Work experience

Get a feel for your future career with an informal placement in medicine or administration

Since relaunching our medical work experience programme in 2022, we have hosted around 1,500 students virtually and 500 students face-to-face. The aim of the programme is to enable young people considering a career in medicine to learn more about what this might involve so that they can make an informed decision about whether this is the right path for them.

Criteria for the medical work experience programme:

• Students who are considering applying to medical school
• Must be aged 16 to 18
• Must be in full-time education and studying at least two science A-levels including chemistry (an entry requirement for most medical schools)
• We ensure access to the programme is fair, including requests from members of our local community and referrals from staff. 

You may wish to consider alternative forms of work experience suggested in the Work Experience Guidelines for Applicants to Medicine produced by the Medical Schools Council.

Annual virtual medical work experience programme

This programme has run since 2022 with excellent feedback, and has been expanded for this academic year to include webinars on interview preparation, the University clinical aptitude test (UCAT) commonly used by medical schools’ admissions teams, and University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) form completion. The main summer programme includes clinical sessions, interactive simulations, guidance on how to apply for medical school and ‘tell it like it is’ testimonials from medical students and junior doctors. There is a high level of participation and reflection which helps with interview preparation as well as deciding on/against a career in medicine. The virtual programme works alongside face-to-face work experience and is aimed at students who have just completed their GCSEs. 

Summer virtual work experience programme

The four-day ‘Summer virtual work experience programme’ will take place from Monday 24 June to Thursday 27 June 2024. It is aimed at students aged 16 to 18 (Year 11+) in full-time education who want to know more about a career in medicine or other healthcare professions, to help them make informed choices about their options. 

Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 June (09.30 – 12.30) is focused on applications to medicine and Thursday 27 June (13.00 – 15.00) will focus on careers in other healthcare professions including: nursing, midwifery, allied health professions, and medical physics. Students are welcome to attend the first three days, the final day or all four days of the programme. 

The virtual live event provides students with:

• An opportunity to engage in interactive sessions with a wide group of doctors, clinical educators and medical stud
• A safe space to think critically and creatively about the challenges they may face along the way, including: getting into medical school; and in the early days as a junior doctor working in the fast paced and complex setting that is the NHS
• Unbiased information on the process of applying for medicine, including how to prepare for the UCAS form, UCAT exams and interviews
• A chance to consider career opportunities, ask questions and reflect on clinical case studies.

A previous work experience student shared with us, “It was a great way to explore other sections in the medical field and it was very informative. It explained parts that are often overlooked such as doctor patient interactions and doctors’ wellbeing”. 

Register for our virtual work experience programme. 

On site work experience 

On-site work experience is currently paused while we review our work experience framework. We are not currently accepting applications directly from students. 

Please sign up to our mailing list to be notified of any future opportunities at the Trust.

Advice and support 

If you have any questions about medical work experience, contact our Medical education department by emailing imperial.medical.wex@nhs.net. 

If you have any questions about work experience in other healthcare professions, contact the work experience team by emailing IMPERIAL.WORK.EXPERIENCE@NHS.NET.