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Path to apprenticeship?

So this post is for my friend, I tried to help her but it’s so unclear how this all actually works.

She didn’t know what she wanted to do when we left sixth form but in recent years she’s decided she wants to be a psychiatrist (or generally working in the mental health field).
She’s finishing a bachelors in psychology & criminology this June. She juuust missed out on doing the entrance exams for med school this year so she’s going to take a gap year.
She wants to fill this gap year with paid experience, since she doesn’t have any, and we thought some type of internship/apprenticeship would suit her well.

We’ve looked on the gov website for available apprenticeships but we didn’t find any relating to what she wants to do, apart from one but it seems like that one is a degree apprenticeship (which would be fine) but it read like it required her to already have a job in the field and would need the employer to sponsor the degree?

Any advice on how to approach this would be great, or any numbers/companies we can contact would also be a great help! <3

Reply 1

farshaddyy

To be honest, most worthwhile apprenticeships (ones that will award you with a higher level qualification than what she already has, a level 6) will be longer than 1 year like the one you mentioned. So how would she complete a 3/4 year degree apprenticeship if she wants to study medicine next year? Unless she wants to do a lower level apprenticeship which I don't think she's even eligible for since she has a degree so the gov won't fund it for her + isn't going to be beneficial anyway on her CV.

Instead, she should apply to spring weeks, summer placements, ect. Better yet she could take a year out to travel and do things because medicine is 5 years of continuous hell - it's nothing like a bachelors degree. Your summer holidays are shorter, attendance is absolutely mandatory ect. Better to not risk burnout from 8/9 years of continuous study and go do something that you can talk about in your med interviews instead!

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 2

Eleanorld

So I’ve spoken to her and she’s really hell bent on getting experience but with a massive emphasis on it being paid.

Now, I’m not sure if thats possible given that she has no experience but that’s what she’s insisting on..

How would she go about getting summer placements? Would she have to approach individual hospitals or the council maybe?

Reply 3

farshaddyy

It's quite common for people studying medicine to take a gap year before they start uni because they want a break/didn't get the grades and so if she wants an idea of what she can do, she should look online, a few people post their experiences.

I did mention summer placements but really that is non-existent in the medical field. I meant maybe something more closely related to her degree if she's insistent on getting paid and experience. Otherwise, she should just get a normal job and that's actually what most pre-meds do.

The closest thing I can think of is she could work at a hospital, something like a receptionist, cleaner, ect and at her time there, she could ask to shadow and see things up close, get experience in a hospital. That sort of thing is actually quite useful, especially for her UCAS application/interview. And the pay would actually be more than as an apprentice/internship.