What is work experience?
Work Experience is a way of offering students, or other interested members of the community, the chance to observe working life in Ä¢¹½tvÊÓƵ Teaching Hospitals.
When you choose to work for the NHS you choose to be part of something big. More than one million people work in the NHS in England in 350 different jobs. Each and every one makes a difference to patients.
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Ä¢¹½tvÊÓƵ can offer work experience placements in both clinical and non-clinical areas. Placements are unpaid and in an observation capacity only for up to a maximum of five working days. Please note that not all areas of the hospital are suitable for work experience and some departments are unable to accommodate requests. Particularly at this time, there are restrictions on capacity in some departments.
- Placements must be arranged directly with the Head of the Department in which you wish to gain experience. Not all departments are able to support Work Experience, so you may wish to consider several alternatives.
- Once you have decided, look up the department and their contact information in the Trust’s online A-Z of Services and contact the Head of Department. If they are willing to accept requests for Work Experience they will discuss details with you and, if appropriate, arrange dates for your placement.
- Once you have gained agreement to a placement, you will be sent written confirmation. You will need to sign and return certain documents signifying agreement to the Trust’s conditions before your Work Experience begins.
The trust receives a high number of enquiries for Work Experience Placements each year. It is important that you ensure that you present your application well, considering the skills you hope to gain on work experience and which department in the hospital would be able to provide you with the most valuable experience to support you in your career choice.
- Register your details and interest with us, by contacting the department that you would like to work in.
- Complete all the paperwork. Make sure you fully complete the Work Experience Personal Information Form – if you give a covering account of why you are seeking Work Experience, and can show you have researched the area or organisation in your statement. You are more likely to be considered for a placement if you can demonstrate you have done your homework.
- Get in contact early. Make contact during the academic year before you want your placement to start. This gives the work area time to plan your placement to ensure you get the most out of this invaluable opportunity. We could not accept any placement requests made less than one month prior to the dates of the placement starting.
- Prepare. You are advised to prepare for the placement. Think about what you want to learn from your experience and have questions ready that you would want to ask.
- Turn up. Make sure you turn up on time, attend every day and let the person know who is your main point of contact know if you are able to attend.
If at first you don’t succeed try, and try again. You may have to apply to a number of different areas or organisations before you can secure a placement.
As an alternative to Work Experience, you may wish to consider a role as a volunteer within the Trust. Currently we have a large volume of volunteers working in a number of areas across the organisation. You will need to be at least 18 years of age to be eligible to apply.
If you think you might be interested in becoming a volunteer, please visit our Voluntary Services page.