The Student Room Group

Work experience

I am currently studying on year 12 in school.I just need work experience for 30th June to 4th of July. because I want to go to medicine because I want to go to medicine in future,I just tried several hospitals and care home but I don’t know how to get it. I just emailed everyone and also I visited some places, if I go there they said “go just check it in online or email them” then if I emailed them they didn’t reply to me so I don’t know what can I do? Do you have any ideas?

Reply 1

Original post
by Best for all
I am currently studying on year 12 in school.I just need work experience for 30th June to 4th of July. because I want to go to medicine because I want to go to medicine in future,I just tried several hospitals and care home but I don’t know how to get it. I just emailed everyone and also I visited some places, if I go there they said “go just check it in online or email them” then if I emailed them they didn’t reply to me so I don’t know what can I do? Do you have any ideas?

For med there are two different types of work experience: long term volunteering (important to a med application) and short term shadowing (very interesting but not at all necessary)

Care home experience should be for long term volunteering. Also good places include hospices, disability centres, children’s activities (basically any organisation that works with vulnerable people) You should email with an attached CV any care home or other place nearby saying you are seeking a regular, weekly time to volunteer and why your want to do it and do it there. No specific days or times need to be mentioned yet as that can be negotiated if they are interested. It takes a good few weeks to organise as you will need to be DBS checked and references will be sought.

To get a week or a few days of shadowing experience is much harder unless you personally know any doctors. Remember though that you do NOT need to have this kind of experience as medical schools know it disadvantages applicants from non-medical backgrounds. You can none-the-less try for this by emailing your local hospitals and GP centres. Address your emails to an actual doctor if you can find their contact details. Be succinct and flexible with when you could do it (you can do it any holiday this year and any weekend!) Ask your local big teaching hospital if they run any summer schools or career info events (my daughter did a free, week long, pathology summer school and two half-day tours/talks on orthoptics and ODP at ours).

There are excellent, free, online courses you can do at your own convenience, to add to your knowledge of how the nhs works and what doctors do, such as: Observe GP and BSMS virtual work experience. These also count as ‘work experience’ to med schools.

Keep a diary of the things you see/hear/do and feel while doing any work experience activity, as you will need to reflect on these in your personal statement questions and at interviews.
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

Original post
by Songbird19
For med there are two different types of work experience: long term volunteering (important to a med application) and short term shadowing (very interesting but not at all necessary)
Care home experience should be for long term volunteering. Also good places include hospices, disability centres, children’s activities (basically any organisation that works with vulnerable people) You should email with an attached CV any care home or other place nearby saying you are seeking a regular, weekly time to volunteer and why your want to do it and do it there. No specific days or times need to be mentioned yet as that can be negotiated if they are interested. It takes a good few weeks to organise as you will need to be DBS checked and references will be sought.
To get a week or a few days of shadowing experience is much harder unless you personally know any doctors. Remember though that you do NOT need to have this kind of experience as medical schools know it disadvantages applicants from non-medical backgrounds. You can none-the-less try for this by emailing your local hospitals and GP centres. Address your emails to an actual doctor if you can find their contact details. Be succinct and flexible with when you could do it (you can do it any holiday this year and any weekend!) Ask your local big teaching hospital if they run any summer schools or career info events (my daughter did a free, week long, pathology summer school and two half-day tours/talks on orthoptics and ODP at ours).
There are excellent, free, online courses you can do at your own convenience, to add to your knowledge of how the nhs works and what doctors do, such as: Observe GP and BSMS virtual work experience. These also count as ‘work experience’ to med schools.
Keep a diary of the things you see/hear/do and feel while doing any work experience activity, as you will need to reflect on these in your personal statement questions and at interviews.


Thank you so much

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