If you’re applying to medical school, gaining relevant experience is a key part of preparing your application. This guidance outlines what constitutes relevant work experience for prospective medical students. The document aims to help applicants understand what medical schools are looking for and how to prepare effectively.
What counts as work experience?
Work experience includes any activity that helps you:
- understand what it’s like to work in a caring profession
- develop key values like empathy, communication, and teamwork
- gain insight into the realities of a medical career
This could be through volunteering, paid work, or shadowing healthcare professionals.
What are medical schools looking for?
- There’s no set number of hours or specific type of experience required.
- What matters most is how well you reflect on what you’ve learned.
- Experience should be recent (within two years of applying).
Types of valuable experience
- Volunteering or working in care homes, hospices, schools, or community groups.
- Customer service or team-based jobs that involve interacting with people.
- Shadowing doctors or other healthcare professionals (but avoid repeating the same type).
- Caring for a friend or family member (if reflected on appropriately).
Tips for applicants
- Focus on what you learned about yourself, others, and healthcare—not just what you did.
- Talk to doctors and medical students to understand the profession.
- Attend open days and explore NHS and medical school websites.
- If you’re applying from overseas, you don’t need NHS experience, but you should research UK healthcare.
Download this guidance
