‌Medicine

Consider the skills and personal qualities needed in this sector. These are likely to include:

• strong communication skills, including the ability to explain, persuade, encourage and motivate others
• people skills - being able to develop a rapport with people from a wide range of backgrounds
• a sensitive and caring approach
• patience
• teamwork
• decision making and prioritising
• resilience
• ability to work under pressure and cope with change
• organisational skills.

Do you possess these skills and qualities? Can you demonstrate that you have them? Can you find ways to develop them? If you are considering working in a clinical role, how do you know that you will be comfortable in this environment?

You might like to take the NHS test to see what health careers would suit you.

You will need some work experience in a healthcare setting to demonstrate your commitment and understanding of working in medicine. You need to observe professionals at work, but this can be difficult to arrange and may only be possible for a limited time period. Try to find opportunities to work with children and adults in social and healthcare settings. Consider residential homes, day centres, hospices, voluntary organisations and healthcare support work. You could try:

• shadowing a doctor - contact hospital departments directly to arrange work shadowing. Contact details for local trusts and hospitals can be found on the NHS website
• working or volunteering in a hospital, care home or hospice. The York Teaching Hospital website has information on volunteering
• working or volunteering with children, the elderly, people with physical or mental health conditions - see our volunteering programmes, or volunteer via Do-It
• BMA advice on work experience
• Medical Schools Council - work experience
• The Medic Portal - medical school work experience requirements
• First aid experience can be gained through St John Ambulance or the Red Cross (who offer 8-12 week internships).
• any work experience that enhances your people skills will be valuable for this sector - this could include bar work, retail or customer services.

Hear from graduate medical students about getting Health Care Assistant (HCA) work experience before applying to medical school.

For graduates, there are two different training routes:

• the traditional 5 year undergraduate degree (eg HYMS Medicine) - which may have a quota for the number of graduate places
• the 4 year graduate entry degree.

There are also some 6 year programmes with a foundation year for applicants without appropriate entry qualifications. Most graduate entry programmes prefer candidates with a relevant degree (2:1 or higher), but some recruit from any degree discipline.

• Studying medicine as a graduate 2026 entry (PDF , 1,019kb)

Funding arrangements vary for the two routes, and details can be found on Health Careers. The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund has information and advice, and some links to charitable trusts.

Medical schools have different approaches to training, particularly the way that clinical training is organised and whether a problem based learning (PBL), traditional, or blended approach is used. Think carefully about what would suit you best, visit university open days and explore these websites to make an informed choice:

• Applying for medical school (NHS)
• Studying medicine (BMA)
• The Medic Portal guides include Graduate Entry Medicine. The Medic Portal also has blogs, webinars (free to access) and offers application support (for a fee).

Applications are made through UCAS, and you are likely to have to take a pre-entry test before applying, such as the UCAT or GAMSAT admissions tests.

The majority of medical schools will interview shortlisted applicants. This may be a panel interview, but an increasing number of medical schools are now using multiple mini interviews (MMIs) for a more practical assessment of your suitability. See the Medical Schools Council for more on this interview format.

• The Medic Portal's Tips on discussing Covid-19 at interview

After medical school, you will need to complete the two year foundation programme to gain experience in different specialties before deciding where you want to specialise in the longer term.  This training can take between three and eight years depending on the specialty.

• BMA Applying for training after medical school
• RCGP GP training and practice
• Royal College of Surgeons
• NHS Jobs
• BMJ Careers
• Jobs, including locum work, are also advertised by agencies and on LinkedIn.

• Look for work experience - relevant work experience and voluntary work is very important. It allows you to develop your skills, check that you are comfortable working in health/care settings and demonstrates motivation and commitment to your chosen profession
• Volunteering helps you develop skills such as project management, teamwork, communication, problem solving, organisation and time management
• York SU Volunteering also offers a range of projects including Minds in Motion, Open Minds and Tea and Coffee Club.

Read:

• Ian's profile - an English graduate who studied graduate entry Medicine, specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology.
• Medical student profile from NHS Careers
• Find the full list of graduate profiles on York Profiles and Mentors.

Listen:

• Ian also features on our podcast, What do you actually do? (Spring 2021).

Networks and accounts to follow:

Find out more and keep up to date with the sector:

• Junior Doctors (X formerly twitter) - represent junior doctors across the UK
• Doctors' Association UK (X formerly twitter) - non-profit professional organisation for frontline doctors
• Doc Support Network (X formerly twitter) - peer support network for UK doctors and medical students with mental health concerns
• Medical Women's Federation