Gaining Work Experience in the NHS or Social Care is a fantastic way to gain an insight into a particular career.
With over 350 different careers to choose from, there are many exciting opportunities on offer!
Whether it is a short or long-term placement, full or part time, or on a structured or informal basis, work experience can help you choose the career for you.
Work Experience is also a valuable way of building your confidence and experience of essential transferable skills such as working as part of a team, caring for people, communication and many more.
Having the opportunity to observe healthcare professionals can help to confirm a career choice, or lead you to explore other options. This is often an advantage when applying for jobs or further education.
Work Experience in Mid and South Essex
Work Experience is offered by many of our Mid and South Essex healthcare employers.
To be eligible for these opportunities you will need to meet the age requirements for the placement and live in the Mid and South Essex area.
**Coming Soon**
The Mid and South Essex Work Experience Hub
The Mid and South Essex Work Experience Hub provides a centralised process for those seeking work experience placements in the health and social care sectors in our region.
This is a perfect opportunity for anyone thinking about a career in Health or Social Care to try a work experience placement at an acute hospital, in a mental health Trust, in our community services or within a social care setting. Our Work Experience Hub offers a variety of work experience placements.
The Mid and South Essex Work Experience Hub is available to everyone, whether you are at school thinking about your future career, people taking career breaks and wanting a change of direction or people wanting to try something completely different.
Working in the NHS and social care is an extremely rewarding career and offers an unparalleled experience. Every role, whether it is clinical or non-clinical plays a vital role in making a difference to patients, service users and families and carers. You will learn a lot about yourself as well as developing professionally.
Please note that, due to the demand for placements and the limited number of available work experience placements, placements are restricted to Mid and South Essex residents only. Due to the high demand for placements, we unfortunately cannot guarantee everyone will get a placement.
Opportunities Available
Work experience in the NHS can support students to build their knowledge in:
- Clinical roles – What it is like to work within the healthcare team in roles such as nursing, midwifery, allied health professions etc.
- Medical roles – What it is like to work within the healthcare team in roles such as doctor, GP, Physician Associates etc.
- Non-Clinical roles – What it is like to work as part of the healthcare team that supports the work of the wider NHS in roles such as administration, finance, human resources, catering or estates and facilities etc.
In clinical and medical placements, work experience usually takes the form of observation or shadowing and there is no opportunity to participate in any clinical activities such as taking blood pressure.
Work Experience opportunities for those aged 15 to 16 years are in administrative areas only. Those aged 16 and over will have greater access to clinical and medical placements such as being based on a ward, however this is at the discretion of the departmental lead and is not guaranteed.
Settings Available
The NHS employs over 1.4 million staff members and there are over 350 different careers to choose from.
The NHS has a dedicated Health Careers website which we encourage you to use before applying for work experience. Here you will find career quizzes, job role information and further information about working within the NHS which will help you narrow down your options for work experience.
There are many different organisations and settings in Mid and South Essex that offer work experience including:
- Acute Hospital Sites – These provide medical and surgical care along with outpatient treatment in a hospital setting. Students are not able to be placed in environments that are not appropriate to their age or experience. Maternity, Surgery, Women’s and Children’s and the Mortuary are restricted to those over 18 years of age and will only be offered at the discretion of the department manager.
- Mental Health Settings – These provide mental health, learning disability and eating disorder services and clinics. Students are not able to be placed in mental health environments that are not appropriate to their age or experience. Any mental health placement will be at the discretion of the department manager.
- Ambulance Trusts – These provide the 999 call centres, patient transport and emergency response to incidents. Students are not able to be placed in an ambulance station or an emergency ambulance due to sensitivities in these areas but can gain experience within the support services to extend knowledge of a healthcare environment.
- Community Trusts – Community trusts offer a wide range of medical, nursing and therapeutic care to prevent admission into hospital. Students will get to see a variety of healthcare environments.
- Primary Care – Many GP surgeries offer work experience placements and there are many healthcare professions to consider in this setting. Students can gain experience within the support services to extend knowledge of a healthcare environment.
- Hospice Care – Hospices offer work experience however students must be over 18 and will not be placed in an environment that is not suitable. Any placement offered will be at the discretion of the department manager. Students can gain experience within the support services to extend knowledge of a healthcare environment.
- Dental Practices – Dental practices often offer work experience however this is at the discretion of the practice manager. Students can gain experience within the support services to extend knowledge of a healthcare environment.
- Other healthcare providers – There are many other healthcare providers to consider for work experience including: pharmacists, opticians, nursing homes etc.
Work experience is available all year round. Placements vary in length and are a maximum of 5 days. The majority of placements offered are for one or two days.
All opportunities available will be advertised through the Mid and South Essex Work Experience Hub.
Online Learning Resources – Alternatives to In Person Work Experience
Mid and South Essex Work Experience Hub is unable to meet the demands of all in person work experience requests. As an alternative, we offer the below virtual work experience programmes which are designed to give you more knowledge of what a career in health and care could look like.
Springpod
Our Mid and South Essex Health & Care Academy Springpod Virtual Work Experience is open to anyone age 13 or over who lives in the Mid and South Essex area.
The programme will cover everything from an introduction to the sector to different opportunities, areas, and responsibilities within health and care professions. You’ll have the chance to take part in some great quizzes and amazing activities, and you’ll even have the chance to speak to leading industry experts along the way!
Modules included as part of this programme:
- Welcome and Introduction
- An introduction to the Health and Social Care sector
- Careers in healthcare relating to Maths
- Careers in healthcare relating to Sports and Psychology
- Careers in healthcare relating to Science and Technology
- Careers in healthcare relating to The Creative Arts
- Employability Skills
- Next Steps
Doctor You
It takes people from all walks of life to become doctors. Doctor You has been set up by NHS England to encourage more people to consider a medical career.
Allied Health Professionals Virtual Reality 360
Use virtual reality to experience a day in the life of an allied health professional working in the NHS.
360 experiences available in the following careers:
- Podiatry
- Orthoptics
- Prosthetics and Orthotics
- Therapeutic Radiography
- Dietetics
- Speech and Language Therapy
Observe GP
Observe GP is an alternative to work experience for aspiring medics aged 16 and over who are living in the UK. It is a free, interactive video platform providing insights into the role of a GP and the wider primary care team.
Observe GPMedic Mentor
Medic Mentor is a non-profit national medical organisation for aspiring students, medical students and doctors. They specialise in helping aspiring students get into medicine. Medic Mentor offer virtual work experience, which is a 30 hour commitment from a student over a 6 month period. Participants receive a certificate and complete a reflective journal about the process.
The Medic Mentor programme covers 3 patient journeys: geriatric/adult and paediatric and is run by a UK-wide network of volunteer doctors who provide UCAS support and teach medical students how to become successful future doctors and NHS leaders.
Medic Mentor – Make A Difference
Danny’s Journey
Danny’s Journey is an animated video created by Health Education England and follows Danny who receives an injury whilst playing football. The video follows his journey and documents his interactions with all of the healthcare professionals involved in his treatment and recovery.
Discover Dentistry
Are you fascinated by the world of dentistry? Try the University of Sheffield’s 6 week course and learn the essentials of dentistry from leading dental experts.
You’ll explore the intricacies of what dentists do, learn how to become a dentist and discover the rich history of dentistry.
Dentistry – Free Online Healthcare Course – FutureLearn