Work Experience

So I said in my previous post that I'd take you through my process of applying for work experience at hospitals, and what I did for work experience.

If you're in year 10, 11 or 12 and considering studying Medicine, I literally urge you right now to get some work experience in a caring setting - whether it's a hospital, care home, school for disabled children - just get something so that you can find out if being a doctor is for you!

I didn't decide that I wanted to study Medicine until January of my year 12 year, and so I only had 9 months to try and get as much as possible. I applied to my local hospital for work experience, and then emailed loads of London hospitals about trying to get some work experience with them. All of these attempts were unsuccessful though, and I didn't manage to get any hospital work experience:(

So I turned to some different options. I went on a trip with my school to Lourdes with the HCPT, where I volunteered with looking after disabled children for a week. Then I got some work experience volunteering in a childrens hospice throughout the summer - I only worked in the kitchen but it just got me used to the caring environment and introduced me to a new medical environment. I also managed to get a week of work experience working in a school with disabled children. This was my favourite piece of work experience and I absolutely loved it. I got see the physiotherapists working with them in the hydrotherapy pool, and see how their teachers communicated with them. I also got to speak to the doctor who worked at the school and he gave me some really helpful advice. If I end up taking a gap year next year, I definitely want to go back and get some work experience there again.

And then in October, after I submitted my UCAS form, I got a stroke of luck! My auntie's friend offered to give me some work experience at a hospital in London. It was only for a day but it was SO useful. The amount of experience I got from just one day of working there was amazing, so if you get a week in a hospital you're soooo lucky. This meant that I had something to talk about in my interviews that wasn't on my personal statement, and it meant that I actually could speak about my hospital experience. It also really reinforced the fact that I wanted to work in a hospital, and got me really excited about wanting to be a doctor. I also got to speak to a medical student, a consultant and a registrar whilst I was there and so I was able to speak to people who were at loads of different stages in their medical career. So even if you get work experience after submitting your UCAS form, don't worry! It will help you so much in your interviews and then if you have to take a gap year you can talk about it then as well!

I also spoke to somebody who worked in the NHS, an anaesthetist, my GP and other medical students to see what life was like as a doctor and to get some more information about different roles. I would definitely advise this, because it's so useful to hear things from different people's perspectives, and it'll give you some ideas for points to make in your interview.

I hope this has given you some good pointers for where to start looking for work experience. You definitely should try and get some volunteering work as soon as possible, and then try to get something in a hospital or other caring setting! And use any contacts you have, don't be shy!

Hope this helped!