Why is medical work experience important?

Medical school applications are extremely competitive, with only the best candidates receiving places each year. To demonstrate your dedication to the field, you need to show that you have a realistic insight into what it’s like to be a doctor. Gaining varied work experience will help you to stand out from the crowd, having real life interactions with doctors, patients, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. It’s also essential that you know what medicine is like before devoting your life to it! Our work experience programme provides you with everything you need to make your decision about applying to medical school and to help you stand out in your personal statement and interviews.

What skills will I learn?

We have 1-day, 1-week, and 2-week long programmes. Depending on what you select, skills that you learn will include some or all of the following:

• Chest x-ray interpration
• History taking
• Patient examinations
• Breaking bad news
• Venipuncture
• Basic life support
• NG tube insertion
• Suturing
• Auscultation with a stethoscope
• Head CT scan interpretation
• And more!

Who can apply?

Our work experience programme is generally focussed on those looking to apply to medical school, and most attendees are age 16-18. Our programme is also open to older applicants (gap year or post-grad attendees), or those under the age of 16 with explicit parental consent. There are no other pre-requisites to joining our London work experience, given that there are spaces available.

The week-long work experience programme will consist of a host of experiences across London hospitals to ensure that you’re more than prepared for your medical school application. A sample itinerary is as follows, with exact itineraries being sent out 2 weeks prior to the experience date:

Sunday: Introductions

We’ll either collect you from your arrival point into London (Heathrow airport/Kings Cross station), or you can arrive directly at the accommodation. We’ll give you a few hours to settle in and show you to your room where you can get to know your fellow students for the week. In the evening, we’ll have our welcome briefing to talk through everything you need to know about the week – this covers meal times, curfews, and plans for the week. Following the brief, you’ll enjoy the first feast with your course mates!

Monday: Medical School Applications

During the first day, medical school application tutors will cover everything you need to know about applying to medical school, from UCAT/BMAT to personal statements and interviews. We’ll also cover how to make the best use of the upcoming work experiences in your personal statements and interviews. You’ll finish the day armed with everything you need to make a successful application to medical school.

Tuesday: Clinical Skills

Today will focus on developing practical skills needed to be a doctor. In a central London hospital, you’ll be rotating around several stations to gain experience in note taking, X-ray interpretation, venipuncture and suturing amongst other practical skills. The day is led by current practising doctors and is a wonderful opportunity to really get stuck in and see if you have what it takes to be a doctor.

Wednesday: Ward Round and Radiology

Today, you’ll have the unique opportunity to participate in a simulated ward round at a top London hospital. You’ll learn the importance of thorough history taking and examination skills, before being thrown in the deep end to conduct your own ward round. You’ll be seeing patients in small groups, and receive thorough feedback from each patient on your history, examination, and communication skills.In the afternoon, you’ll be in a simulated radiology suite, learning how to interpret various types of imaging (to include x-rays, CT scans, ultrasound and MRIs) in order to diagnose patient cases. You’ll feel confident in your diagnostic skills based on imaging after this session! This programme is also available to book as a one-day course. See dates and pricing at the bottom of the page, or book now below!

Thursday: Basic Life Support

The first step to saving lives is to become a qualified first aider! You’ll learn basic life support, including CPR. At the end of today you will be certified for three years (that looks pretty good on your personal statement!).

Friday: A&E and General Practice

In the morning, you’ll be in a simulated A&E setting at a top London hospital, seeing emergency cases and treating patients. This will include the use of sim which is typically reserved for medical school and postgraduate teaching. In the afternoon, you’ll be in a simulated General Practice clinic and learn how to take effective histories before seeing your own patients. You’ll have opportunities to take histories from patients and diagnose conditions that present to primary care. This programme is also available to book as a one-day course. See dates and pricing at the bottom of the page, or book now below!

Saturday: Conclusions

It’s time to say goodbye. We’ll arrange your transfers to Heathrow, or escort you to Kings Cross station to make sure you get home safely. You are also welcome to be collected from the accommodation if you prefer. Just like that, you’ve had an action-packed week exploring medicine, armed with all the knowledge you need to gain a place at medical school, with a tonne of experience and references to back it up too.

Medical and Surgical On Calls

Saturday 17th February 2024

Join us for this unique experience to shadow medical and surgical doctors covering on-call shifts in a busy hospital. Working out of hours, a single doctor can be responsible for around 100 patients. It’s essential to learn how to take calls efficiently, prioritise urgent patients, assess and manage emergencies, and escalate anything out of breadth. In this shadowing experience, you’ll have the incredible opportunity to follow along with both medical and surgical on calls, answer bleeps, assess and diagnose patients, verify patient death, prescribe medications, and be involved with the management of emergencies. You’ll also better understand how to triage based on urgency when to leave in the middle of an assessment for a more urgent case, how to work under pressure, various team roles out of hours, and so much more. Some patient cases you may see include acutely unwell post-operative patients, a major haemorrhage, a patient needing a cannula or an NG tube, and a cardiac arrest, amongst other scenarios.

A&E and General Practice (GP)

• 18th & 23rd July 2024
• 9th & 15th August 2024

In the morning, you’ll be in a simulated A&E setting at a top London hospital, seeing emergency cases and treating patients. This will include the use of sim which is typically reserved for medical school and postgraduate teaching. In the afternoon, you’ll be in a simulated General Practice clinic and learn how to take effective histories before seeing your own patients. You’ll have opportunities to take histories from patients and diagnose conditions that present to primary care.

Ward Round and Radiology

• 19th & 24th July 2024
• 16th August 2024

During this experience, you’ll have the unique opportunity to participate in a simulated ward round at a top London hospital. You’ll learn the importance of thorough history taking and examination skills, before being thrown in the deep end to conduct your own ward round. You’ll be seeing patients in small groups, and receive thorough feedback from each patient on your history, examination, and communication skills. In the afternoon, you’ll be in a simulated radiology suite, learning how to interpret various types of imaging (to include x-rays, CT scans, ultrasound and MRIs) in order to diagnose patient cases. You’ll feel confident in your diagnostic skills based on imaging after this session!

Each morning from 7:30am, a continental buffet breakfast will be provided, consisting of fresh juices, fruits, pastries, cereals, breads, and more. In the evenings, we’ll take you to some of the best restaurants in the London area, with food choices suitable for halal, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets.

During lunch hours, you’ll have the option to eat either in the doctor’s canteen, student union, or local restaurants. We’re big foodies and know the importance of maintaining a balanced and delicious diet to enjoy your week away, so we promise you’ll enjoy every mealtime with us!

Security

There’s 24-hour security and CCTV at the accommodation, so you can always feel safe and well looked after. It’s our aim to allow you to concentrate on your hospital work experience while we take care of the rest.

Our team are always on hand to help you travel safely to the various hospital placements. We’re also always available by telephone in case of any emergency, with 24-hour availability and monitoring. You can be in peace knowing that there’s full security and supervision at all times during the programme, while still allowing you all the time you need to get to know your peers and enjoy your week!