Gaining experience

Gaining experience for applying to Medical School

Gaining relevant experience is a key part of your application to medical school.

Where to start

Relevant experience is essential for applying to medical school. You will need to be able to show how you have developed interpersonal skills.

You'll also need to understand what makes good patient care. Patients often feel vulnerable, angry or distressed, and you’ll need to know how to respond.

However, your experience doesn't have to be shadowing a doctor or in a clinical setting.

Stay up to date

You also need to keep up-to-date with developments in healthcare through the press. You could start by looking at:

Is your current experience relevant enough?

If you gained related experience while at school, you’ll need to get more recent experience. This will reflect your continued dedication to the profession.

If your experience was overseas, you usually need to gain UK-based experience too.

You’ll need a good understanding of the NHS. This is particularly true for accelerated/graduate entry courses. It helps then, to get experience within the UK system.

More information

The following give more information on what is seen as relevant experience.

• Medical Schools Council work experience information sheet
• Guidance on relevant experience for applying to medical school - from the Medical School Council
• Medic Portal -includes the type of work experience preferred by specific Medical Schools.
• Getting experience | Health Careers
• The RCGP's Doctor, doctor... How do I get work experience? - GP Work Experience Toolkit - advises doctors on how to run a work experience programme. Can be helpful for candidates when asking for work experience with a GP.
• BMA Work experience - advice for students

See our Healthcare page Gaining Experience section for more relevant opportunities.

Where to find experience

Healthcare and care work roles

Many medical school applicants volunteer in healthcare or take part-time care work roles. This involves contact with vulnerable people of different ages. It also exposes you to challenging situations.

Care work gives you an understanding of people ‘in crises’ outside traditional healthcare settings. This could be with, for example, the elderly, homeless or at-risk people.

Care work can develop your listening, empathy and communication skills. This can enable you be a more effective practitioner.

Examples of relevant experience in a medical or health related field include:

• hospital healthcare assistant
• care assistant in a hospice or residential/nursing home or for an individual
• community work with disabled adults or children
• St John Ambulance volunteer
• patient advice and liaison service officer
• shadowing doctors or other medical/health staff

Paid opportunities

Find paid opportunities on the following sites:

• MyCareer - log in to find internships, placements and part-time jobs. Often advertises personal carer, care assistant and support worker vacancies
• NHS Jobs - includes part-time jobs
• Universal Jobmatch – advertises part-time care assistant and similar roles
• Recruitment agencies often have temporary and part-time vacancies in social care
• jobsgopublic - includes part-time vacancies in social care
• Community Care Jobs
• CharityJOB - occasional part-time care assistant vacancies
• Probation and social work - see jobs section for part-time care and support vacancies

Voluntary experience

You can find relevant voluntary experience at:

• Go Volunteer - based in the Students’ Union. They have a wide range of relevant volunteering projects. You could volunteer with refugees, the elderly, or children. You could also work with disabled people or those with mental health problems.
• Do-it - opportunities across the UK in a wide range of opportunities. Includes disability, drugs and addictions, health and social care, mental health, the elderly.
• St John Ambulance

Some volunteering opportunities are available in the NHS. Contact NHS Trusts to find out what is available or see links below for opportunities in the North East.

Our Volunteering pages also have opportunities and organisations offering overseas projects. There is usually a cost involved in these. An online search will also bring up many more organisations. We recommend doing your research before handing over any money.

Opportunities in North East NHS Foundation Trusts

Listed below are work experience, volunteering, and shadowing opportunities we are aware of. These are from local health providers. Other local GP practices and NHS trusts may offer extra opportunities.

Clinical pressures and COVID19, means some Trusts are not accepting work experience applications. Make sure you check details and eligibility criteria, as these are subject to change.

• Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumbria . Placements are subject to availability. See also volunteering opportunities
• Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – work experience with Northumbria Healthcare
• Careers and training - Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust - includes virtual opportunities and volunteering
• Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust – QE Gateshead – volunteering opportunities
• South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust – work experience and volunteering
• North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust – volunteering opportunities
• County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust – volunteer information
• North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust - volunteer opportunities
• South Tees NHS Foundation Trust – South Tees Hospitals – work experience and volunteering

Shadowing and hospital experience

Shadowing health professionals can provide valuable experience. You will be observing rather than conducting patient interactions or procedures.

Making contacts gives suggestions of potential contacts to approach. NHS service search tool details local health teams you could contact about shadowing.

Hospitals sometimes offer shadowing. Pressures on staff mean that they can’t always provide the level of supervision to meet demand. Placements may only last a few days and sometimes take place in term-time.

Some hospitals have a specific staff member who deals with placements. If so, they will prefer that you didn’t contact consultants directly.

Check the hospital/NHS Trust website for information. If you can't find this information, ring the hospital switchboard. Ask to speak to the placement co-ordinator.

Other relevant experience

Taking part in other experiences such as those listed below can be valuable. You can include them in your application. It is how you reflect on these experiences and communicate this that is important.

• Observe GP - is an alternative to work experience for aspiring medics aged 16 and over, who are living in the UK. This is a free interactive video platform. It provides insights into the role of a GP and the wider primary care team. Registration is required.
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School free virtual work experience course - explore different medical specialties.
• The GMC and NHS England free virtual reality app - insight into a patient's journey to GP practice.