Essential Information for Work Experience Applicants

Please note that, due to a restricted number of available work experience placements, we have to prioritise placements for Nottinghamshire residents and to those who study full-time in Nottinghamshire.

Health and Safety

The placement providers take all reasonable steps, including extra infection-control precautions and enhanced sanitation/disinfecting procedures in compliance with government guidelines, to reduce the likelihood of Covid-19 being transmitted between patients and/or staff, but that risk cannot be eliminated.

Applicants on placements will be expected to strictly adhere to the placement provider’s Covid-19 protocols and instructions from staff, for their own safety and the safety of others.

For your safety, and that of patients and staff, you may need to wear a surgical face mask when on placement. Masks will be available to use during your placement if required. You will always be issued with personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate to your placement.

Application Process

This webpage is a ‘live’ facility which is constantly being updated to reflect the current status of all the placement opportunities available. Please note that the application process normally takes 8 weeks but, during periods of peak demand and after the launch of additional healthcare settings, this may be considerably longer. Please allow sufficient time for your application to be processed. All applications are registered and processed, as quickly as possible, on a chronological basis, taking into consideration date of receipt and requested placement date.

Some healthcare settings only run work experience placements three times a year on specific weeks, others will only accept applications from nominated local schools/colleges but other settings are on a wider rolling programme running throughout the year.

In the interests of widening participation and equality of opportunity we will only process one placement application per applicant at a time. Should your request be declined, you are eligible to reapply at a later date or apply for a different placement immediately.  Also, please note that if you are successful, we can only co-ordinate one placement per person per school year (1 September – 31 August) due to the demand for placements.

The duration of the work experience placements offered through our service are normally structured around a one week experience. Other departments feel it is sufficient to offer either 1 or 2 days only. The placement duration is predetermined by the departments and is non-negotiable. Placement requests for alternative configuration/duration placements e.g. weekly slots, weekends, long-term placements, work placements as part of a health & social care course, or university elective placements cannot be accommodated. Bank Holidays are a particularly busy time for NHS staff and if a Bank Holiday falls within your allocated placement, you should not attend on that day.

Please note that you can only apply for one placement at a time. Please select a placement which is aligned with your chosen career pathway, since some of the clinicians choose to restrict their work experience placements to those students who are able to evidence a specific interest or intent towards their given professionalism, together with the academic ability. Please ensure that you have attained the specified age criteria as these are strictly enforced and non-negotiable.

Should you be unable to obtain endorsement of your application from a Tutor at school/college/university, then you may wish to ask an alternative professional person who knows you and is aware of your career aspirations such as an employer.

Induction

Should your application be accepted, you will be expected to attend a short mandatory induction in order to adequately prepare you for your work experience placement. The induction will last approximately 1 hour, usually between 3pm – 4pm on a working day.

Proof of Attendance

If you require proof of attendance please speak to the person responsible for you during your work experience so that you can obtain any proof of attendance on the last day of the placement.