GEP work experience...lots of questions!

**Pammy** · 06-04-2007, 11:42 AM

Hi all!
Well I'm contemplating doing medicine...having worked around this career from "both sides" - I've been involved in biomedical research as well as in public health! Research was too dry for me, and too lonely...whereas public health seems too removed from the science foundations (my undergrad and PhD are in biochemistry, and I've always been quite a geek...just enjoy studying

)! So I've become more and more attracted to medicine as a chance to unite both.
My main question is about work experience. Does aid work (public health) in Africa count?
How important is it to do some shadowing in a hospital? I've worked with doctors a lot, but never in a real caring position in a hospital. My UK volunteer experience is more in the area of education rather than health. I've also volunteered for an international NGO in a desk-based research capacity, but again - this is not a caring role, although I did learn a lot and it's provided the stepping stone to the aid work in Africa.
Also, what will the reaction be if I say I am mainly interested in tropical medicine...My ideal would be to eventually specialise in infectious diseases in the UK, but I would always feel the urge to head off occasionally to work in developing countries. Should I mention this?
Is it unrealistic to do this given I'm almost 30?
Thanks for your help!
Pammy

**Rhian1980** · 06-04-2007, 12:42 PM

Hi Pammy!

I haven't started yet.... so i'm not the world's greatest expert- but I have got an offer so I guess my w/exp is good enough. I have been volunteering in A&E one day a week and that was the thing I talked about most in my interviews together with my vol work at Samaritans. So I think hospital volunteer work is great and also the co ordinators report v high success rate amongst their volunteers- so we must b doing something right!!!! But I also have lots of experience in education and I've worked a lot in special schools doing creative workshops (I'm a musician) and they seemed really interested in that as well.

I think the most important thing is that u have had lots of contact with people and especially those who are ill/vulnerable so that they know u have the right motivation and a realistic idea of the environment ur gonna b working in. Don't think shadowing as such is as important I have done some but only a couple of days. Think I am learning more from the voluntary work! They put much more emphasis on long term stuff.

I reckon if they ask u what ur interested in just be honest cos u have really good reasons 4 it- that's the approach I took anyway. I thought my b/g as a musician would not be taken seriously but it obviously was so i think as long as u can justify what u say it's fine.

I'm gonna be 27 this year, I think 30 is cool, there are lots of ppl older doing it so if you really want to why not go for it! I thought I was way too old last year and it wasn't till I came on the forum that I realised how many ppl were doing the same thing. Good luck!

**May84** · 07-04-2007, 06:40 PM

Pammy your work experience sounds good. Try to use your doctor contacts to get some shadowing done and I think doing a bit of a caring role in hospitals/care home/hospice would be a good idea.

In one of my interviews I did mention that I found research quite lonely but I don't know if it's advisable to say which areas of medicine you would like to specialise into.

**jxh487** · 08-04-2007, 01:36 AM

RED FLAG, RED FLAG...it's fine to say what aspects of medicine interest you, or indeed to say that you might consider a specific speciality, but do not say in an interview ... I wan't to be a consultant in tropical medicine? Why, you ask? Because 1.) They're probably not consultants in tropical medicine and will probably think less of any doctor not in their speciality, so not specifying is the best strategy (even if it's not the most honest) 2.) They'll think you'll run abroad as soon as you can, deserting the NHS (It costs them £200,000-250,000 to train a doctor, so this attitude would pee them off) and 3.) They'll think you have a narrow mind to be specifying on what and where you want to be before you even know what medicine is all about?

It's up to you, but I would'nt advise it...

**Pammy** · 08-04-2007, 02:54 PM

Thanks for all your replies!

I've managed to sort out some more volunteer work...fits in with my current public health/HIV focus anyway!
And yes, I had the concern about them being worried that I wouldn't give due service to the NHS and disappear abroad, so perhaps it is better to say nothing. Hard for me, as it's really the one and only thing I want to do, and the area I won't stop talking about! But will have to bluff :-)
Will let you know how goes :-)
Pammy

**May84** · 08-04-2007, 04:40 PM

I'm hoping to specialise in oncology, which is where my research background lies and I have also volunteered in cancer wards. I was asked at my Birmingham interview what interests me in oncology which I explained to them but then added that I didn't want to commit myself to any particular field yet. I know it's hard to hold back talking about an area that you are passionate in but like jxh487 says it will make you seem narrow minded.