Work experience for medicine and dentistry
Where to get it and how to reflect on it
Work experience is judged on what you learned, not how much you did. The Medical Schools Council says reflection is the key thing medical schools look for, and the Dental Schools Council says the same for dentistry. For medicine, volunteering in a care home counts as much as shadowing. Since 2024, experience in a healthcare setting is no longer a general requirement for dentistry, though many schools still recommend time in a dental practice.
- Dental practice placement
- 2–3 days should be enough (DSC)
- GP work experience
- From age 16 (RCGP)
- Dentistry healthcare setting
- Not generally required since 2024
- Personal statement
- 3 questions, 4,000 characters
Photo: Julian Herzog · CC BY 4.0 · cropped
Photo: Suicasmo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: K Ulysses-Ono · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Rodhullandemu / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Work experience for medicine and dentistry: what it is really for
Work experience is how you show a medical or dental school that you understand the job you are applying for. It is not a contest to collect placements. Schools want to see that you have helped people yourself, watched care being given where you could, and thought hard about what you saw.
For medicine, the Medical Schools Council (MSC), which brings together the heads of UK medical schools, describes two basic types of experience. The first, which it strongly recommends, is working with people in a caring or service role, especially people who are ill, disabled or disadvantaged. The second is directly observing healthcare. The MSC says schools know shadowing a doctor is not possible for everyone, and see volunteering in a residential care home as just as good.
For dentistry, the rules relaxed in 2024. Studying Healthcare, the applicant website backed by the Dental Schools Council (DSC) and the MSC, says experience in a healthcare setting is no longer a requirement. Instead, you need to show career exploration: what dentists do, what drew you to dentistry and how it compares with other health careers. Many dental schools still recommend time in a dental practice, so check each school's own page.
| What schools assess | What you learned and can explain about caring for people and the realities of the job |
|---|---|
| Medicine | A caring or service role, plus observing healthcare if you can get it |
| Dentistry | Career exploration is expected. Since 2024 a healthcare setting is not generally required, but many schools recommend time in a dental practice. |
| Time in a dental practice | Two to three days should be enough to understand how a practice works (DSC guidance, 2022 update). Birmingham normally requires at least 3 days. |
| Typical minimum age | 16 for GP placements (RCGP) and generally for dental practices (DSC). Hospital rules vary by NHS trust. |
| Free online options | Observe GP from the Royal College of GPs (16 and over), the BSMS Virtual Work Experience course and Sheffield's Discover Dentistry |
| Where you use it | Question 3 of the UCAS personal statement, and at interview |
What counts as relevant experience for medicine and dentistry
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) sums up the MSC's guidance on relevant experience as three things you should be able to show.
People-focused experience
Providing a service, care or help to other people, and understanding what it is really like to work in a caring profession. This means doing it yourself, not just watching.
The values a doctor needs
Qualities such as being conscientious, communicating well and getting on with a wide variety of people. The RCGP points out that many of these skills transfer from other settings, including part-time jobs.
A realistic view of the job
An understanding of the physical, organisational and emotional demands of a medical career. That includes the hard parts, not only the rewarding ones.
The RCGP says the MSC now talks about relevant experiences rather than work experience alone. These include placements in general practice or hospitals, voluntary work, part-time paid work and informal conversations with healthcare professionals. Reading, podcasts and documentaries about healthcare count too.
Dentistry works the same way. The DSC says any public-facing role is valuable because interpersonal skills are an important part of being a dentist. It adds that paid or voluntary work caring for different people can be just as good a source of experience as shadowing in a practice.
Caring at home counts as well. For medicine, Studying Healthcare says caring experience can come from work, home or voluntary experience, so looking after a relative is real experience if you reflect on it.
Counts, if you reflect on it
- Volunteering in a care home or hospice
- A weekend or part-time job serving the public
- Caring for a relative at home
- Observing in a GP surgery, hospital or dental practice
- Observe GP or another recognised virtual course
- Talking to doctors, dentists, nurses or dental nurses about their work
Adds little on its own
- A list of placements with nothing about what you learned
- Hours or certificates offered as the evidence
- Only watching, with no time spent helping people yourself
- Anything you could not discuss in depth at interview
Work experience requirements at named UK medical and dental schools
Each school sets its own expectations. This is what seven schools publish for 2027 entry, taken from their own admissions pages.
