I was around the age of fourteen when I first thought about Medicine as a career. Being the first one in my family to even think about going to university as well as going to a state school with little experience of assisting with medicine applications, a careers advisor focused our meetings around looking into alternative careers besides being a doctor. I found this quite frustrating as I was adamant that, however difficult it may be, I would work as hard as I could to ensure that I got to where I wanted to be.

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At this point I already took part in lots of activities both inside and outside of school that I could include in my personal statement. Playing hockey at club and county level, as well as playing netball, football and badminton at school took up a lot of my time. I was also undertaking my Duke of Edinburgh Award and playing the piano, clarinet and saxophone. In addition, I tutored younger students at my school in Maths and Physics.

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I didn't really know where to start when it came to work experience. I contacted a local care home and started volunteering there once a week; something I really enjoyed and I now work there now during my holidays. I would 100% recommend doing this if you can! It made me much more comfortable as well as confident chatting to patients with various illnesses as well as honing my ability to act calm in some very stressful situations. My local hospital also ran a work experience taster week for students interested in applying to medicine. This involved spending time on the wards shadowing doctors and learning a bit more about what a career as a doctor is like. I also spent two days at a GP surgery and accompanied the elderly and disabled on an annual Diocesan trip to Lourdes for three years running.

 

I would definitely recommend getting in contact with as many people as you possibly can in order to organise some work experience. 49 people may never reply but all you need is 1 response to secure some work experience which will enable you to see if Medicine is really for you!

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Don't give up on your dreams if know a career in Medicine is what you want! Lots of people may try to put you off on the way but hard work and perseverance can get you far! There are so many amazing opportunities that I would never have been offered outside of Medicine and I would 10/10 recommend to a friend!