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Fabregas1989

Ha, I got rinsed.

Good points, but I think dealing with a wider range of situations is more productive towards getting into medicine.

Bear in mind that there's only so much you can write in your PS and only so much you can say in an interview. It's not all about getting in, it's the experiences you gain for later.

Reply 41

freakaleak

OP

okay well i understand how ive come out as a bit of an idiot in this thread but thanks for the info. I think ill either accept it or wait a bit and see if i can get a different job in A&E or something...

I work as a support worker and it involves some personal care. I'd got a little bit of experience through volunteering for Vitalise, but when I started work I was nervous about the personal care side. But once you've done it a few times you get used to it and you just get on with it. Chances are that the person you are helping is used to it, so try not to worry about it. On a practical level, talking to the person while you are helping them distracts you both from what you are doing and is a good strategy to put them and you at ease.

Reply 43

No Future

17

freakaleak

okay well i understand how ive come out as a bit of an idiot in this thread but thanks for the info. I think ill either accept it or wait a bit and see if i can get a different job in A&E or something...

Hmm, sounds worse than dirty work if you've never worked in a hospital before..

Reply 44

freakaleak

OP

I've been shortlisted for a HCA job in a hospital, on the wards. How will this job differ from the care home job? The hours seem a bit daunting though and ive got exams to do but ill ask them if they are flexible in anyway. Its on an orthopaedic ward 'dedicated to emergency admissions, for people who have fallen or had an accident'. The salary is 13-16k pa, which seems okay, but its listed as 37.5 hourse a week!!! i need to ask for specific details before i go for the interview.

Reply 45

crackerbox

In terms of personal care an orthopaedic ward isn't likely to differ hugely, because they'll be quite a few people who have back problems and need assistance. However, if its emergency admissions it might be a short stay ward (ask) then there wont be as much personal care because people wont be around for long. Also if its emergency admissions there may be some errand running for x-rays/ tests etc. Also you're a lot less likely to get people who aren't able to communicate properly (as may be the case in a care home) which would make your job easier. The hours might be a problem, you can't do a full time job while studying, you wont be able to keep up and you'll have defeated the point of strengthening your med application because you probably wont be able to achieve the grades.

Reply 46

freakaleak

OP

crackerbox

In terms of personal care an orthopaedic ward isn't likely to differ hugely, because they'll be quite a few people who have back problems and need assistance. However, if its emergency admissions it might be a short stay ward (ask) then there wont be as much personal care because people wont be around for long. Also if its emergency admissions there may be some errand running for x-rays/ tests etc. Also you're a lot less likely to get people who aren't able to communicate properly (as may be the case in a care home) which would make your job easier. The hours might be a problem, you can't do a full time job while studying, you wont be able to keep up and you'll have defeated the point of strengthening your med application because you probably wont be able to achieve the grades.

• Assist patients to access toilet requirements, either by walking with them to the toilet, providing a commode or giving a bed pan, maintaining privacy and dignity at all times and undertake washing of patients when they have been incontinent
• Aid the patient to achieve personal hygiene needs by helping with bath/shower or bed bath, encouraging the patient to be as independent as possible, reporting back to the trained nurse any changes in skin condition

Lol thats in the job discription, i think im going to go to the interview though and work for 2 months if i cant change hours or keep looking. The help with bathing and walking to the toilet or providing a bed pan is fine. Even then i would have thought that incontinance is unlikely in an orthopaedics ward? but 37.5 hours a week is A LOT considering i need to do exams in january (this is my 3rd yr of study)

Reply 47

belis

17

Even then i would have thought that incontinance is unlikely in an orthopaedics ward? but 37.5 hours a week is A LOT considering i need to do exams in january

Ortho wards tend to be heavily populated by earderly people who had fallen and broken their hips. Hip fracture and associted surgery are very strong predisposing factor for delirium. Consequently many people who were previously living independently in the community become severly desoriented and forget how to use the toilet or insist on pulling out their catheters. You also get quite a few people with severe dementia who were incontinent to start with and broke their hips falling out of bed. Majority of patients however can ask for bedpan or a comode so it is not as bad in respect of incontince as medical wards or earderly care.

