP (starting June)
Hospital placement (awaiting start date)
2 weeks at a primary school working with year 3
Starting as a volunteer for Brownies (girl guiding thing)
Currently working at a elderly home once a week
Did a bit of fundraising for Red Cross
Summer School at Nottingham in July (Sutton Trust)
The problem is that not much of this is clinical, how big of a problem is this? Competition for medical school is fierce and I am terrified everyone else has shadowed doctors and that kind of stuff!
Original post by Hopeful-x-Medic
Hi guys! Need some advice, is this adequate work experience?
2 weeks GP (starting June)
Hospital placement (awaiting start date)
2 weeks GP (starting June)
Hospital placement (awaiting start date)
This is work experience.
Currently working at a elderly home once a week
This is medicine related volunteering.
2 weeks at a primary school working with year 3
Starting as a volunteer for Brownies (girl guiding thing)
Did a bit of fundraising for Red Cross
NCS (kind of like DofE)
Youth Council (a group of youngsters doing community stuff..)
Summer School at Nottingham in July (Sutton Trust)
Starting as a volunteer for Brownies (girl guiding thing)
Did a bit of fundraising for Red Cross
NCS (kind of like DofE)
Youth Council (a group of youngsters doing community stuff..)
Summer School at Nottingham in July (Sutton Trust)
These are your extracurriculars. You can't mention all of them in your personal statement, so choose wisely. Why does each one matter? Why is it important for you as a future medical student?
It's not about how much you do, it's about what you can say you've got out of it. Your actual work shadowing will be fine, as will your volunteering in the old folk's home, but it really all depends on how you reflect on your experiences in your personal statement and at interview.
Quality over quantity!
Original post by Democracy
This is work experience.
This is medicine related volunteering.
These are your extracurriculars. You can't mention all of them in your personal statement, so choose wisely. Why does each one matter? Why is it important for you as a future medical student?
It's not about how much you do, it's about what you can say you've got out of it. Your actual work shadowing will be fine, as will your volunteering in the old folk's home, but it really all depends on how you reflect on your experiences in your personal statement and at interview.
Quality over quantity!
This is medicine related volunteering.
These are your extracurriculars. You can't mention all of them in your personal statement, so choose wisely. Why does each one matter? Why is it important for you as a future medical student?
It's not about how much you do, it's about what you can say you've got out of it. Your actual work shadowing will be fine, as will your volunteering in the old folk's home, but it really all depends on how you reflect on your experiences in your personal statement and at interview.
Quality over quantity!
Thanks, I hope I can make the right decisions and create an awesome personal statement. Really appreciate the help
Original post by Isabella~
Hiya I'm planning to apply for 2016 entry! I know it's all about what you learn on work exp but would one hopsital placement be enough for universities like UCL and Imperial, cause I feel like a lot of people have two at least 
Thanks!
Thanks!
I had no hospital or GP work experience whatsoever, but I got an interview with UCL 2 years ago. Screwed it up big time, though. But yeah, it really is about what you learn from your experiences. The good thing with UCL is that as long as your interview goes well enough, you're guaranteed a place (presuming they still have the same application system).
Original post by Isabella~
This is reassuring, thank you!! Do you mind me asking what were your AS like, so far it's not going too great for me 
My AS levels were all As, but I do believe I can relate to your feeling because back then we did modules in January and I got an under-par grade for chemistry (of all subjects I could bomb in, right?), and that did knock my confidence for a while.
I would recommend one thing: change your mindset ASAP. What I did was pay for a copy of the paper I bombed in. I realised immediately that the grade was due mainly to silly errors and partly to a lack of knowledge. Instead of wallowing in pessimism, I would say figure out how you're losing marks and then take action on it. If you think you can manage a few resits and if you really, really want to do medicine, then I recommend getting stuck right into getting the grades. Also, have more optimism - there are applicants who've been in the same situation and turned it around (seriously, it was mainly my pessimism and lack of confidence was what let me down the first time I applied). Easier said than done, but a change in mindset will do you wonders when you get to the exam hall or the interview room.
Hope I helped.
Can someone tell me about work experience that they had when they applied. I'm working now but only recently started.
What did you do?
Entire duration
and any other extra info you feel that might be necessary.
Thanks
What did you do?
Entire duration
and any other extra info you feel that might be necessary.
Thanks
Original post by 9910224
My AS levels were all As, but I do believe I can relate to your feeling because back then we did modules in January and I got an under-par grade for chemistry (of all subjects I could bomb in, right?), and that did knock my confidence for a while.
I would recommend one thing: change your mindset ASAP. What I did was pay for a copy of the paper I bombed in. I realised immediately that the grade was due mainly to silly errors and partly to a lack of knowledge. Instead of wallowing in pessimism, I would say figure out how you're losing marks and then take action on it. If you think you can manage a few resits and if you really, really want to do medicine, then I recommend getting stuck right into getting the grades. Also, have more optimism - there are applicants who've been in the same situation and turned it around (seriously, it was mainly my pessimism and lack of confidence was what let me down the first time I applied). Easier said than done, but a change in mindset will do you wonders when you get to the exam hall or the interview room.
Hope I helped.
I would recommend one thing: change your mindset ASAP. What I did was pay for a copy of the paper I bombed in. I realised immediately that the grade was due mainly to silly errors and partly to a lack of knowledge. Instead of wallowing in pessimism, I would say figure out how you're losing marks and then take action on it. If you think you can manage a few resits and if you really, really want to do medicine, then I recommend getting stuck right into getting the grades. Also, have more optimism - there are applicants who've been in the same situation and turned it around (seriously, it was mainly my pessimism and lack of confidence was what let me down the first time I applied). Easier said than done, but a change in mindset will do you wonders when you get to the exam hall or the interview room.
