Medicine work experience year 12

I find it incredibly difficult to find a place where I live in Kent. However, my mum has friends within the medical profession in Germany who would be able to take me for work shadowing in a hospital and GP practice. Has anyone done a foreign work experience and will the Unis in the UK accept it? Thanks

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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Reply 2

purple_13

Original post by AndreaAlman

I feel like doing work experience like this oversees is not going to be worth it, medicals schools don't really care about this as they understand how difficult medical shadowing experience is to get.
You defiantly need work experience in a public facing role for an extended period of time like volunteering at care home/charity shop or a customer service part time job anything that you could link to being a good doctor.

I'm in y13 and I've just got an medical offer and I only did two days at a hospital but had loads of other experience that I talked about in my PS and interview. One of my friends got an offer as well and she didn't do any shadowing. I used NHS talent academy to find nearby medical shadowing opportunities - i did have to travel a few hours for them because I couldn't find any nearby either

Reply 3

circusqueen

I appreciate that it is really hard to get work experience especially shadowing a doctor or medical teams. Esp if you are young.

It's also really generous of somebody in Germany to offer to help.

I agree with the above poster, keep plugging away in UK. Get a public facing role, cafe or similar, volunteer in a care home. Do BSMS online and observe GP and reflect hard on what you see. And keep trying for formal work experience/shadowing.

With regards to the Germany offer, several unis won't accept it as evidence of work experience. Some specifically say experience overseas won't be considered. So bear that in mind and don't spend a fortune on medical tourism.

However, work experience is an odd one because med schools seem to want/ need evidence of it. But what they really want is evidence that you have looked into medicine and are absolutely sure that it is what you want to do. So it may not qualify on the tix box front, but it might help you be sure in your own mind. And reflection is always good.

Reply 4

Aerial125

Whether, UK universities accept work experience overseas is accepted or not- all experience is valid and will grow your knowledge of medicine holistically. It is not the work experience, but what what you learn from it that matters! I think that comparisons between difference healthcare systems are enormously beneficial and will help you to provide informed answers during interview stations. As well as the above, voluntary work in a local care home would be good use of your time.
Good luck and take a year out if necessary. My daughter took a year out to work, volunteer and travel and she was so prepared for med school when she started.