Hi. My daughter is looking for a placement in the medical profession for summer 2018 and needs some help making contact with where to apply.
She did amazingly well in GCSE and is predicted top grades for A-Level and is aiming to do medicine at Oxbridge.
Apparently the school needs to know where she will be going by December (ie next month!) due to slow vetting process’s. She has written to some contacts and surgerys etc, but has struggled to get a reply as most places are not thinking 7 months ahead. She will be 17 when the placement takes place.

So with STW being the hub of so many professionals, including many in medicine/nursing/paramedics/hospice workers etc. Can anyone help with a name/contact in Leeds/Wakefield/Bradford area so she can apply?

As proud dad I can vouch that she is diligent, professional and will work her backside off wherever she is. And she will apply and attend any interviews that are needed, she is not looking for any favours, just some help with who to contact.

Thanks from sunny Leeds.

Hospital ??

Thanks scaredypants. She has been through that process and drawn a blank. Apparently you have to apply to each department individually AND have a contact name for who to apply to. She has sent off numerous applications and had zero response. Given how many departments there are and the lack of response from the overstretched medics I thought an appeal on here might help.

CHB, has she got a speciality in mind?

I used to work in Leeds Trust and have friends in the anaesthetic dept, I’ll ask them if this is something they do and if they can help.

Thanks Ben. Anaesthesia, Orthopaedics, Cardiology and Neurology are all of interest. Naturally this could change. We did all watch the NHS fly on the wall documentary (St Marys in London) in an attempt to put her off. But if anything it has made her MORE determined to serve in the NHS!

I work at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. We get 6th form students in from time to time. It’s a centralised process and I don’t think I’m in a position to help personally, but I found this link.
http://www.sth.nhs.uk/work-for-us/work-experience

Having been through the process (15 years ago! Where has the time gone?), I would say that the experience program is worth doing. Mainly as a bit of insight (so your daughter can check it’s something shes interested in) but it looks good on the CV as well – although bear in mind that it’s the sort of thing that most wannabe applicabts do so it won’t necessarily set her apart. In a similar way, I bet the interview panel collectively groans when they see yet another DofE Gold certificate 🙂

I’d encourage you / her to think outside the box a bit. Perhaps the most informative thing I did at that age was volunteering at a summer school for disabled children. I did it initially for the CV but I really enjoyed it so ended up doing more than I “needed to” and in hindsight it really shaped me as a person. Certainly that was more interesting to talk about at interview.

Finally, if I know faceless admin people in NHS institutions, then a simple application form MUST be followed up with a phone call. That’s the first test. Your daughter needs to ring to chase this up.

Last time I looked into it (admittedly over a decade ago) – going and cleaning up shit in nursing homes was what was recommended – as opposed to doing relatively nice and clean experience days in hospitals, as the above poster mentioned – every wannabe applicant does them, still worth having though.

However, I could easily be remembering that advice incorrectly. But your daughter needs to be able to show real grit as well as academic ability, clinical staff have a tough life.

Have you thought about contacting a local GP Practice? We occasionally have had sixth formers come in. As under 18 it is difficult due to confidentiality especially if she might know someone but there might be something she could do in back office where she could gain an insight- scanning letters etc, and most practices are desperate for some actual help. (As opposed to fulfilling the function of cv box ticking). Would maybe look a bit different.
Also it’s quite likely that she might end up as a gp rather than one of those hi tech specialities that’s been mentioned. Most health care takes place outside of hospitals and we need GPs more than we need more neurologists….

My mate is a GP in Leeds and Bradford so i will ask him tomorrow morning and report back.

Thanks all for the replies and advice. I have passed this onto her (well sent her the link to STW!) so she can go from there! Any more suggestions welcome as she might do more than one placement/experience. She already volunteers at St Gemmas charity shop on a Saturday so is not averse to giving up her free time to help the community and get experience. Ta!

We have capacity and relevant work for a fixed term work experience (part time) placement. Charity supporting people living with a brain tumour. Email in profile. Office next to the LGI. Work is desk research and support at medical (neurological) conferences.

Thanks Will. I have chucked this over to daughter as she is the one that needs to run with this. No helicopter parenting in this house. 🙂

My lad did work experience in the local Hospice. he loved it.

OP – I’m good friends with the Training Programme Director for the Yorkshire Deanery (poncy title but he’s a nice guy!). Just spoken with him and there are quite a few options

Email in profile if you want to contact me direct

OP I will send you an email.

