Unable to gain medical work experience

I'm currently a year 12 student and I want to study medicine at University. The problem is I can't seem to land a work placement at a GP surgery, Hospital and Hospice, and I'm getting very anxious and frustrated.

I know of GapMedics, but I can't really afford the cost of travel, and I would have really wanted to go. :frown:

Any advice as to what I should do if I don't get any work experience at any of these work places.

Reply 1

modini

15

Original post by studiouslilgirl

I'm currently a year 12 student and I want to study medicine at University. The problem is I can't seem to land a work placement at a GP surgery, Hospital and Hospice, and I'm getting very anxious and frustrated.

I know of GapMedics, but I can't really afford the cost of travel, and I would have really wanted to go. :frown:

Any advice as to what I should do if I don't get any work experience at any of these work places.

Ask around at several hospitals/surgeries outside of your local area, not just your local ones. A lot of the time they won't allow you to shadow at a local practice because you might know some of the patients. Even if it takes you a while to get there you'll only be doing it for a week or so. Also, it might be a good idea to go in and ask in person.

Reply 2

Chi-

Yeah go to various hospitals and ask in person, if you can maybe directly asking a doctor or any nurses rather than reception.
If you can't get any work experience at all take out volunteering in a health care environment like a care home, unis know how hard it is to find work experience so if you say that you volunteered in a care home instead it should be fine. Also maybe ask your GP.

Reply 3

em.d_4

17

Original post by studiouslilgirl

I'm currently a year 12 student and I want to study medicine at University. The problem is I can't seem to land a work placement at a GP surgery, Hospital and Hospice, and I'm getting very anxious and frustrated.

I know of GapMedics, but I can't really afford the cost of travel, and I would have really wanted to go. :frown:

Any advice as to what I should do if I don't get any work experience at any of these work places.

I had similar issues as hospitals and hospices in my area are very unwilling to do work experience unless it's through a family contact :frown:

However, try care homes and old people's homes as a lot of low level care happens here and it's a good chance to improve people skills. One tip is be persistent call 100 times if you have to, these people are busy and you're not a priority there's nothing wrong with being pushy!
I also volunteer for a sports charity which works with disabled people especially children and young people. While unis say they understand a lack of hospital and gp work voluntary work isn't too hard to find so don't miss out on that.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 4

BeanofJelly

15

Obtaining medical work experience can be very difficult - this is a chance for you to approach the problem with perseverance and flexibility. Do you think work in a medical setting (whilst ideal) is the only way you can explore and demonstrate the values and attributes of Tomorrow's Doctors (or "Welcome to Medicine" I believe is the latest publication)?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 5

Asklepios

19

Original post by studiouslilgirl

I'm currently a year 12 student and I want to study medicine at University. The problem is I can't seem to land a work placement at a GP surgery, Hospital and Hospice, and I'm getting very anxious and frustrated.

I know of GapMedics, but I can't really afford the cost of travel, and I would have really wanted to go. :frown:

Any advice as to what I should do if I don't get any work experience at any of these work places.

I'm afraid quite a lot of these things get organised through 'contacts' rather than a formal application procedure. It might be worth asking the school - I know my school tried to get a list of contacts of parents in various careers for work experience. Your GP (not the receptionist but the actual GP) might be able to help you out too. Larger teaching hospitals are also more likely to have a formalised work experience application thing.

Reply 6

Helloworld_95

19

Ask your GP if they can recommend you to another doctor. Try private practices as they may be more willing to take on students.

Reply 7

username1236842

8

I'd have thought a private practice would be less likely to have school students sitting in. If I was paying to see a doctor I wouldn't expect there to be onlookers.
I'd go down the residential home/ disabled childrens' clubs route. If I google voluntary work and my county then an organisation comes up and their website has a list of voluntary work including work with disabled children, helping blind people and hundreds of other things. It narrows down when you look for jobs you can do aged under 18 and when you select the time of day you can do it but there should be something you can do.
If you're willing to do regular work in a care home you may get paid work. Disabled children respite clubs often meet once a week in the evening or in school holidays. Help the aged (they have a new name that I can't remember) may also have opportunities.

