Work Experience

Hey guys!

Today’s post is going to be about work experience – perhaps the most critical part of your preparation for becoming a doctor, or indeed, any other healthcare career, like dentistry or veterinary medicine.

I’m sure many of you are aware of just how difficult it is nowadays for us to get clinical placements, but I was informed at Medlink that universities understand this, so don’t worry if you haven’t been able to get hold of many of this sort. There are other options! Arguably one of the most important skills needed in the healthcare field is communication. Therefore, any placement that involves talking to people, even those seemingly unrelated, like at supermarkets, would be valuable in developing these. However, more relevant options include:

·         GP Surgeries – This is usually a more accessible option compared to hospital placements, however, I would recommend trying surgeries other than your own. I was denied a placement at my own GP surgery on the basis of confidentiality, since many of the patients would be local to my area.

·         Hospitals – This is exceedingly difficult to get hold of, especially without connections. I was unable to get a placement at either of the major NHS hospitals in my area due to the fact I’m under 18. However, I have heard of some success stories in other cities, such as Nottingham and London. Unfortunately, these are usually only for local students, so in many cases, even if you are willing to travel, this may not be possible.

·          Dentists – This is a great place to get clinical work experience, even if you don’t want to do dentistry. Many surgeries are more than happy to have students, and it’s a great opportunity to consider another surgical healthcare field.

·         Voluntary work – This can be anywhere, from Scouts and GirlGuiding to charity shops and hospices. They’re always looking for people to help out for a good cause! This is a very rewarding opportunity to develop those communication skills, and give something back to your community. More often than not, voluntary work opens up the option of something more long term, for even just an hour a week. I’ve heard countless times that this is seen as being very valuable in showing commitment in applications.

·         Nursing/Care Homes – This is often done as voluntary work, but I thought this deserved a special mention. What makes this a particularly good option is the opportunity to interact with many elderly people that have illnesses, and learn about how this affects them personally. Again, your time at the care home will be greatly appreciated, especially  by the residents, who really value you making an effort to spend time with them.

·         Special Schools – Although I haven’t done a placement in this type of setting before, my friends have told me how valuable this was for them. They were taken aback by the inspiring determination with which the students led their lives, eager to not let their disabilities hold them back.

·         Pharmacies/Dispensaries – This is particularly interesting for those of you with an interest in biochemistry or pharmacology too, as I do. As someone who works at a pharmacy, I find it intriguing to discover what does what, and why you’d choose one blood pressure tablet over another, and so on. It’s also a great opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team including sales assistants, health care assistants, dispensers and pharmacists. It’s surprising what handy knowledge you can just pick up by listening in on a two minute consultation about a baby’s cough.

·         A placement abroad - This is a fantastic opportunity to discover how healthcare provision varies around the world. There are many organisations that will organise the majority of things for you: GapMedics and Projects Abroad are two examples of these. However, there are loads of options and they can be quite expensive, so do your research!

I thought I’d briefly mention what I’ve done, in case anyone has any questions that I can help with:

·         2 GP Surgery Placements

·         1 week at a private hospital

·         A Saturday job at a pharmacy

·         Weekly volunteering with a brownies unit

·         Weekly primary school mentoring

·         A few weeks with a preschool

·         A placement with a dentist

To come:

·         A placement at a care home in December

·         A placement at a hospital in India next summer

Words of Advice:

·         Take notes. Whether this is the occasional scribble during the day, or writing down what you learnt while reflecting on your time at the setting on your bus rides home, this is vital if you want to remember what you’ve done. This is useful when it comes to writing applications, so you can say more than “I did a week of work experience at the dentists”, and actually say what you’ve taken from it.

·         When it comes to asking around for work experience, make sure you’re talking to the right people. When I was applying for a placement at a care home, I was inadvertently repeatedly hassling a cleaner for it over the phone. She was unaware of the fact that they offered work experience, and insisted that I was old enough to apply for a permanent job there instead… I wasn’t!

·         When you’ve got a placement, make sure you enquire about dress codes in advance.  These vary significantly from place to place – I was told that jeans and a smart top were sufficient at one of the GP surgeries, whereas the dentist surgery told me that a white blouse and black smart work trousers were necessary. For the latter, I didn’t actually own a pair of trousers, so it meant a shopping trip was needed – this isn’t always possible if you only find out the dress code the previous night.

·         This one might be obvious, but be thankful, polite and curious throughout your placement. This will enable you to get the most of your time there, and also, for want of a better phrase: make them like you. This is important because they might say something particularly lovely about you in a reference, which can then be used by your school teachers in your UCAS reference.

·         Don’t just talk to your supervisor about whatever they're showing you at that point in time, but also, if you have the opportunity particularly during breaks, talk to them about how they find their job too – they might have some information for you from a different perspective.

·         START PLANNING EARLY!! Can’t stress this one enough. Start enquiring about placements at least a few months before you intend to do them, and be flexible about what you’ll do. If a setting can only have you for two days, still take them! Make sure you’re extra alert and get the most from them. Make sure you plan your summer, particularly those at the end of year 11 and 12, and write down potential weeks on the calendar so things don’t get in the way.

·         Most importantly: Keep trying. You will get turned down from places, but try elsewhere! Send generic emails to various settings, ring them up, go visit them and talk to them face to face – just keep chasing it, without nagging or being rude. These are busy people, and they often forget – this doesn’t mean they won’t take you though!

I hope today's post has helped some of you. Good luck!

Thanks for reading :)