Guide to work experience and how to make it count
Work experience is vital for anyone who is considering applying for medicine. It not only helps you to decide if medicine is the right course for you, but shows you're committed and want to know more about the vocation. The ability to personal reflection on what you have learnt both about yourself and about medicine through work experience, is the key aspect medical schools are looking for when they assess your work experience (through the personal statement, and often in interviews). Medical schools are also looking for students who have gained a varied experience of healthcare, ranging from community to hospital care.
Make sure you have a rough idea of where you want to apply (hospitals, GP setting, care home) as different medical schools have different work experience requirements, and you can find them online or you can contact your chosen universities and browse through their course catalogues.Although the gold standard would be to apply for as many as possible, the more experience you get the better informed your decision to apply for medicine will be!
How to secure a placement
Make the most of any contacts you have; relatives, neighbours or friends. Anyone who works in healthcare, both in hospital and in the community.
Get in touch with GPs practices, and explain who you are and ask for their help, generally speaking they are friendly and willing to take you on!
If you're in school, ask your teachers, these guys have gone through multiple years of prospective medical students and then know the easiest and most efficient ways to get some work experience.
Find out which hospitals offer placements (not all hospitals do).
Lastly, there are many resources on the internet (like this blog!) to find out information on how to achieve work placements.
While you're on placement, it's critical to tell your placement supervisor what you hope to get out of it and let them know if there is anything in particular that you would like to do or learn whilst you're there. As medical students, you may not be able to participate in all the routine procedures, but it is always worth asking and this shows eagerness!
Observe the doctors carefully and shadow everything they do. It's important that you understand what it is like to work in a medical setting as this may fuel your ambition to pursue a career in medicine. Also keep a log or a diary of what you did and what you saw. This can help solidify what you learnt, and is also an important reference tool when you are writing a personal statement and preparing for your medical school interviews.
Other benefits of work experience is that it gives you the opportunity to develop some transferable skills; skills that are useful in the job, such as communication, teamwork and time management. This will not only help you in your transition into university, but will also be useful throughout your medical career.
The most important part of your work experience is what you have taken from it. Make sure to ask the doctor if you are confused or lost, this will not only show eagerness but will also help you to remember the interaction a lot more. What you did is only half the story: make sure you show the medical school what attributes you demonstrated and what you learnt. It’s crucial that you absorb every part of your placement, from understanding the role of receptionists working behind desks to doctors performing surgeries and the nurses assisting, as they all work in a multidisciplinary team.
As the NHS is tackling COVID-19, you might find that work experience programmes and placements aren't available, especially in clinical settings. However, some work experience placements are offering temporary online placements, so don’t be afraid to get in touch with GP practices/hospitals to see if this opportunity is available to you.
