Work experience is a fantastic way to gain an insight into a wide range of career opportunities and we have many exciting options available within the Trust. They can help build your confidence and give you an understanding of the attitudes, behaviours and values that are expected in a healthcare setting. Work experience will help you to make informed choices on your future career options.
To access a placement within the Trust, students must complete a work placement application form and health questionnaire. We will do our best to identify a suitable placement for. Applications are individual to each opportunity on offer.
Block Week Placements
Work experience gives those interested in a career in the NHS the opportunity to experience what happens in hospitals, to observe the day-to-day work of NHS staff and gain an insight into the varied job roles vital to the NHS. It will give you an understanding of the attitudes, the behaviours and values that are expected in a healthcare setting.
Here at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, we offer work experience opportunities to students aged 14 years and over, in patient and non-patient facing roles, and within clinical and non-clinical areas. The placement is dependent on the age of the applicant at the time of placement. Please note only applicants over the age of 16 at the time of their placement will be considered for patient-facing work experience.
We provide a full induction, which is currently online, every Monday and then offer block placements from Tuesday to Friday within departments throughout the year.
Priority will be given to local school students within the Medway area. Clinical placements and non-clinical placements are on set weeks for block or rotation placements for one week Monday to Friday throughout the year for local schools and colleges.
We offer work experience in a variety of areas across the hospital:
14 years of age or older at time of placement
- Catering
- EPR Project Team
- Front Desk
- HR
- IT
- Main Reception
- Medical Education Library
- Medical Records
- Procurement
- Research and Innovation
- Resourcing
- Resourcing – Temporary Staffing
- Simulation
16 years of age or older at time of placement*
- Cardiorespiratory
- Catering
- Emergency Department (ED)
- EPR Project Team
- Front Desk
- HR
- IT
- Main Reception
- Medical Education Library
- Medical Records
- Nursery
- Perioperative Medicine
- Prehabilitation
- Procurement
- Research and Innovation
- Resourcing
- Resourcing – Temporary Staffing
- Respiratory
- Simulation
- Theatres
- Therapy
*A DBS or enhanced DBS is required for some placements. Please note this is at the cost of the applicant.
Due to high demand, we only accept applications during January, April, July and November from students within Kent and Medway.
We have limited placements in the hospital and not all applications are successful. We only accept application directly from the student not from friends, parents or school/college staff.
Application windows open at the following time over the year – only for the allocated month as described. We cannot accept applications outside of this.
Please apply on the 1st of the application month to be considered:
- Apply in January for placements in April
- Apply in April for placements in July / August
- Apply in July for placements in October
- Apply in November for placements in February
For example you can’t apply in April to be placed in October.
Completed forms should be emailed to workexperience@nhs.net
Medical Year 12 UCAS Observational Placements 2024
At Medway NHS Foundation Trust we want to support your medical career by offering you admission to specialist areas within Medway Maritime Hospital.
Our bespoke observation / shadowing placements will give you an opportunity to experience what happens within specialist clinical areas and meet professionals within their working environment. It will also give you an insight into the varied job roles vital to the NHS.
These placements are offered during July, August and October to year 12 students who work or study in Kent and Medway, so they can experience our clinical settings in an observation/shadowing experience for a block week. Students must be able to attend the full week and we can only offer one week to students due to demand.
You will be fully supported and supervised during your placement. We hope your placement will also provide insight and experience to help support your UCAS application to university so you can start your journey towards a healthcare career.
Planned areas for observation/shadow placements which are dependable on business needs at the time of placement, include:
- Radiology
- Paediatrics
- Emergency Department
- Medicine
- Gynaecology
- Orthopaedics
- Rheumatology
- Theatres
- ENT
- Respiratory
Please complete and return the application form and clearly mark it as Medical UCAS Work Experience, identifying all dates you are available form the list below.
Entry criteria
For Year 12 UCAS placements you should:
- Be studying towards and expect to achieve the qualifications that will enable you to start a career in medicine
- Be committed to apply to a UK medical school within the next 12 months
- Have gained at least five GCSEs at grades 9 to 8. Mathematics and some of the sciences may need to be at Grade 7 at least, however please note the vast majority of successful applicants to medical school will have significantly higher grades.
Please note if your application is successful for work experience, the area of interest you have chosen is not guaranteed, due to business demand. However, we will try our upmost to identify a placement that will enrich your experience within the NHS and this may include a combination of different departments to give you a more holistic view.
Available weeks:
October/November
21 to 25 October or 28 October to 1 November
Completed forms should be emailed to medwayft.workexperience@nhs.net
We have limited spaces available, so please do apply by 12 April 2024 to be considered for this work placement opportunity.
16 to 24 years with EHCP
Supported internships
We offer supported internship opportunities for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities aged 16 to 24 with an educational health care plan (EHCP) and host placements for up to 12-months by working with a local specialist training provider.
The aim of the programme is to build work skills and support the intern’s independence to access employment. The Trust offers placements in a variety of areas across the hospital and works with Bemix to facilitate the education and work coaching to assist and build each intern’s knowledge, skills and behaviours within the workplace.
Placements currently being offered in:
- Catering
- Portering
- Post room
- Laundry
- Medical Health Records
To find out about the set criteria for applying, or for further information and referral details, please contact Lucy Mason.
Email: lucy.mason13@nhs.net
Call: 01634 974041 (Option 3)
T-Level Industry Placements
We host T-Level industry placements for those over 18 years old within healthcare. We provide a minimum 45-days placement within the hospital to support the new knowledge, skills and behaviours taught in college.
Visit the MidKent College website for more information on T-Levels.
For enquires regarding T-Level placements at Medway, please email Lucy Mason.
Clinical Attachments
Clinical attachments are a useful way for international medical graduates to get a taste of the working lives of doctors in the NHS. You can observe a consultant in a relevant specialty without having the responsibility of patient care.
Attachments usually last between two and six months and cost £350.
During the attachment, you are not given any responsibility and are not able to make clinical decisions or give clinical advice. The experience you gain will be relevant to your GMC application for registration. It will ask for details of all your work experience from the last five years both medical and non-medical.
Experience shows that it is advisable to do a clinical attachment shortly before taking part two of the PLAB test or after you have passed it. This ensures you will get the most out of it.
Please email our Medical Staffing team for more information.
For medical student electives / medical student clinical attachments, please email our Medical Education team.
University Student Placements
Student nurse placements
We offer placement opportunities to students studying with our university partners – Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Greenwich and London South Bank University. It is important to note that these placements are organised through the university that the student nurse is studying at which means that no student should contact us directly to organise a placement. If a student has any placement requirements, they should contact the placement office at the university they are studying at.
The exception to this is if a student is interested in undertaking an elective placement within the organisation and is studying at a university which is not one of our usual partners. Please note, that to undertake an elective placement, we will require confirmation and approval from the student’s own university, and we will not be able to accept any student who is in the final placement of part 1, 2 or 3.
If you are interested in undertaking an elective placement at Medway, please contact Jacqui Berry, Learning Environment Lead.
Email: jacquiberry@nhs.net
Call: 01634 833821
