If you're applying for Medicine it is a good idea to take steps to understand what a career in Medicine involves and to explore your suitability for the profession. Doing some voluntary or paid experience, in a health or social care organisation is therefore advised.
When thinking about work experience for your Cambridge application, please note that
- Work experience is strongly advised but is not a requirement for a Cambridge Medicine application.
- We understand that work experience placements can be difficult to organise. They depend a lot on where you live, what is near to you and practicalities such as the transport connections etc as well. We do not mind exactly what you do to obtain experience.
- Entry to Cambridge requires a very strong academic profile and an interest in science. Whilst we advise you to do some relevant work experience if you can, we do not need you to do lots and lots of things since your time spent on work experience needs to be balanced with your academic work including working hard for the high grades required and reading around your areas of interest.
- If you are applying to other UK universities you are advised to make sure you have also read their advice related to work experience for Medicine applications.
Where to start
Please read the Medical Schools Council page on work experience and work experience guidelines.
I think [work experience/voluntary work] is vital so that you can gain an accurate understanding of just what the vocation could entail. It’s also nice to find out if you can deal with blood, bodily fluids, the reality of death and disease before you commit to several years of study!
If you are struggling to obtain work experience in a Medical setting
There are some good resources online for virtual work experience, in particular:
- Royal College of Practitioners Observe GP - an interactive video platform for aspiring medics. This is supported by the Medical Schools Council as a suitable element of relevant experience for Medicine applicants.
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School Virtual Work Experience
Patient journey to a GP practice - VR app developed by the GMC and NHS England
Some other ideas to consider beyond medical settings might be:
- Any charities working with young people, the elderly or disabled people
- St John’s Ambulance and Red Cross volunteering
- Royal Voluntary Service
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
- Groups such as Scouts, who need volunteers
Please also look at
- The Medical Schools Council page on Student volunteering
- NHS page on volunteering opportunities
- The Medical Schools Council advice from the Covid-19 pandemic – although written in a sepcific context, this may have some ideas too.
Difficulties could be raised by your UCAS referee
If you have found it diffcult to obtain work experience, due to issues such as where you live and local transport connections etc please discuss this with a teacher, who may be able to include brief details of your difficulties in your UCAS reference. We do take contextual information such as this into account when considering an application. We do not advise you to discuss this in your personal statement, however - leave it to your teacher to include in your reference.
Medicine at Christ's / How to apply / Medical student profile