| School and course | What the school says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford, Medicine | Applicants are expected to show a realistic understanding of what a medical career involves. They can use skills or experience from any context, and voluntary work is only one of many forms of evidence. | No set placement. Focus on what you understood. |
| Bristol, Medicine | Not a requirement, but strongly encouraged. Suggests customer-service jobs or volunteering in nursing homes, hospices, homeless shelters, disability settings or youth groups. You may be asked to reflect on it at interview. | Any caring or public-facing role works. Prepare to discuss it. |
| King's College London, Medicine | Normally expects some work experience in a caring environment and/or observation in a medical clinical setting. If that is not possible, it looks for a public-facing job such as a pharmacy, checkout or restaurant. | Aim for a caring role. A job serving the public is the fallback. |
| Liverpool, Medicine | No minimum work experience is specified. Applicants should have the non-academic attributes in its guidelines, and it points to the MSC's guidance. It says customer-facing and caring roles can be very informative. | Show the attributes with examples from any setting. |
| Glasgow, Medicine | Work experience in a hospital or general practice is not required, but candidates are expected to have explored the realities of a career in medicine. | Explore the job in whatever way you can. |
| Birmingham, Dentistry | Would normally require at least 3 days in an NHS or mixed NHS and private dental practice, and advises volunteering in care settings. Private-only or hospital experience adds to NHS practice but does not replace it. Applicants who cannot get placements will not be disadvantaged. | The most specific rule here. Try for 3 days in an NHS or mixed practice. |
| Bristol, Dentistry | Not a requirement, but suggests at least two weeks of work experience. If clinical experience is not possible, it encourages customer-service work or volunteering in care settings. | Two weeks is a suggestion, not a rule. |
| Liverpool, Dentistry | Desirable: a period of work experience or shadowing in a local dental practice or hospital, preferably in more than one place. The personal statement is not used for shortlisting but is reviewed during interviews. | Two settings help. Be ready to talk through your statement. |
| Sheffield, Dentistry | If possible, experience working in or observing healthcare, ideally general dental practice, and talking to dental care professionals. Points applicants to its free Discover Dentistry course. | Practice time is preferred, not required. |
From each school's 2027 entry page or admissions statement. The Dental Schools Council's 2027 entry guide adds that Plymouth does not require demonstrable dental work experience, and that Cardiff and Portsmouth do not make dental-setting experience a specific requirement.
Hospital volunteering, GP surgeries, care homes and dental practices: realistic routes
Six routes most applicants can reach, with the rules that named organisations publish.
| Route | Age rule (named source) | What it gives you | How to get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital volunteering | 16 and over at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) | A regular role in a hospital over many months | Apply to the trust's voluntary services team. OUH asks for at least 12 months, one session of 2 to 4 hours a week. |
| Hospital work experience placement | Varies by trust. At OUH, wards from 16 or Year 11 (full list in the age table below) | A few days watching a clinical team at work | Apply in the trust's application window. OUH placements usually last 1 to 3 days, a week at most, with one placement per person. |
| GP surgery | 16 and over, for insurance and safeguarding reasons (RCGP) | How general practice and the wider primary care team work | Ask local practices. The RCGP says practices often prefer pupils who come through an established scheme, such as a medical school, social enterprise or local training hub. |
| Care home or hospice | Set by each provider. Skills for Care says 16 and 17-year-olds can work in adult social care in appropriate roles. | Regular, hands-on caring experience | Hand a short CV to local homes and hospices offering to volunteer, or apply for paid care work. |
| Dental practice | Generally 16 and over (DSC) | How a practice works and what the dental team does | Approach practices directly. The DSC also suggests orthodontic practices, community dental services and dental technician labs. |
| Part-time job | Set by the employer | Teamwork, communication and dealing with the public | Apply for any customer-facing job. Bristol, King's College London and Liverpool all describe this kind of role as useful. |
Paid caring roles
Paid care work is worth considering once you are 16. It is regular and hands-on, and it is exactly the kind of caring role described above. Skills for Care, the workforce body for adult social care in England, says 16 and 17-year-olds can work in adult social care in appropriate roles, with suitable supervision. Each employer sets its own age rules, so ask before you apply.
Volunteering outside healthcare
Volunteering does not have to be in a hospital. Bristol's admissions statements suggest homeless shelters, settings that support people with disabilities or special needs, and youth groups. What matters is that you work with people who need help and can explain what you learned from it.
Virtual work experience for medicine and dentistry in 2026
Virtual work experience helps when placements are hard to get, and several options are free. Studying Healthcare says the BSMS course and Observe GP have been recognised by medical schools as a suitable element of relevant experience. Treat them as one element of your experience: BSMS says its own course is not designed to completely replace real-world experience.
Observe GP (Royal College of GPs)
A free interactive video platform showing the work of a GP and the wider primary care team, for UK residents aged 16 and over. The RCGP says the MSC supports it as a suitable element of relevant experience. It gives no certificate, so use the RCGP's reflective diary alongside it.
BSMS Virtual Work Experience
A free course from Brighton and Sussex Medical School covering the NHS and general practice, elderly medicine, mental health, surgery and inpatient medicine, emergency medicine, and palliative medicine. It takes about 7 to 9 hours, and you finish by submitting a reflective piece.
