-
Asked by anon-255042 on 18 May 2020.
-
Ailith Ewing answered on 18 May 2020:
Hi! I think that depends on what areas of medicine you are most interested in. I’m not a doctor but generally for early experience of research I would suggest trying to get experience of as broad a range of research as possible. This may be tricky at the moment as a lot of labs are closed. However, a lot of places offer one-day experience days for school pupils (which have moved online) to learn about particular areas of research. The Science Insights programme in Scotland is a good example of one. Also, a lot of research institutes have public engagement officers, I would suggest emailing some of them and asking whether they have any opportunities that you could take part in. Even if they don’t they may be able to put you in touch with researchers that can help. Hope this helps and good luck!
-
-
Zoe Ross answered on 18 May 2020:
Hello, I agree with Ailith’s answer and think you should aim to get as broad a range of experience as possible. You might find that you enjoy a topic that you didn’t think you would and vice versa! Remember that some work experience will also be important for applying to study medicine. Good luck with the A levels!
-
Tiffany Chan answered on 18 May 2020:
Hi! I agree with what’s already been said – it really depends on what area of medicine you think you’re interested in. A couple of universities run ‘Pathways to Medicine’ programmes for school students, so it’s definitely worth emailing a few of their outreach/public engagement departments to see if there’s anything that you could get involved in. Good luck!
-
Nefeli Skoufou-Papoutsaki answered on 18 May 2020:
Hi,
If I can add something to what has been proposed already I think that it could be interesting to see how scientists can get ahold of patient samples. Normally you need to work closely with a doctor to do this and it’s very valuable if you want to work with human samples and have results that can be more directly applied to the clinic. You could maybe ask if you could attend a sample collection process to get an idea or see how scientists use the human samples they get from doctors and the hospitals. Good luck! 🙂 -
Freya Harrison answered on 19 May 2020:
I think this is a great question. As others have said, reaching out to research institutions is a good idea and they will be able to find a suitable host for you within their institution. Nefeli’s suggestion is great, and one way to do this would be to find your local public health lab (search for Public Health England, Public Health Scotland, Public Health Agency NI or Public Health Wales depending on where you live). They do lots of interesting work that uses standard lab techniques you’d study/use again in a medicine degree.
-
James Loan answered on 19 May 2020:
Hello,
I’m a doctor and can remember the struggle trying to get the right sorts of work experience before applying to university!
If you are interested in being a medical doctor then the key thing to do for experience at your stage is to spend time shadowing medical doctors as they see patients. I wouldn’t worry too much about needing research experience specifically (unless you have bags of other sorts of work experience and want something new!) at this stage, although it wouldn’t be harmful either: and potentially easier to organise during the covid lockdown? Take whatever experience you can get and don’t worry too much about what sort of doctor you want to me – everything will be relevant and I can bet you that whatever you think you are going to want to do will not be the same as what you end up doing!
I think Tiffany and Nefeli’s advice is really good: Pathways programmes were really useful for me and spending time in a research clinic would be interesting. If you can find a medical doctor working in a biology lab then it would be interesting to speak to them and hear their views, if they have projects you can help with then great also! However, applications panels will primarily be interested in your exposure to patients, I think. Don’t be afraid to email your local NHS trust – they will have work experience teams who can help. Likewise volunteering in caring, non NHS settings is worthwhile: I spent an afternoon a week emptying bins and taking water to residents in a local hospice. It gave a lot of opportunity to speak to patients who were in the last stages of life and gave a very useful insight.
However, as Zoe says, get a broad range of experience and don’t rule out careers outside of medicine! Only by experiencing a range of options can you find out what you do like and – as importantly – what you don’t. Happy to chat more if you have questions!
-
Anabel Martinez Lyons answered on 19 May 2020:
Hi- great answers already. Something further to add is you can get some relevant medical work experience/shadowing opportunities not just in hospitals and GP surgeries. During high school, I shadowed a doctor and some nurses in an elderly home and found that really interesting. A friend of mine shadowed at a blood donation centre (following the whole process of the medical appointment in the beginning to the donation to the talk about aftercare- it was relevant but also slightly unusual experience, which can be interesting). Since some of the pathways programmes can be quite competitive, you can also get creative with different types of work experience, including the sample collection training mentioned already. Hope that helps!
-
Bilal Ahsan answered on 19 May 2020:
Shadowing a medical doctor might not be practical these days. Aim for a broad range of experience through outreach/public engagement departments in Universities and local public health labs. Get in touch with them via email.
-
Yewande Oyekenu answered on 19 May 2020:
Hello
In one of my previous laboratories, I had the opportunity of learning alongside a recent high school grad who wanted to study biochemistry. She served as a research assistant and I must say that I as a Masters student at the time was made to learn the same research techniques with her like PCR, Electrophoresis e.t.c. This made her more prepared for the theory she was going to face in Biochemistry.
Yewande
Comments