Health Care Assistant Vs Vounteering

[maybe]

Hi

Would work experience as a health care assistant be more valuable than volunteering? I'm thinking if two candidates have the same GAMSAT score and one had worked full-time as an HCA and the other had been volunteering for a couple of hours a week in a health care setting?

I'd basically be leaving one career to do this so was wondering if it would be worthwhile....

M

[foxyamy]

I don't think it makes any difference which you do as long as you are able to get across to the admissions people via PS and interview what you actually learned from it. So if you were going to volunteer it would probably be best to do so in a hospital or other NHS healthcare environment because then you would be able to get across that you had an insight into NHS careers as well as patient contact. But having said that, there are other things which would come across better having done volunteer work, i.e. empathy and so forth.

[goldhawkgonk]

hello! where are you applying to? Some Unis do ask specifically for candidates to have worked in a medical environment and so you would absolutely have to have worked as a HCA. But for somewhere like St Georges, the top grade for workex would be given for a year of PT voluntary work, or *two years* FT work in a healthcare setting- so you're better off volunteering!

Becoming a HCA may give you a jump start in the junior doc years I reckon- you'll already be able to take bloods, fit cannulas, catheters, etc without flinching but I realistically think for most med schools a lenghty period of PT volunteer wrk would be more than sufficient.

[dotvicky]

<i>take bloods, fit cannulas, catheters</i>

Do HCAs really do these things?!

[House Jr.]

well I guess gaining work experience as a health care assistant displays different qualities/skills from volunteering. Work experience shows that you have gained insight into the career that you want to go in to, whilst volunteering over a long period can show determination and commitment, both of which are necessary qualities to be a successful medical student/doctor. Volunteering in a hospice or another clinical setting can show empathy too, so if you plan on only gaining the work experience placement and leaving the voluntary, you run the risk of not showing the skills that i've listed which may work against you in the end. IMO you should do some voluntary work, maybe a couple of hours a week, in a hospice, or mental health clinic, or anything really, doesn't have to be clinical. You can also get a 1/2 week work experience placement in a hospital or something since what you learn from the experience matters more than the length of the work experience.

oh, and if the unis were faced with that situation, i'm sure other factors are more important such as the interview for example.

[goldhawkgonk]

Dotvicky: in the trust where Im volunteering it feels like the HCAs do traditional nurse roles, nurses junior doc roles, and the doctors just run frantically... you couldn't do the above off the street but I think there's a reasonable amount of training opportunities HCAs can get and have seen them doing the above (whether they should be or not...!)

[yazoo]

Hi

Would work experience as a health care assistant be more valuable than volunteering? I'm thinking if two candidates have the same GAMSAT score and one had worked full-time as an HCA and the other had been volunteering for a couple of hours a week in a health care setting?

I'd basically be leaving one career to do this so was wondering if it would be worthwhile....

M

I think both are valuable. I would certainly not ditch a reasonably paid job to HCA if I had some long-term voluntary experience and good insight into healthcare in the UK. The voluntary work shows committment to a community/service role, something which many Drs go on to fulfil while working.

HCA will give you a warts and all insight into the caring roles in the NHS, so it's good too. But I wouldn't personally swap volunteering for an HCA role at the cost of a better salary (to save for med school). (See more below).

[yazoo]

<i>take bloods, fit cannulas, catheters</i>

Do HCAs really do these things?!

Some take bloods and less cannulate. Many nurses don't do catheters.

None are difficult techniques, although some patients do represent challenges! Eg screaming children and needles...

None of this would be experience that you couldn't gain in abundance as an enthusiastic med student (well, except the kids stuff - you need a basic level of competence before you get close to littl'uns with sharp things, IMO)

[Nurse_to_doctor]

Hi,

I suppose if you can afford becoming an HCA (£14k pa I think) then it's ‘better’ than voluntary work. Depending upon the amount of time you put into covering a range of voluntary work this route may be enough, anyway. Perhaps check with the Unis you are applying to. Note: A new HCA won't do anything other than all the horrid work others would rather not do (i.e. washing/feeding/toileting patients) - the HCAs that do my ECGs and venepunture patients have always been the more experienced; they often achieve an NVQ in H&SC - not sure what level though. Never seen a HCA do either a cannula or catheter, tho.

However, as a full-time HCA you will have to pull your weight over your stipulated shifts (i.e. turn up on time and work hard, as a responsible member of the team). The volunteers I see have a far easier ride, as they are giving up their own time. I’ve known 2 people who have gone through the full-time HCA route and I know at least 1 got into SGUL – she was the one to encourage me to apply! She did warn me about GAMSAT though...

N2D

[nicnac84]

having done both, I'd say volunteering is a waste of time... most volunteers I've seen in hospitals aren't allowed to really do anything but make tea and stand around not doing very much (depends how much you're prepared to put in).

Being a HCA is hard work but definitely develops your people skills and exposes you to a world of unpleasantness which you don't even see as a med student. Also, its a really good way to continue to earn money as a med student and is ultra flexible and well paid (if you work on the bank).

Taking blood, cannulating and catheters are not HCA jobs by the way (unless you do extra training, but this almost never happens as most trained nurses aren't even allowed to take blood in most trusts... stupid I know)