Why Oxford just out of interest?

Wow! Thanks for all the help and contacts folks. Will pass to said urchin (I still get to call her that for now) and let her run with it.
FunkyDunc…Oxford. Not ideologically wedded to any particular institute. Clearly certain places carry a cache whether that’s justified or not. I suspect eventual destination will be chosen more on the course and the feel of the place rather than the superficial kudos of the place. At the end of the day it isn’t my choice it’s my daughters so I will do the dutiful dad taxi bit of ensuring she sees as many places as possible so she can choose for herself from a position of knowledge.

Docrobster…. a mate of mine is an AI researcher for a company looking to put GPs out of a job…

I reckon specialising heavily is the way to go….

TomW
That’s for the advice.
Not sure if you’re just trolling though.
I don’t want to derail this well meaning positive thread so I’ll not engage any further.

Sheffield children’s hospital have a scheme. https://www.sheffieldchildrens.nhs.uk/about-us/careers-and-opportunities/work-placements/

I work for their Cahms service based in a specialist children’s home who are keen to host placements for students. Feel free to message if that sounds useful.

I’m ambulance service, and if YAS is like my trust there is no chance of an ‘on the road’ placement for <18 year olds, and even then it’s difficult.

I don’t want to derail this well meaning positive thread so I’ll not engage any further.

It’s not a troll, I’ve had a tour – they are genuinely looking at trying to do it, or at the least reduce the need for GPs. We’re not talking about some automated flow chart – eg NHS 111, but deep machine learning. In 20 to 30 years I think you are going to need to be able to carry out creative research that a bot cannot do, alongside your job in order to be able to survive in medicine.

But yeah, I don’t want to derail the thread – but it would make quite a good topic for another thread.

Tom, thanks for your interesting diversion. AI is clearly going to transform medicine (and other industries) I saw that already AI algorithms can scan CT scans for tumours at a rate many times faster than humans and with a very high success rate. Anyhow, probably another (interesting) thread. 🙂

I didn’t get around to emailing last night but found this very quickly and easily

Work experience

Also try Health Education England (Yorkshire) they hand over the cash for organisations to run schemes like the above

Hi FunkyDunc. The Harrogate scheme looks OK, but sadly we have an LS postcode, not an HG one so are not able to apply. The Leeds equivalent bit of the NHS website is very vague (see one of the first posts). I am really grateful for the variety and quality of contact and messages above and via the STW message service. Daughter has started to contact folk and is talking of even doing more than one placement. Once she is earning as a doctor I fully intend to charge her for my time. Probably £500+VAT.

CHB drop me a mail. I work at Northern General and sadly the trust won’t take people who are not at Sheffield schools (due to overwhelming demand) but I know a few Leeds orthopods and am happy to put her in touch.

sadly we have an LS postcode

Have a postcode that falls into the geographical area served by Harrogate District Hospital

The Trust serves areas as far north as pretty much Sunderland and south to Selby/North Leeds with clinics in Allwoodly/Otley. Are you north Leeds ?

Don’t discount yourself too quickly. The Trust actively try and get ‘work’ from north Leeds

We are in the slightly less salubrious but ultimately less congested South Leeds 😉

Just thought I would post a quick follow up to this and say thanks to all who helped! This year Jasmin organised two fab placements, one at Pinderfields with a guy called Stuart who does wonders with pharmaceuticals. This week she is at the LGI shadowing a consultant. Though she organised the placements herself, it was down to the epic network that is STW that she had people to contact. STW is brilliant for the stuff that matters. :-). Thanks.

Great news. Who is she with at LGI? Hope medic school applications go well .It’s a great job. Mostly….

jet26: With a consultant called Nigel in spinal. She has had an absolutely brilliant day and has a week of frontline experience ahead.

Thought it might be. Good friend of mine and great bloke. Make sure she gives him a hard time

Quick proud dad follow up to this thread. Daughter has interviews at Bristol and Birmingham this week, and just today got confirmation of an interview at Oxford!!! Chuffed. Edinburgh still to hear from, but they don’t offer till end feb.

As a small aside, her best friend at the same school also has an interview coming up to study Mech Eng at Oxford. She is desperate to get some interview practice with someone in the industry. Are there any Yorkshire based Mech Eng professionals that could help a second state school grafter get into Oxford?