Shadowing a Doctor

For any students aspiring to study medicine, there is a lot of prep involved. To get admission into any medical school, getting good test scores is mandatory but it’s not the only thing that counts. What is equally important is that you have the passion for medicine as well as the right kind of pre-med experience. If you are in the UK, one way to gain relevant experience is to work in the NHS.

While it is not mandatory for you to do so, working in a healthcare setting can give your confidence an extra boost. Moreover, it will also give you the edge when you are applying for admission in any medical college. The reason why medical work experience is such an integral part of your med school application is because admission tutors look for some indication of the following:

• The applicant has gained valuable insight into work that health professionals are involved in
• The applicant has gained some insight into what the patient experience is and the issues that they might face
• The applicant has understood exactly where their own abilities stand and what their weaknesses and strengths are when it comes to dealing with difficult situations
• The applicant has indicated responsibility and commitment

You Get A Broader Spectrum Of Experience With The NHS

When you work for the NHS in a healthcare setting, you will get a chance to shadow a doctor. You get the opportunity to observe how they deal with day-to-day situations in a hospital/medical unit. In addition, you also get to see how they deal with patients concerns and understand what bedside mannerisms are expected of a doctor. Another valuable piece of experience that this gives you is that you know how to interact with other doctors, nurses and caregivers. This experience will:

• Help you make an informed career decision
• Give you a better understanding of the workplace
• Provide you with hands-on experience
• Motivate you
• Make education relevant to the work environment
• Develop new and existing skills
• Increase your confidence
• Improve communication skills
• Make you more capable of handling responsibility

The broad spectrum of experience that the NHS offers you is something that you might not gain when you work elsewhere.

Apart from the fact that you will be able to add this work experience on your application to a medical school, you will gain a great deal of confidence. Very importantly, it will also help you judge whether you really like working in the medical field and whether you are really cut out to be a doctor. This is very important as this is something you will be doing for the rest of your life.

NHS Work Experience Helps You Build Credibility

What colleges are looking for is an indication that the student has looked at his/her future career with a certain amount of deliberation. Some colleges and universities will often double check with the experience providers and confirm whether you have volunteered placement and carried out that work experience. They also request feedback about the applicant and this is a great way to build credibility in the eyes of the people who matter.