So what did ''you'' learn on work experience?

So yeah what did you learn on work experience? im just interested in what other peoples experiences are and if you actually learnt anything new.(however simple it sounds). beacause i did some work experience at a creche, and to be honest i dont think i learnt anything at all....maybe the importance of a smile, eye contact? i dunno :s-smilie:

thanks.

Reply 1

corkskrew

Work experience is all about what you got out of it and what skills you learnt. Personally I learnt altruistic skills in my vol work for Barnardo's , I learnt to work well with others in my saturday job, and i got a better understanding of the medical profession through my work experience in a hospital. Voluntary work at A&E also got me to interact better with other people, and I feel I can now adapt well to new situations and get on well with co-workers where no personal relationship is present. Voluntary work at a nursing home has taught me more about degenerative diseases and their effects on sufferers and relatives, and close work with an Alzheimer's charity gave me a better insight into how an illness can affect the general public and carers for the ill.

Reply 2

belis

1. Nurses and auxiliaries are very important members of the team (can change your live into living hell if you underestimate them and teach you loads of stuff if you show some respect).

2. I do not want to be a nurse and I know why (useful for the interviu).

3. Communication is not easy but if I realy want/need I can even read minds :wink:

.

4. Children with difficult past and ADHD can be dangerous (communication again, not easy with sb screaming, kicking and trying to bite off your hand) but there is a reason behind all that (if you are still interested in the reason after 10 hours of constant strugle until small hours you can be rewarded by 10 minutes of honest conversation and a bit of trust, very rewarding).

5. Loads about death, berevment, holistic approach and all hospice philosophy + meeting some amazing people and learning to make great tea

I haven't done any work experience in hospital but I have learned enough to impress during interviu and more importantly to convince myself that I am doing right thing choosing medicine.

Reply 3

harry1153

yeah i spent a few weeks doin sum work experiance at a nursing home last year, and found it pretty dull really. They weren't really adapted to have any volunteres so they didnt have anythin for me 2 do, and i found it was just boring. They would just tell me to sit down and chat to the old people, so i guess the only thing it really taught me was how to interact with patients, and people skills and stuff. It wasnt great fun tho

Reply 4

Shelbycakes

Whatever you do dont say that it was boring at your interview, becuase generally the majority of people who get ill are the elderly. Say that you really enjoyed talking to people who've had different experiences and it helped you to communicate better. If you can try and get some work experince in a hospital, which i what i had, and if medicne is really your thing then you wont be able to shut up about what you did!
i also had 2 months working with disadvantged and disabled children and although it was tough at some points it was invaluble life experience, teaching me to be able to deal with peoples problems, helping me to communicate with people who cant talk, i know how it feels now to be in charge of somebodies life,ie they depend on you for food, toileting etc.
if you want to be involed in something like that get in contact with your local princes trust, they'll run summer schemes like this :smile:

Reply 5

cvincecvince

hi thanks for sharing what you've learnt with me. Im not as lucky as i havent been able to get some work experience sorted out at my local hospital, so i wont really learn anything medically durning my work xp. As i have already said i did some work xp at a creche and next week im going to start work xp at a nursing home (actually a residential home) so im hoping that it will be good there. During the summer im going to get some work xp at a gp sugery in hong kong because im going on holiday there for a whole month :smile:

Im just wondering if make a difference it being in hong kong or not, would it be a good thing or bad?

Reply 6

Muse

1. Specialist registrars prefer coffee to tea.

2. Consultants have strops in theatre.

Reply 7

Shelbycakes

any experience is good experince so it cant hurt!

Reply 8

harry1153

lol, obviously im not going to say i found my work experiance boring at my interview!! that would be very stupid! i was just trying to share honestly how i found it

Reply 9

corkskrew

cvincecvince

Im just wondering if make a difference it being in hong kong or not, would it be a good thing or bad?

That could well work to your advantage actually *strokes chin thoughtfully* yessss..... you could add it as a little teaser to a personal statement, just casually drop it in like,

"Last summer I was fortunate enough to experience the daily work of a general practitioner in Hong Kong. This gave me an insight into how medicine is practiced abroad."

Remember they read hundreds of sodding personal statements and it's stuff like that that can get you an interview

Reply 10

messy

I learnt how to clean out cat litter trays at xmas, clean up snake s*** today at my first day at a reptile centre and how to get covered in afterbirth, blood and general slime whilst lambing at easter! What a fun life!And just think ive still got horses, cows, pigs, chickens etc to go this holiday !