Discover Dentistry (University of Sheffield)
A free online course from Sheffield's dental school that gives an insight into the dental profession. Studying Healthcare suggests it to dentistry applicants, and Sheffield points its own applicants to it.
NHS virtual work experience (South East)
OUH points students aged 13 and over who live in the South East of England to NHS online programmes on the Springpod platform, including medicine and dentistry. Each takes 6 to 8 hours at your own pace.
How to get medical or dental work experience: who to contact
Ask your school or college first
The DSC points out that your school or college may already have links with providers who have hosted students before, so ask your careers adviser to put you in touch.
Check your local hospital trust's work experience page
Trusts set their own rules and application windows. OUH opens windows three times a year, and its autumn 2026 intake closed on 5 June 2026, so apply at least a term ahead.
Contact the voluntary services team
For a regular role, contact the trust's voluntary services team. At OUH, placements are agreed in discussion with that team and depend on your choice, your skills and which roles are free.
Hand a short CV to care homes, hospices and practices
Studying Healthcare and the DSC both suggest preparing a short CV and handing it in to healthcare settings near you, saying you are willing to volunteer. They name care homes, hospices, GP surgeries, dental practices and hospitals.
Ask about established GP schemes
Ask your own practice, and ask nearby medical schools about outreach. Since 2016 the RCGP has partnered with medical schools on GP placements for pupils from widening participation backgrounds, meaning pupils facing educational or socioeconomic barriers.
Answer the practice's worries
The DSC says a practice's existing insurance should cover you. The NHS and the DSC have also produced a toolkit on hosting dental work experience, and Studying Healthcare suggests showing it to practices you approach.
Fill the gap with a job and online courses
A weekend job, care work and the virtual courses above are all accepted routes. The DSC says the key is how you discuss your experiences, not the places you gained them.
What to put in your email or covering letter
- Your name, age, school and year group
- The dates you are free, such as a school holiday
- One or two sentences on why you want to see this setting
- That you understand you will observe and help, not treat patients
- That you will keep everything you see confidential
- A parent or carer's contact details if you are under 18
- Your short CV, attached
Work experience age limits, DBS checks and confidentiality
There is no single national age rule. These are the limits that named organisations publish.
| Organisation | Setting | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| Royal College of GPs | Work experience in a GP surgery | 16 |
| Royal College of GPs | Observe GP (online) | 16, UK residents only |
| Dental Schools Council | Dental practice placements | Generally 16 |
| Oxford University Hospitals | Non-clinical areas such as administration | 15 |
| Oxford University Hospitals | Clinical areas and wards, observation only | 16 or Year 11 |
| Oxford University Hospitals | Maternity services | 17 or Year 12 |
| Oxford University Hospitals | Operating theatres | 18 |
| Oxford University Hospitals | Volunteering | 16 |
| Disclosure and Barring Service | Criminal record (DBS) check | 16 |
OUH gives priority to applicants from Oxfordshire schools. Other trusts set their own rules, so check your local trust's page.
A DBS check is a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales. In Scotland, checks go through Disclosure Scotland. GOV.UK says nobody under 16 can be asked to apply for a DBS check. Standard and enhanced checks are free for volunteers, but not for someone on a work placement. Processing times vary, so start early if a placement needs one.
In a dental practice, the DSC says staff do not need a DBS check to host 16 and 17-year-olds. It also sets out what to expect there: an induction, no clinical work such as cleaning teeth or taking impressions, and strict confidentiality. You must not share anything about patients, including the fact that someone is a patient there.
Before your first day
- Find out who will supervise you and how to raise a concern
- Ask what to wear, when breaks are and what to do if you are ill
- Tell your supervisor about any health needs they should know about
- Bring a notebook, but never write down patient names or details
- Behave professionally and show the values in the NHS Constitution
How to reflect on work experience: What, So what, Now what
Reflection means standing back from what happened and working out what it means for you. The RCGP's reflective diary for aspiring medics contrasts descriptive writing, which tells a story from one point of view, with reflective writing. Reflective writing questions the event, includes other people's perspectives and links it to what you will do next.
Write notes as soon as possible after each session, while you still remember how you felt. Keep them honest, and leave out anything that could identify a patient. The RCGP says these notes will help you write your application and prepare for interviews.
Describe what happened
Two or three factual sentences: the setting, what was said or done, and what you noticed. No names.
Work out what it taught you
What did you learn about patients, the team or yourself? Did it match what you expected? This is the part schools care about most.
Say what changes
How has it changed your thinking, or what will you do differently? Link it to a quality a doctor or dentist needs, such as communication, teamwork or empathy.
A resident with dementia became upset at lunch and refused to eat. A carer knelt to her eye level, spoke slowly, used her name and offered a choice of two meals. She settled and ate.
