Work Experience

At the Countess of Chester Hospital, we are committed to offering work experience placements to support students into future NHS careers. These placements help students gain insight into the roles available in the NHS, which can support their studies or career aspirations. If you are looking at a career change into health, then we can help with this also.

Undertaking a work experience placement, has many benefits:

Providing insight into a variety of NHS careers
Meet staff and discuss their career journeys
Develop new transferable skills
Gain valuable experience within your preferred department
Practical skills
Gain an insight into the world of work

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How to Apply

Applications for work experience will be received up until Friday 28 June 2024 and we recommence on Monday 16 September 2024 – Please do not send an application form outside of the application dates as it will not be processed.

Before applying for a work experience placement, you will need to:

Provide proof of your immunisations if you want to be placed in a clinical area
Be 16 or over (17 in Radiology and Theatres)
Apply a minimum of six weeks in advance of dates you are hoping to visit
You will need to provide one reference (this can be a from a teacher in school)
You need to consider which areas interest you and your career aspirations
Essential to complete every question on the application form

If you can do all of the above, please email coch.workexperience@nhs.net

*Please note that not all departments are able to accept work experience placements. We do not consider applications that do not meet the criteria or the correct procedure for applying has not been followed. All eligible applications are dealt with in strict rotation, as we receive high volumes of applications.*

Hear from some of our past students:

“I really enjoyed my time at the hospital and found it to be a valuable experience. The doctors and MDTs were very approachable and took the time to answer my questions, which allowed me to gain insight into how they interact with patients and then I was able to reflect on what I saw. Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to have done work experience with you and the experience has motivated me to pursue a career in the medical field and I hope to have more opportunities like this in the future.”

“The admin team provided me with an excellent work atmosphere and a great learning environment, I am very thankful for my opportunity to undertake my placement there and would recommend this experience to anyone interested in working within the administrative field.”

“It helped me to decide on the career I would like”.

“Absolutely wonderful - the staff were very friendly and keen to show me the inner workings of the hospital and answer my questions”.

“The doctors were very kind and regularly asked if I had any questions and would give clear explanations of different procedures, X-rays and some risk factors when extracting teeth like dry socket.”.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What kind of Work Experience do we offer?

We offer placements in a wide variety of clinical and non-clinical areas.

2. How long does it take for us to arrange a work experience placement?

Placements can take anywhere between 6-8 weeks to arrange, please bear this in mind when applying. A member of our team will be in touch with you once a placement with your chosen department has been confirmed.

*Due to the high demand for a placement in the hospital, it is not always guaranteed. Our team will be in contact if we cannot arrange a placement for your requested date, and we will work with you to try and arrange an alternative where possible.*

3. Who can undertake a work experience placement?

Students need to be 16+ years to undertake a work experience placement. However, in some areas for instance Theatres and Radiology, students need to be 17+ years. If you are in year 10, please see information below about our Year 10 work experience week.

We prioritise applications from individuals who live in or attend an educational institute in the local area, due to high demand for placements.

Accreditation

We have received the Gold Standard for our work experience provision. This is a national accreditation awarded by NHS England which provides external quality assurance for high quality work experience programmes.