Hope I helped.
This is exactly what happened to me, thank you for the advice!
intro to psych at columbia university summer program for hs student
university of pennsylvania medicine summer program for hs student
interned at a hospital (junior year)
VP of a health-related club at school
taught hygiene and basic healthcare at a local school in northern thailand
certified at lifeguard/first aid
...excluding other non-medicine related clubs and activities i do and the other comm service i'm planning to do
is this good enough for my first choice, KCL?
university of pennsylvania medicine summer program for hs student
interned at a hospital (junior year)
VP of a health-related club at school
taught hygiene and basic healthcare at a local school in northern thailand
certified at lifeguard/first aid
...excluding other non-medicine related clubs and activities i do and the other comm service i'm planning to do
is this good enough for my first choice, KCL?
Original post by lucky11
Can someone tell me about work experience that they had when they applied. I'm working now but only recently started.
What did you do?
Entire duration
and any other extra info you feel that might be necessary.
Thanks
What did you do?
Entire duration
and any other extra info you feel that might be necessary.
Thanks
Hi, I had 9 days total medical work experience - 6 days in hospitals (3 in vascular surgery, 3 in critical care) and 3 at a GP practice. It's much about what you can say you learnt than how long you were there for/how much you've done. If you can get one lot of hospital work experience and a day or two at a GP that would be enough. I also had quite a lot of volunteering, mostly done at school (running a science club for year sevens, helping in a year 9 maths lesson) and also I did a bit of helping out at a club for kids for autism.
It's much more about being able to say 'I was in a hospital and saw that a whole team of people must work together to treat a patient effectively' than 'I've spent two weeks in paediatrics and two weeks with a GP and three weeks in surgery'. Just because you were there doesn't mean you learnt anything and two or three days is enough really. I know lots of people who had way more but there's only so much you can fit in a personal statement. You've definitely still got enough time to do stuff to fill it with.
Original post by violin101
Hi, I had 9 days total medical work experience - 6 days in hospitals (3 in vascular surgery, 3 in critical care) and 3 at a GP practice. It's much about what you can say you learnt than how long you were there for/how much you've done. If you can get one lot of hospital work experience and a day or two at a GP that would be enough. I also had quite a lot of volunteering, mostly done at school (running a science club for year sevens, helping in a year 9 maths lesson) and also I did a bit of helping out at a club for kids for autism.
It's much more about being able to say 'I was in a hospital and saw that a whole team of people must work together to treat a patient effectively' than 'I've spent two weeks in paediatrics and two weeks with a GP and three weeks in surgery'. Just because you were there doesn't mean you learnt anything and two or three days is enough really. I know lots of people who had way more but there's only so much you can fit in a personal statement. You've definitely still got enough time to do stuff to fill it with.
It's much more about being able to say 'I was in a hospital and saw that a whole team of people must work together to treat a patient effectively' than 'I've spent two weeks in paediatrics and two weeks with a GP and three weeks in surgery'. Just because you were there doesn't mean you learnt anything and two or three days is enough really. I know lots of people who had way more but there's only so much you can fit in a personal statement. You've definitely still got enough time to do stuff to fill it with.
Thank you very much this has helped a lot. I understand that it's about what you have learnt but the reason I asked was because when I went to the open day fro the university of Warwick they required at least 72 hours of work exp. This is why I wanted to know what kinds of things people have done for that amount of time. Again thank you very much
Any tips on what to do during my work experience at the hospital? I.e what should I be doing, what should I be asking etc.
I know this thread has been done a thousand times but I'm desperate! What kinds of extra curricular activities did you do? I'm trying to find something similar to ncs (which I did last year). Also, I'm quite shy so I've been restraining from calling te local hospitals/gps/elderly homes... Any way to overcome nervousness associated with talking to people on the phone??
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
In terms of extra curricular stuff look at sports, musical instruments clubs and societies at school, but to be honest it isn't how much you do, it's what you can say about it, as long as you explain how the things you do help you to be an ideal candidate you should be fine
The closest thing to NCS i can think of is DofE that helps when you're trying to show leadership/communication/organizational skills
As far as shyness goes I don't really know any techniques as such but you just have to think of the benefits of doing it outweighing your nervousness, if you just have a 30 second conversation on the phone then it could lead to doing the career you want for the next 30 years or so, possibly an overstatement but volunteering is reeaally important so I recommend just getting stuck because shyness is something you have to get over if you want to be a doctor or even get just though interviews so it is worth it!
hope this helps, good luck!
The closest thing to NCS i can think of is DofE that helps when you're trying to show leadership/communication/organizational skills
As far as shyness goes I don't really know any techniques as such but you just have to think of the benefits of doing it outweighing your nervousness, if you just have a 30 second conversation on the phone then it could lead to doing the career you want for the next 30 years or so, possibly an overstatement but volunteering is reeaally important so I recommend just getting stuck because shyness is something you have to get over if you want to be a doctor or even get just though interviews so it is worth it!
hope this helps, good luck!
Original post by Lularose83
I know this thread has been done a thousand times but I'm desperate! What kinds of extra curricular activities did you do? I'm trying to find something similar to ncs (which I did last year). Also, I'm quite shy so I've been restraining from calling te local hospitals/gps/elderly homes... Any way to overcome nervousness associated with talking to people on the phone??
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
I find having a mental "script" for what you want to say on the phone is really helpful if you're nervous. It doesn't have to be complicated, just to get you through to the right person first of all, and then enquire about opportunities for work exp/volunteering. Once that's done you can just follow the flow of the conversation. The first bit is the hardest!
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