What do Year 12s do about healthcare work experience, including veterinary medicine, during COVID-19?
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As soon as COVID-19 began to pose a serious threat to the UK and universities started to cancel their Easter residentials and outreach activities for school students, Causeway began to prepare for wider reaching cancellations and the anxiety this would cause students and teachers. Whilst it still hasn’t been confirmed across the board, summer holiday enrichment plans are clearly under threat. Many Year 12 students are now looking at a long period of time at home, wondering how to proceed with their next steps in spite of school, college and university closures.
One of my first thoughts as soon as this whole situation started was for students wishing to study healthcare related subjects that require work experience. This includes medicine, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy but also veterinary medicine. For some students, it will now be impossible to find a placement. At Causeway, we agree that it is not the actual placement that gets you an offer, but the quality of the reflection a student makes about the experiences they have had.
Medical schools have not released details about how entry requirements will operate this year and their web pages still describe applications before COVID-19, though this will soon start to change as everyone settles into their home offices. I will keep checking and update where I can.
So here are some ideas of what you might do in place of work experience until universities decide on their 2021 entry requirements. If done well and carefully reflected upon, students will still have plenty to discuss in their applications.
“What can I do instead of healthcare work experience?”
Use video of patient interactions
There are lots of doctor/patient interactions to watch online, observe them like you were in the room. Causeway has made a resource for reflecting on your healthcare work experience placement which can be used whilst watching any videos: https://causeway.education/wider-reading (Scroll down to the healthcare section to see the question sheets) The questions will direct you to do some research into the symptoms or treatments, this is really important when writing up for your personal statement. (see our other blog on writing a personal statement).
Warwick University Medical School’s YouTube channel has a few examples that are weirdly addictive: click here.
Try these two first to see what I mean!
Clinical History Example - Using the Four Frames Approach; click here
Clinical Examination - Cardiac Examination Warwick medical School click here
The ideal website will soon exist! The Royal College of GP’s Observe GP platform promises to give students a chance to interact with doctors. It has a launch date of April 2020, but there may be a delay as medical staff deal with Coronavirus. The latest updates will be available on the web page for Observe GP (click here).
Volunteer
There are lots of opportunities to volunteer throughout the outbreak, though the official age to do so through the Government is 18 (which seems a shame in my opinion) however there are many local grassroots organisations supporting neighbours, delivering medicine and food to vulnerable people that may allow you to volunteer at 17, or you might like to accompany an adult where possible. Check social or local media for your region.
Keep up-to-date with reading
The Medic Portal has lots of free resources which can help you develop an understanding of medical ethics and the NHS, both valuable for your interview. The NHS hot topics section is useful as it mentions ailments other than COVID19 to consider and it’s updated regularly:
There is a quiz section too, to test your new-found knowledge!
Interview a doctor online
Whilst work experience may prove elusive to pin down for a while, trying to find a doctor to interview online will still give you the chance to ask lots of good questions. If you find someone talk to you, then make sure you plan your questions in advance, anyone in healthcare right now is working long hours in a pretty emotional environment, so you don’t want to keep them longer than required. I would suggest 20-30 minutes and being clear about that when you ask them.
Other healthcare related courses
The same advice applies as for medicine, following steps 1- 4 but with the focus on the healthcare profession of your choice.
You just need to find some good (UK) resources for videos. Remember, there is a rabbit hole of videos out there, you are looking for ones where you can see some patient/healthcare practitioner interactions or team meetings, as if you are replicating work experience. They also need to be UK examples. All healthcare subjects are covered by:
Health Careers (https://www.youtube.com/user/NHSCareers )
and
Health Education England (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfhvc672Kkry1tiCMKnlK7A )
For nursing:
The Royal Free NHS Trust has some great examples of Physiotherapy exercises - Click here
The College of Optometry has some great videos - Click here
“What about vet medicine?”
I asked the admissions team at RVC about work experience and they gave this very helpful response:
“We are aware that some applicants may be currently unable to complete work experience due to restrictions caused by COVID-19 and that this may impact their ability to fulfil our currently stated requirements. Where an applicant has been adversely affected by this situation, we intend to take this into consideration. We will consider each applicant’s circumstance on an individual basis.
However, as the situation is currently evolving, we may need to review and update our approach, as and when the picture becomes clearer. If our requirements do change, we will update our entry requirements webpage page accordingly and we recommend all applicants regularly check this page for any updates.
Please note, we do not intend to change our requirement for the submission of our applicant supplementary form. All applicants, regardless of the amount of work experience they have or have not been able to complete, will still be expected to.”
Work experience with animals will be just as tricky this year, so the same guidance applies as for aspiring medics. The chances are that most students will already have considerable experience with animals. Students need to do what they can but remember to reflect on any activity if it’s being used in the personal statement.
Watch videos of animals being treated
It’s important that in any video you watch you focus on the vet’s technique and communication, as you are trying to learn about being a vet. How was the client and the patient addressed? What is the diagnosis or treatment?
The British Veterinary Association has lots of videos that might be helpful: click here
Take on a research project whilst at home
Causeway has collated lots of useful resources for reading around your subject, with a question sheet to help you focus on the right aspects for your personal statement. Done well, you can really wow admissions tutors:
https://causeway.education/wider-reading (scroll down to the healthcare section to find vet med)
In addition, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) will be offering real animal science “lectures” and practical demonstrations with research projects they can work on independently. They recommend students sign up to their Teen Vet Club (click here) to keep up to date.
Even without this, you can still use the resources here. Take some time to research current issues in the veterinary world. Make sure you take a critical approch to your reading.
Volunteer
The current situation has increased the need to support vulnerable or isolated neighbours with their pets. For example, dog walking, or picking up medication from the vets (but please, only where it is safe and legal to do so). Check on local media, social media or at your local vets.
Phone/online call with vet to talk about their work
Vets are still working throughout this time so see if you can arrange a call with one to ask them about their role. Try a video call to make it as ‘real’ as possible. Plan all your questions in advance, preferably after you have done some work on steps 1 and 2, so you have better subject knowledge and can fully make use of the time.
Take care of your own pet
Use your own trip to a vet with a pet as a chance to observe and ask questions. Again, use the questions on the wider reading sheet (click here - use the questions from the medicine sheet).
