Work experience and volunteering for sixth formers

Any suggestion or advice for how to find volunteering jobs that last for at least six weeks? Also how to find working experience do you just keep sending emails to different work places until you succeed?🙏

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

What area are you trying to find work experience or volunteering in, and for what purpose? That might help people recommend more specific approaches :smile:

Reply 2

jisalone

Original post

by artful_lounger

What area are you trying to find work experience or volunteering in, and for what purpose? That might help people recommend more specific approaches :smile:

It's for my ucas personal statement...I'm aiming for something that show you care for the others🤔

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by jisalone

It's for my ucas personal statement...I'm aiming for something that show you care for the others🤔

For what subject/field?

Reply 4

jisalone

Original post

by artful_lounger

For what subject/field?

I'm thinking about dentistry or anything related to medics, and I was told that for volunteering a job, it doesn't have to be directly related to dentistry as long as it shows your commitment to caring. So I am thinking what is the most suitable one for me and for my personal statement?

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by jisalone

Yes, for healthcare degrees usually the emphasis is more on you experiencing a caring role and then you reflecting on your experiences in that :smile:

There's a reference thread in the medicine forum about volunteering and work experience here that might be helpful to read: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6929328

It's more medicine focused in terms of specifics but I imagine some of the general points apply for dentistry as well :h:

I think for securing a placement it would just be case of contacting different places, make sure you also leave your details so if they have something open up in future they can let you know.

Also try asking about shadowing opportunities - and not just for your desired role (e.g. dentist) but also other roles which work around/support them (e.g. dental hygienists/nurses, even perhaps the office/admin staff in a dental surgery) as that will likely all give you a better idea of how dentistry works overall as a profession (remembering you'll need to work with all those kinds of people as a dentist on a daily basis too so knowing what they do and where their care ends and yours begins and vice versa is probably useful!). It will also give you opportunities to understand the overall patient journey in dentistry beyond when they're in your chair which will hopefully give you lots of things to reflect on :biggrin:

For other things though try casting a wide net and not just within dentistry - care homes, hospices, charities supporting vulnerable people/people with long term conditions, GP surgeries, hospitals, etc, all might have opportunities to experience work experience/observation in/of a caring role to reflect on.

Reply 6

jisalone

Original post

by artful_lounger

Yes, for healthcare degrees usually the emphasis is more on you experiencing a caring role and then you reflecting on your experiences in that :smile:

There's a reference thread in the medicine forum about volunteering and work experience here that might be helpful to read: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6929328
It's more medicine focused in terms of specifics but I imagine some of the general points apply for dentistry as well :h:

I think for securing a placement it would just be case of contacting different places, make sure you also leave your details so if they have something open up in future they can let you know.
Also try asking about shadowing opportunities - and not just for your desired role (e.g. dentist) but also other roles which work around/support them (e.g. dental hygienists/nurses, even perhaps the office/admin staff in a dental surgery) as that will likely all give you a better idea of how dentistry works overall as a profession (remembering you'll need to work with all those kinds of people as a dentist on a daily basis too so knowing what they do and where their care ends and yours begins and vice versa is probably useful!). It will also give you opportunities to understand the overall patient journey in dentistry beyond when they're in your chair which will hopefully give you lots of things to reflect on :biggrin:

Thank you so much this is very helpful🙏

Reply 7

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Original post

by jisalone

Hi,

You’re right that for dentistry or other medical fields, volunteering or work experience doesn’t have to be directly in dentistry. What matters most is that it demonstrates your commitment to caring for others, your communication skills, and your ability to work as part of a team.

Some suggestions include:
•Hospitals or clinics: Helping with patient support, reception work, or shadowing staff. Even non-clinical roles show responsibility and exposure to healthcare.
•Care homes: Spending time with residents, assisting with activities, or helping staff. This shows empathy and patience.
•Charities or community volunteering: Working with people in need, fundraising
•Schools or youth work: Helping with mentoring, tutoring, or activities. This shows communication skills and teamwork.
•Dental practices or clinics: If possible, even short shadowing placements can give useful insight into the profession.

The key is to reflect on what you learn from these experiences in your personal statement, rather than just the role itself.

Hope this helps,

Tayba
Student Rep