Q&A: Getting into medicine

I want to get into medicine, can volunteering help?

I want to apply to medical school and thought some volunteering might give me experience that would help my application. Is it possible to get a good volunteering position in something related to medicine?

There are limited places, so for many prospective students applying to medical school can be a daunting process. Each medical school will have their own entry requirements and will outline what qualifications are needed. It's important to check what each school is looking for.

Lots of medical schools like you to show you have some experience or interest in the field you've chosen to pursue.

Fortunately, there are lots of ways of acquiring medical experience through volunteering. For instance, St John's Ambulance offer first aid in many situations and are a vital complement to the NHS emergency services. They offer full training, so volunteering for them would give you great experience in a medical field.

It's not always possible to volunteer in a medical role due to the specialised nature of the work, so another way to demonstrate experience and enthusiasm is to volunteer in a caring role. You could volunteer in a nursery or a care home where a desire to help others is more important than any particular medical skills.

Search do-it.org.uk for volunteering roles in your area. You could try by going to the advanced search page on do-it.org.uk and then selecting 'Health and Hospitals' in the activity field. This pulls up more information about volunteering in the health sector. There's also lots of information about volunteering in the health service, which might give you some good ideas.

It might be worth contacting your nearest hospital directly to find out what kind of volunteering opportunities they offer. For example, here's the volunteer page on the Barts and the London NHS Hospital website.

Volunteering basics is a great way to learn new skills and gain vital experience in your chosen field. It's also a great opportunity to learn, but be sure to ask any organisations you approach about the kinds of training and support they are able to offer you. This will help you plan and help you get a better idea of how far your volunteering will go to you meeting your learning goals.