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Medicine

How much clinical work experience would you recommend getting in person and work experience as a whole for medicine applicants?
Original post by neha_issac
How much clinical work experience would you recommend getting in person and work experience as a whole for medicine applicants?


You do not actually need any.

Yes. Read that again. You need never set foot in a genuinely clinical environment- Universities know that it is very difficult to secure work experience. I've been told some places have waiting lists months or years into the future.

What you do need, however, is some experience of patient/customer facing roles, and ideally some experience of care itself. Care homes, volunteer organisations, community hospitals, community nurses all this kind of thing. I spent a great deal of time in a number of places all arranged by my local community hospital. I spent time with the district nurses, podiatrists, diabetic nurses, radiographer, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, pharmacists. This was all very, very useful. I also spent time working with homelessness/social care type charities. I would like to have had some experience of youth and disability volunteer work but I didn't secure it in time before applying.

Think about what interests you, what might be useful in future as a medical student or doctor and make sure you keep a detailed diary of everywhere you go and what you do and reflect heavily on what you learnt before you sit your med school interviews.
Hi, I'm not sure how much I need thought as I've only done 3 days work experience in a care home as part of school work experience but I'm not sure if I should go do more there and opt for that over clinical work experience?
Also I don't think I can get that kind of work experience at such short notice.
Original post by ErasistratusV
You do not actually need any.
Yes. Read that again. You need never set foot in a genuinely clinical environment- Universities know that it is very difficult to secure work experience. I've been told some places have waiting lists months or years into the future.
What you do need, however, is some experience of patient/customer facing roles, and ideally some experience of care itself. Care homes, volunteer organisations, community hospitals, community nurses all this kind of thing. I spent a great deal of time in a number of places all arranged by my local community hospital. I spent time with the district nurses, podiatrists, diabetic nurses, radiographer, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, pharmacists. This was all very, very useful. I also spent time working with homelessness/social care type charities. I would like to have had some experience of youth and disability volunteer work but I didn't secure it in time before applying.
Think about what interests you, what might be useful in future as a medical student or doctor and make sure you keep a detailed diary of everywhere you go and what you do and reflect heavily on what you learnt before you sit your med school interviews.

Excellent advice.

OP. Google the RCGP reflective diary (and ignore the first few pages on applications as they are out of date - but the diary itself is great). Work through it. Have a look at the values for doctors and think about them, where you have seen them displayed by a doctor, and where you can evidence having displayed it. Have you done Observe GP and BSMS online?

Any of the places like hotels, shops, any public facing job will help with many of them.

Many med school selection processes will not consider your PS at all ( but those that do, look at it carefully. You need to know which you are applying for).

The point of this being that if your med school doesn't look at it in great detail before selection for interview, or even at interview, you have a lot more time to gain experience and reflect on it than you think you do.
If you want one solid piece of advice that applies to all medical schools, you need to read the GMC's guidance for medical students and understand it inside and out, and know how it might apply to your life as a medical student. This document outlines the fact that your degree is not just any other degree but requires certain commitments from you.

https://www.gmc-uk.org/education/standards-guidance-and-curricula/guidance/student-professionalism-and-ftp/achieving-good-medical-practice

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