Reply 8

studiouslilgirl

OP

Thank you for all of the replies. They are all helpful. I have started to do voluntary work at a hospice's charity shop, and I'm trying to find other work experience.

Reply 9

Bow Tie

14

A lot of NHS hospital trusts usually have a volunteering programme that you can hook on to. I'm volunteering in the A&E department as a Patient Advice and Liaison Assistant (posh name for a survey filler) which I got through the hospital after a bit of pushing (although I kind of formed the volunteering spot I'm in...). Try asking some of the hospitals near you?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 10

MurphyDanni

I've applied for medicine this year and I know how hard it can be!! Like others have said, be persistent and send rounds lots of letters and make repetitive phone calls. Even just sitting in with the receptionist may be useful because then you can find out how a GP's surgery works and get a feel for the environment. Personally I did some voluntary work with disabled children and with the elderly. Medical care also takes place in these environments and from the application process and from writing my personal statement, the medical schools want to see that you've gone out of your way to sample things and can also look back and reflect on what you've learnt. Whenever you do do any voluntary work I'd advise keeping a diary, makes writing the personal statement a lot easier! Good luck when you finally start applying :smile:

Reply 11

nexttime

22

Original post by studiouslilgirl

Thank you for all of the replies. They are all helpful. I have started to do voluntary work at a hospice's charity shop, and I'm trying to find other work experience.

Its very easy to see med school's 'we understand its hard...' statements and give up. I strongly advise that you don't.

Phone people up, go to places in person, do whatever it takes.

Medical school is extremely competitive and having even the slightest disadvantage could well mean you don't get in and change your life forever. Its well worth being a little pushy just this once given what's at stake. Its their fault for not having a formal applications process anyway - the current system is a bastion of anti-meritocracy and keeping it in the family/with private schools who arrange these things for you. You have no reason to feel ashamed of getting what you need - its fallen into the lap of many, but not for you. That's not your fault.

Reply 12

Student 1

Original post by studiouslilgirl

I'm currently a year 12 student and I want to study medicine at University. The problem is I can't seem to land a work placement at a GP surgery, Hospital and Hospice, and I'm getting very anxious and frustrated.

I know of GapMedics, but I can't really afford the cost of travel, and I would have really wanted to go. :frown:

Any advice as to what I should do if I don't get any work experience at any of these work places.

I wouldn't do Gap Medics, as that is just paying for what you could have organised yourself. It is difficult and as others have said I would encourage you to apply outside of the area you live in-perhaps this will make travelling awkward, but this is unlikely to be for longer than 5 days anyway! Have you tried nursing homes? Disability centres? Another tip for hospital placements is go on big university hospital websites (in cities) and they usually have some form of work shadowing you can apply for ! Good luck :biggrin:

Reply 13

shiggydiggy

12

I think I literally sent out maybe 30-40 letters to get GP shadowing. In the end I had placements with two seperate practices.

Hospitals generally have a work experience coordinator. You need to dig through their website to find it (often hidden under employment/join us/education/careers pages). Failing that, give them a ring and find out who to send your request directly. As I say, most hospitals will have a work experience scheme. The usual barriers are not applying early enough or sending it to the wrong department or person.

Don't bother with gap medics or any of that nonsense.

Reply 14

PG593

13

GP surgeries are near impossible to get unless you know someone because of this catch-22 situation, you usually have to be a med student to gain experience there but at the same time you need to have a little exp. to obviously get into medicine.

Go do some volunteering at a local hospice or residential care home, those are the easiest to get and in the meantime try land a shadowing post at the hospitals, the more you contact, the better your odds. Good luck :smile:

Reply 15

legache

13

I tried back in year 10 and was too young, but my friends got placements at pharmacies which was good. And I think the NHS have information on their website about placements in hospitals.
Care homes could be an option too :smile:

Unable to gain medical work experience

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