Coronavirus has screwed with my work experience

I'm in year 12 so i'll be applying to uni to study physiotherapy in around 7 months time (for September 2021 entry)

I was going to do some work experience in July which would help support my application, but due to coronavirus, all work experience has been declined. I can't imagine any health settings will be eager to take in a 16 year old for work experience before it's time for me to start writing my personal statement.

It's pretty much a necessity for a physiotherapy applicant to have relevant work experience so what do i do with regards to applications?

Any advice is appreciated

P.S. it might be worth noting that back in year 10 i spent one week with a massage clinic but i'm not sure how much help that would be.

Reply 1

username4716810

15

Hey im in the same situation as you. I wanna do occupational therapy but have NO experience so have no idea what i am going to write on my personal statement :frown:

Were you gonna do your experience through the nhs? Because i think i might apply to do it now as it says for my hospital that i should be applying in may if i want a placement in october.

Reply 2

Export kid

OP

15

Original post by Tkt12345

Hey im in the same situation as you. I wanna do occupational therapy but have NO experience so have no idea what i am going to write on my personal statement :frown:

Were you gonna do your experience through the nhs? Because i think i might apply to do it now as it says for my hospital that i should be applying in may if i want a placement in october.

I wanted to do it with the nhs but my birthday's in august so i wouldn't have been 17 in time (you had to be 17 to shadow a physiotherapist). But if there are still spots open for late in the year, i might be able to fit some in. I'm just concerned that the nhs will be too compromised by covid-19 and i'm unsure what their stance is at the moment

Reply 3

username4716810

15

Original post by Export kid

I wanted to do it with the nhs but my birthday's in august so i wouldn't have been 17 in time (you had to be 17 to shadow a physiotherapist). But if there are still spots open for late in the year, i might be able to fit some in. I'm just concerned that the nhs will be too compromised by covid-19 and i'm unsure what their stance is at the moment

Omg me too im 17 in august and had no idea there was an age requirement?!?! And i agree but i made a post about occupational therapy and someone said i should start applying now for it but what if they just decline my application and im pretty sure for my hospital they dont really have to prioritise you if you have applied before. We are effed. I volunteer at a children's group which is the closest thing i have to experience but i really dont know what's gonna happen

Reply 4

Tianax

5

I'm going to be studying radiography at uni in September (if the whole situation dies down) and I did work experience last year for it. you may not get your experience over summer but you basically have up until the UCAS deadline ( January 2021) to get experience as you put it in your personal statement. To be honest you don't really need that much experience (although I'm only speaking from experience as a radiography applicant) basically 3-7 days will do. I only did 3 but still got an unconditional. Even if you don't get experience you can also still write about the experience you did in year 10 as that's still experience (just try talk about how it interested you in physio and made you passionate about it). Also I'm not sure where abouts you live but I was only 16 when I did my experience in an X-ray department so just try ask around and be really persistent. Hope this helps and good luck for your future application!

Reply 5

Export kid

OP

15

Original post by Tianax

I'm going to be studying radiography at uni in September (if the whole situation dies down) and I did work experience last year for it. you may not get your experience over summer but you basically have up until the UCAS deadline ( January 2021) to get experience as you put it in your personal statement. To be honest you don't really need that much experience (although I'm only speaking from experience as a radiography applicant) basically 3-7 days will do. I only did 3 but still got an unconditional. Even if you don't get experience you can also still write about the experience you did in year 10 as that's still experience (just try talk about how it interested you in physio and made you passionate about it). Also I'm not sure where abouts you live but I was only 16 when I did my experience in an X-ray department so just try ask around and be really persistent. Hope this helps and good luck for your future application!

Thank you so much, hopefully i'll be able to find something, hope you do well with your studies in September!

Reply 6

5hyl33n

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Many students in year 12 will not have enough work experience so don’t worry.

Perhaps, do some further reading to build up your application. A quick internet search should bring up some popular books.

Do put that experience you did in year 10. It is better than nothing and you have nothing to lose!

Good luck!

Reply 7

Ironmike

11

When I applied for physio many years ago, I had no work experience either. I had some lined up for March which was two months after the UCAS deadline, so I just wrote my application as if I had had it, and then went on it in March after I had already had one interview, and about a week before my second. Having interviewed on admissions panels, we are not told anything about you. We don't have your application in-front of us, we don't know your background. This may have changed in the few years since I last interviewed at undergraduate level, so don't take it as gospel, but by the time you are sat in-front of an interview panel they have likely performed any due diligence that they are going to such as checking of work experience. I'm not saying don't try and spend sometime with a physio, as it is important from a point of view of getting an understanding of the profession, but don't put too much weight on it. If they like you, they like you and you will get shortlisted.

I have never come across an age restriction for work experience in any of the trusts I have worked at. We had a Matron's daughter spend a couple of days with us and she was 15 going on 16 and doing GCSE's. Hospitals are starting to open back up again currently, and I suspect we will have formal student placements back with us at the start of the next academic year in October time. There will be work experience before the January cutoff, so keep in touch with wherever it was you got approved to get some, and make sure you are the first in line the minute it is opened back up again!

Reply 8

Muserock

18

A lot of students are going to be in the same position. You could demonstrate that you have been reading around the subject and taken free online courses to increase your knowledge of the area. It might be possible as others have said to do some experience later before you apply too. Just look for as many opportunities as you can (even if it is not work experience, it will still be relevant).

Reply 9

Selfol1

6

Original post by Export kid

I'm in year 12 so i'll be applying to uni to study physiotherapy in around 7 months time (for September 2021 entry)

I was going to do some work experience in July which would help support my application, but due to coronavirus, all work experience has been declined. I can't imagine any health settings will be eager to take in a 16 year old for work experience before it's time for me to start writing my personal statement.

It's pretty much a necessity for a physiotherapy applicant to have relevant work experience so what do i do with regards to applications?

Any advice is appreciated

P.S. it might be worth noting that back in year 10 i spent one week with a massage clinic but i'm not sure how much help that would be.

Since this would be a common understandable theme from applicants for next physiotherapy intake, you could state this on your statement and what you did about it. Physiopedia is very useful to learn about major types of physiotherapy such as the neuro, msk and cardiorespiratory elements. You can learn treatments and the diagnosis of these aspects, this is what I did. As I only had msk and applied for the competitive msc pre reg but mentioned about my extensive research due to not being able too gain work experience.

Getting work experience is hard enough for physiotherapy prior to this pandemic. I know people who got through to interview stage without any experience whatsoever for the bsc. However, hopefully in next few months you can get some sort of experience though! Maybe something related such as in a care home or something? Where you could speak about helping people with certain disorders such as parkinsons. Which is a neurological condition physiotherapists treat.

Edit: just saw the above posts so it seems there's definitely options for you :smile:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 10

Leslie Knope

20

Original post by Tkt12345

Hey im in the same situation as you. I wanna do occupational therapy but have NO experience so have no idea what i am going to write on my personal statement :frown:

Were you gonna do your experience through the nhs? Because i think i might apply to do it now as it says for my hospital that i should be applying in may if i want a placement in october.