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Volunteering with full time shift work

Was wondering if anyone else was in this situation.
I am going to be applying for GEM 2020 with my GAMSAT results and also preparing for entry in 2021.
I work full time as a HCA and am struggling to find volunteering work as my shifts are rather random and would not allow for something that needs a set commitment week to week.
I have an A4 page full of volunteering I did between 2007 - 2012 but have been reading that these experiances would not count towards uni applications e.g. if I wanted to apply to warrick with my UKCAT results they need 20 hours "other" experiance within the last 2-3 years.
Is anyone else working full time in health care and trying to fit in volunteering work? I was wondering how you strike the balance between the two?

Reply 1

nexttime

Are there really med schools who say experience must be voluntary? Seems pretty bizarre, especially for GEM!

If that is the case I'd suggest contacting them to ask if being a full time HCA is adequate. It really should be...

Reply 2

Kittybot

Original post by nexttime

This is from the Warrick GEM page.

"Your experiences (a minimum of two) must demonstrate different aspects of the caring environment and/or be different roles. No single experience can count for more than 50 hours against the total minimum requirement of 70 hours. For example, you might have completed 1200 hours as a healthcare assistant, but this can only count as a maximum of 50 hours against your minimum 70 hours requirement."

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/study/ugr/applying/entryreqs/workex/#reqs

I was rather diappointed when I read it as working in mental health we cover an incredible array of experiances, but at least 20 hours pass quickly if you find the right volunteer position :biggrin: