Gap Medics Launching medical careers

Benefits of medical work experience

Getting some genuine hospital work experience shadowing doctors can be hugely valuable, both before and during medical school. As well as being a prerequisite for most medicine courses, some basic clinical experience helps to make the theory learned in the first years of medical school more relevant and exciting.

In this section, Dr Ellie Heath summarises the benefits from her own experience of international placements before, during and after medical school at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

By Dr Ellie Heath MBChB BSc (Hons)

Medical work experience abroad has many benefits. In the short term, it can reaffirm your desire to study medicine and enhance your medical school application. In addition, the experience and perspective gained will benefit you throughout your career.

Is medicine for you? It’s a big decision and universities want to see that applicants have given it careful consideration. Medicine is a demanding career and isn’t for everybody. However, it can be incredibly rewarding and offer a wealth of interesting opportunities. Medical work experience abroad will test your enthusiasm and motivation towards medicine as a career. There’s no real comparison to firsthand experience.

The fact that you’ve invested time and effort to gain some relevant work experience demonstrates commitment and indicates that you’ll have an insight into the realities of a career in medicine. Going abroad shows that you are able to adapt to new challenges and surroundings.

Placements for prospective undergraduates can be difficult to come by in the UK. Joining Gap Medics’ structured programme overseas not only makes good work experience more accessible, it can be far more varied and rewarding.

Medicine is a vast area offering more than fifty distinct career paths. A good placement will offer a taste of some different specialities e.g. medicine, surgery, paediatrics, A&E etc. Whilst you do not have to apply for a specialty until after graduation, it can help to have ideas early on about what branch of medicine might appeal to you.

You will likely encounter diseases which are rarely, if ever, seen in the UK. For example, tropical diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis and leprosy.

As a doctor, you are constantly encouraged to reflect on your practice. As a prospective undergraduate, being able to demonstrate an ability to reflect on your experiences will stand you in excellent stead in your UCAS personal statement, at medical school interviews and beyond. The Gap Medics programme is accredited by ASDAN, which qualifies students to obtain a Universities Award for placements of two weeks or more.

You will gain an understanding of other healthcare systems and practices. Work experience abroad encourages you to learn about current issues and diversity in global healthcare and to appreciate the challenges of practicing medicine in a resource-poor setting.

It may grant you an insight into the wealth of international opportunities as a medic, such as expedition and wilderness medicine, Médecins Sans Frontières and VSO.