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Work experience looks good in your application for Medicine because it demonstrates that you have explored what a medical career is really like. Every Medical School wants applicants who have a keen interest in Medicine and have done their research into the realities of being a Doctor.
You will be able to discuss learnings from your work experience in your Personal Statement and at Medical School interviews. No matter what type of work experience you have, it’s important that you can reflect on it and explain what it taught you about a career in Medicine.
Depending on your age group, your work experience can vary. However, you can obtain relevant medical experience if you’re 14, 15, 16 or 17 years old.
Broadly speaking, there are six types of medical work experience:
| Experience | Typical Location | What it could teach you |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital Placement | NHS (or Private) Hospital | How healthcare teams work, the realities of clinical care, and patient interaction. |
| General Practice (GP) Placement | GP Surgery | Communication, continuity of care, and decision-making. |
| International Placement | Healthcare Setting in another Country | How healthcare differs from the UK. |
| Volunteering | Care Home, Hospice, Charity, First Aid Organisation | Empathy, patience, responsibility, communication, and long-term commitment. |
| Allied Healthcare | Pharmacy, Physiotherapist, Other Clinics | The wider roles of healthcare professionals. |
| Virtual Programmes | Online | An introduction to healthcare and different medical careers. |
When you’re applying to Medical Schools, they generally expect you to have some form of work experience that is relevant to Medicine. However, some have more specific requirements than others.
For example, many consider volunteering to be just as valuable as work experience in a clinical setting – and some regard practical experience in a caring/public-facing role over time as more valuable than shadowing a healthcare professional for a short-term placement.
These are all very diverse, but there isn’t one ‘best’ type of work experience.
The important thing is that your experience is people-focused and gives you something meaningful to reflect on – quality matters more than quantity. You don’t need a long list of placements; you need evidence that you’ve explored Medicine realistically and learnt from what you’ve seen.
Admissions Tutors see value in work experience which has:
Check our guide to find out what each Medical School’s work experience requirements are.
Start early and don’t give up. The best way to get medical work experience is to ask – and to be persistent. If you want to get a hospital placement, you’ll probably need to apply with a few NHS Trusts and cast the net wide. If you want to do work experience in a GP practice, it’s likely you’ll need to ask a lot of practices and follow up with them.
It takes a lot of organisation and patience to arrange work experience, so try to start as early as you can. Remember that in the summer before you submit your UCAS application for Medical School, you will need to sit the UCAT and start writing your Personal Statement – so try not to leave all of your work experience until then because you will already be busy with other things to do.
Don’t panic!
Work experience can be surprisingly difficult to arrange, particularly for younger students. A lack of hospital or GP experience doesn’t mean you can’t make a strong Medical School application.
If you can’t get clinical experience, look for opportunities to work or volunteer with people. You can develop many of the skills and insights needed for Medicine outside of a hospital.
If you’re still struggling to arrange an experience, make sure you look into volunteering and virtual work experience opportunities such as our Volunteering & Reflection Programme. Our partner InvestIN also runs a medicine summer school course where you get to experience medical work in a real hospital setting. We also offer work experience tutoring where you can speak to a medical student who’s been through it all, and get help with your applications.
This is arguably the most important part.
Just saying what happened during your placement doesn’t tell an Admissions Tutor very much. Instead, ask yourself:
For example, if you observed a Doctor explaining something difficult to a patient, don’t just say “I saw good communication.”
Think about what made the communication effective (e.g. how the doctor adapted their language and checked the patient’s understanding). This kind of reflection shows that you’re thinking critically about what you’ve experienced, whilst also giving much stronger material to discuss at interview.
Make sure you reflect on your work experience during the placement to get the most out of it before you forget! Here are some timeline tips:
Medical work experience isn’t about ticking a box or collecting impressive-sounding placements. It’s about finding out what Medicine is really like, whether that is in a hospital or elsewhere.
Meet people. Observe. Think. Reflect. Learn.
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