As for the hours 37.5 is standard for a full time post. You need to find out if they can take you part time and how flexible they can be about your shifts.

Ortho wards are quite hard core and work there is physicaly demanding. It can be very rewarding at times but it is never easy. I think full time working pattern there would be hard to combine with serious revision.

Reply 48

vj69

belis

Ortho wards tend to be heavily populated by earderly people who had fallen and broken their hips. Hip fracture and associted surgery are very strong predisposing factor for delirium. Consequently many people who were previously living independently in the community become severly desoriented and forget how to use the toilet or insist on pulling out their catheters. You also get quite a few people with severe dementia who were incontinent to start with and broke their hips falling out of bed. Majority of patients however can ask for bedpan or a comode so it is not as bad in respect of incontince as medical wards or earderly care.

As for the hours 37.5 is standard for a full time post. You need to find out if they can take you part time and how flexible they can be about your shifts.

Ortho wards are quite hard core and work there is physicaly demanding. It can be very rewarding at times but it is never easy. I think full time working pattern there would be hard to combine with serious revision.

so should i keep looking? cos i dont think it would be possible to do 37.5 hours a week and do resits. I need to get this job before applying so i can talk about it in my P.S or is there a system where i can add extra information to my application that i have gained recently but after applying?

So far i've got:

1 week work Experience at a hospital
2 weeks helping at a care home (very cushy cos i knew the owner lol)
2 Days at a hospital in Pakistan
1-2 Week Shadowing a few consultants (next month)
Premed course,
Biology course at bristol university which had medical aspects

I really want a long term experience to add to my application... but what do u guys think so far?

Reply 49

Renal

17

A list means nothing, it's what you experienced that matters.

Reply 50

brokenangel

16

Renal

A list means nothing, it's what you experienced that matters.

hes right you need to be able to reflect on it. I have a list considerably longer than yours but on my PS i only wrote about hospital work experiance, gp work experiance and work at a youth club before i ran out of space.

Reply 51

belis

17

As long as you can epress in convincing manner both in PS and in the interview what you have gained from your work experience and how it relates to medcine it does not matter what you did. Long term experience is valuable IMO but only if you can demonstrate that you have gained some insight from it.

My primary motivation for being a HCA was always money. I have been doing it part time for almost 5 years now. I have learned loads and it helped me well beyond the application stage. I am 4th year medic now and I still occassionaly learn new things during my HCA shifts (I mainly work nights and weekends so it gives me valuable out of hours perspective).

As far as ortho goes I would go for an interview and later enquire about part time hours. Going for job interviews is a good practice for med school interview and there is no guarantee that you will get this job anyway. If you get this job you may as well take it and find out for yourself how it fits in with your revision and if it is sth you enjoy. It may be possible to negotiate part time hours later on. The best way for you would probably be flexible working offered by agencies or hospital bank. They usually as for some experience so you may wish to work full time for a couple of months and then move to flexible pattern closer to exams. If you are not bothered about money you may consider long term volunteering http://www.csv.org.uk/volunteer/full-time/. In the end you know best what you want to do with your gap year.

You cannot add things to your PS at a later stage but you can talk about them during an interview so it is worth taking opportunities that arise later on.

Reply 52

Toffee_Kid

15

Just. Wear. Gloves.

Now stop fussing and get to bum-scraping!

Reply 53

vj69

lol @ toffee kid... Yeah i guess doing the interview will be good practice for a medical school one, although if this is a full time job wll there be a contract involved? hence if i start work and then closer to exams i need time off which they cant give me, quiting becomes hard to honour the contract? although im going to keep looking, it isnt my local hospital and requires a blast up the motorway for 20-30 mins every morning when i could just go with dad, i asked him to put in a gd word for the application i made to his hospital.

You're right that a list isnt important, but i tried to do as many different things as possible so i can say i've learnt different things not just the same. Long term experience shows commitment, does it not? but then obviously working as a HCA in a ward would teach me a lot more then a weeks work exp where i dont see much....

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