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work experience

I need to get a placement at a hospital or health centre as I am hoping to apply to medicine. Does anyone know how I would go about getting a place because I really don't know where to start! Thanks!

Reply 1

MadLy

xpurple_starsx

I need to get a placement at a hospital or health centre as I am hoping to apply to medicine. Does anyone know how I would go about getting a place because I really don't know where to start! Thanks!

Depends whether you want voluntary work or shadowing.......voluntary work is always easier to find :wink:

In both cases, just send a letter to the hospital, or ring them up and ask.

Reply 2

DivineComedy

Hi there,

I have 2 places at vet school, but i've done a LOT of medical work experience in my time, due to my indecisiveness, and lack of confidence that I could get into vet school! I know how difficult it can be to get medical experience, but EVERYTHING helps....

I was very lucky in that Leicester, where I live, they did an observation week at their 3 hospitals, where sixth formers could go and observe professionals in loads of different departments, I saw lots of ENT surgery, general surgery, consultancy, radiography, endoscopy, etc. So ask at your local hospital (if it's a university hospital) if they do such a thing. If they don't then ask if you could shadow someone anyway. Be persistant and you might be surprised! Oh, also ISCO do some courses but your school has to be a member...try... www.isco.org.uk

Your local GP may accept you to sit in on some consultations if you ask nicely, and any other experience is very relevant, such as sports injury clinics, physiotherapy centres, I went to watch an osteopath... it doesn't have to be doctors you're watching, as long as its vaguely medical.

Saying that, most universities aren't just looking for 'medical' work, but are very happy with experience that shows a demonstration of your ability to work with the public, so go spend lots of time helping lots of different groups of people, volunteering at an old peoples home/nursery/school/special needs centre etc all count towards valuable people work experience. Write loads and loads of letters to anyone you can think of, get out the yellow pages!

Hope I've helped in some way or another, good luck and be persistent and you'll get there! :biggrin:

Ali

xxxx

Reply 3

Fluffy

xpurple_starsx

I need to get a placement at a hospital or health centre as I am hoping to apply to medicine. Does anyone know how I would go about getting a place because I really don't know where to start! Thanks!

Try visiting www.admissionsforum.co.uk - addresses for my hospitals 'volunteer services' depts are posted on there.

fx

Reply 4

Sapphira

If you want work experience in a GP practice, you have to contact one that you are not registered with.

For hospital work, I had to go through the voluntary service department. Make sure you're specific that you want medically related work experience as i got put behind a desk in outpatients and had to arrange visits to different departments myself!

If you want more community related experience, contact your local care home for the elderly. I was able to go to one near me once a week and help feed/read/chat to the residents. I also helped out in a nursery school to show evidence of working with younger people - you may need a police check to do this though!

Good luck! :smile:

Reply 5

Fluffy

Sapphira

If you want work experience in a GP practice, you have to contact one that you are not registered with.

I did w/e with my own GP. So did several peeps I know.

Reply 6

mjf

Like Divine Comedy - Im going to do Veterinary medicine, but managed to get some medical work experience too...for the same reasons! :biggrin:

Basically you can phone up the hospitals and ask to speak to someone who could possibly help you out. Thats what I did and was offered two weeks work experience in a General Surgery ward.
Care homes/nursing homes usually are really happy to have someone to help out on sundays etc as long as they have their head switched on and have some common sense! Sounds silly I know, but some people dont like people and think that they will be good doctors! Usually if you write to them, you may have to wait a while, but by phoning they have to give you an answer there and then.
If you can get any lab work too - that will be different to what other people have done, as well as learning a little about social work and maybe a day or two in a hospice?
Just a few ideas...