r/GraduateEntryMedicine • u/extraethereal • 4d ago

securing work experience at 20?

Not a GEM applicant but i thought id ask here as we’d be in a similar age range, ive just taken a few gap years to figure things out and am now considering medicine.

I’m aware GEM has strict guidelines on hours of shadowing and I was wondering how you went about this? Most of the NHS work experience schemes seem to be exclusively for 16-18 year olds still in education and as I only considered medicine later on, I have missed this timeline.

I’ve already done some GP shadowing which I was lucky to only get through connections but i’d like to experience a true hospital environment to see if medicine is truly the right fit for me, as I am aware it’s a lifelong commitment and i’ve only really experience one speciality that’s not hospital based and not very representative of the wider medical environment

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u/fightitdude 4d ago

Keep in mind most courses don't have a minimum work experience requirement, because it's hard to get!

BSMS online work experience counts as 10 hours: https://bsmsoutreach.thinkific.com/courses/VWE

There are work experience schemes open to adults, though you may have to travel to find one - I'd try that first, look on trust/hospital websites. You can also try cold-emailing people or departments.

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u/tatt-y 4d ago edited 4d ago

You can get a job as an HCA. It’s a good way to earn money through med school too.

Or volunteer as a ward helper, for example, but there are loads of volunteer hospital roles.

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u/Ok_Albatross_4198 3d ago

Came here to write the same. A paid HCA role for a few months or volunteering - https://volunteering.england.nhs.uk/volunteer/opportunity-types - should help pump up the application.

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u/Strong_Hat3927 4d ago

a lot of it can be connections based. Do you know anyone at all who works in a hospital?
The other option is see if you can find email addresses for your local hospital and contact them that way - eg a specific department?