Organising work experience to support your medical school application

Abstract

Admissions panels at medical schools judge your suitability and motivation by looking for evidence that you understand what a long term career in medicine entails. Emma Rowson, admissions officer at the University of Edinburgh, says it is important to gain experience with “diseased, disadvantaged, and disabled people (the three Ds).” She highlights that looking after patients can be extremely challenging and it is important to find out whether this is something you would find rewarding and are likely to enjoy long term. Getting some work experience—be it in a medical or non-medical setting —is a great way to develop this understanding and to find answers to common questions admissions staff might ask you. Common questions include: We would encourage you to try to get a work experience placement in a clinical setting because this will give you the opportunity to see the diversity of healthcare, from emergency admissions to long term care, and from the discharge of healthy patients to palliative care and the death of a patient. However, do not be disheartened if you cannot shadow a hospital doctor or a general practitioner (GP), because you can gain an insight into medicine in many other ways. In this article we look at the types of work experience available, how to organise work experience, …