A descriptive answer stops there. A reflective one notices what the carer did differently from the volunteer's own rushed attempt, asks why it worked, and says what the volunteer now does differently.
- What: the event in two sentences, with no names
- So what: patience, dignity and choice mattered more than speed
- Now what: now kneels to eye level and offers simple choices, and links this to communication
On a two-day placement, a nervous patient stopped treatment partway through. The dentist paused, explained the options calmly and booked a longer appointment.
A strong reflection looks at the whole team, including the dental nurse and receptionist, and asks what the student would want as the patient. It stays honest about what a student can judge, rather than commenting on clinical decisions.
On a busy Saturday, a customer complained loudly about a missing order while a queue built up.
This counts. A strong answer explains how listening first, staying calm and fixing the problem with a colleague are skills a patient-facing doctor or dentist also needs.
Questions to ask yourself after each placement
- What were the main things I did or saw?
- What skills did I gain, or watch others use?
- What did this teach me about the realities of medicine or dentistry?
- What went well, and what did not?
- If I could rewind, what would I do differently?
- How would a doctor, dentist or other professional use these skills?
Work experience in your UCAS personal statement and at interview
| Format | Three separate questions, read together as one statement |
|---|---|
| Length | 4,000 characters in total, including spaces, with at least 350 characters per answer |
| Question 3 | What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful? |
| Where work experience goes | Most naturally question 3, though UCAS says there is no wrong place for evidence |
Studying Healthcare tells medicine applicants to reflect on their work experience and what they learned about themselves or the profession. It also says to show the qualities schools want through examples, rather than simply claiming them. The DSC gives dentistry applicants the same message: draw on your reflections in your personal statement and at interview.
According to the MSC, most medical schools do not score the personal statement, and the DSC says most dental schools do not either. The MSC says schools commonly use it as a basis for conversation at interview instead, so only write about experiences you can discuss in depth. Practice varies: Birmingham uses the statement to help select dentistry applicants for interview, while Bristol no longer weights it for medicine.
Work experience questions at interview
Tell us about your work experience.
Pick one moment rather than listing everything. Describe it briefly, then spend most of your answer on what you learned and how it made you feel. Studying Healthcare says schools want to hear both, not just the type of experience.
What did you learn about teamwork in healthcare?
Name who did what, including receptionists, nurses, healthcare assistants or dental nurses, not only the doctor or dentist. Studying Healthcare stresses that doctors and dentists work in large teams with many other professions.
What did you find difficult during your work experience?
Choose something genuinely hard, explain your reaction honestly and say what you did with it. Studying Healthcare says spontaneous but well thought-out answers impress interviewers more than obviously rehearsed ones.
Common work experience mistakes medicine and dentistry applicants make
Work experience timeline from Year 10 to Year 13
The usual pattern for a student applying from school in England or Wales. Deadlines for 2028 entry are not published yet.
- Year 10, age 14 to 15
Explore the job and start helping people
Most clinical placements are not open to you yet, but you can start building people-focused experience and find out what doctors and dentists actually do.
- Volunteer locally, for example with a youth group or charity
- Go to careers talks: OUH, for example, runs after-school talks on healthcare careers, including routes into medicine for Year 10 and above
- Talk to any doctors, dentists or nurses you know about their work
- Start a simple diary of anything that makes you think
- Year 11, age 15 to 16
First placements open up
Many settings open at 16. Apply early for placements in the holidays after your 16th birthday, and look for a caring role you can keep up.
- Check which local settings accept you at 16, using the age table above
- Book holiday placements early
- Ask local care homes about volunteering or paid roles
- Year 12, age 16 to 17
Your main year for experience
Keep one regular caring or public-facing commitment going, and add short placements and virtual courses around it.
- Keep your weekly volunteering or job going
- Book any GP, hospital or dental practice placement for the holidays
- Do Observe GP, the BSMS course or Discover Dentistry, and reflect on them
- Write up each session within a day
- Summer before Year 13
Turn your notes into question 3
Pick the two or three experiences you learned most from and draft your personal statement. For 2027 entry the deadline for most medicine and dentistry courses was 15 October 2026; the 2028 entry date is not yet published.
- Draft each experience using What, So what, Now what
- Keep your regular role going over the summer
- Year 13, age 17 to 18
Apply, then talk about it at interview
Interviews run through winter and spring. For 2027 entry, Oxford expects to interview medicine applicants in December, and Sheffield's dentistry selection days are 22 to 26 February 2027.
- Reread your diary before every interview
- Keep volunteering if you can, so you have fresh examples
Work experience: your questions answered
Where this guide's facts come from
Checked against these sources on 19 October 2026. Rules change between cycles, so confirm anything that decides your application on the official page for your entry year.
Turn your experience into a strong application
Practise reflecting with the free Virtual Work Experience, then have a current medical or dental student review how your personal statement uses what you learned.