Work experience

• Excellent opportunity to see what it is like to work in the NHS.
   
• Gain vital experience and insight into career opportunities at UHDB.
   
• Help make future career decisions with confidence.
   
• Imperative for some university/college application forms.

If you have a specific specialist area of interest (e.g. medicine), please go to the Specialist Placements section below. Please note, we do not offer work experience working solely with doctors. 

To apply for work experience in a nonspecific specialist area of interest, please complete work experience application form (opens in new window) >.

Your form will come direct to the Work Experience team and we will work to identify a suitable placement for you where possible. Please allow 8 weeks for us to process your application form, and the Work Experience team will contact you whether you are successful or unsuccesful.

* Please note –There may be times where we have to limit our offer to 1-2 days. There may also be times where we are unable to accommodate dates requested.      

For information about placements at any UHDB site, please email your query to uhdb.workexperience@nhs.net. Any department or manager wishing to offer work experience placements can also use this email.

The Medical Education department organises a hospital experience programme for Year 12 students who are considering medicine as a career.

The HOSPEX programme runs over three days and students observe a range of sessions in theatres, on wards and clinics. Students have an opportunity to shadow doctors and other health care professionals in a wide variety of clinical departments throughout the Trust and can select to attend either Queen’s Hospital Burton or Royal Derby Hospital.

Due to the number of applications received for medical work experience there is a strict criterion for applicants, including the requirement that students have a minimum of four grade 7 GCSEs and must live, or go to school, in either Derbyshire or Staffordshire. Only in exceptional circumstances will students outside of these two geographical areas be considered to attend.

Enquiries regarding HOSPEX should be sent to uhdb.hospex@nhs.net. Please note the HOSPEX programme is the Trust's only approved route for access to medical work experience within our hospitals and we would ask individuals not to make separate or direct approaches to departments or clinicians.

Diagnostic Radiography

The work experience programme offered for Diagnostic Radiography offers you an insight into the various roles and imaging modalities: plain imaging (radiography), MRI scanning, CT scanning and ultrasound. Work experience in the X-ray department is strictly for observation and shadowing only.

It is a two-day programme, which you can spend at either the Royal Derby Hospital or Queen's Hospital Burton. It may also be possible to offer some work experience at one of our community hospitals sites (Samuel Johnson Community Hospital in Lichfield or Sir Robert Peel Hospital in Tamworth).

The Imaging department is keen to encourage anyone who is thinking of a career in radiography/imaging to apply. Therefore, we accept school pupils (over 16 years old), students, and anyone considering a career change.

Many universities require you to visit an imaging department before they will accept you onto their programme, and we will provide each student with a certificate of attendance for your portfolio.

For further details on work experience in radiography, Imaging department, please email uhdb.workexperience@nhs.net.

Therapeutic Radiography

Radiotherapy is the use of high energy x-rays to treat diseases, mainly cancer. It is used alone or in combination with other treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy, to cure patients or reduce symptoms to improve quality of life.

Radiotherapy is a very innovative aspect within healthcare and is evolving all the time. It uses a range of advanced techniques and technology to provide safe and accurate treatment, which is delivered by machines called linear accelerators or via radioactive sources placed inside the patient on a temporary or permanent basis.

Our Work Experience programme offers an insight into what is involved to create a personalised treatment for each patient, the precision involved and the care that is required in being a therapeutic radiographer. During your work experience, you could be spending time within our mould room, CT, brachytherapy, superficial unit, and linear accelerator treatment machines with surface guided capabilities.

Many universities require you to visit at least one radiotherapy department before they will accept you onto their programme, and we will provide each student with a certificate of attendance for your portfolio.

You require to be 16+ years old to apply for work experience in radiotherapy. Work experience in the Radiotherapy department is strictly for observation and shadowing only.

For further details on work experience in radiotherapy, please email uhdb.workexperience@nhs.net. 

Work experience and placements for careers in Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy work experience is spread across 2 days, one day at the Royal Derby Hospital and one day at Florence Nightingale Community Hospital.

You will spend time in a number of different departments, to gain a good overview of the roles of a physiotherapist within a hospital setting.

We accept school pupils in Year 11 or above and those who are considering a career change, and will only accept one student at a time, so they will receive one to one attention.

Attending the course is useful for University applications and each student will be provided with a certificate of attendance for your portfolio.

For further details on work experience in Physiotherapy, please email uhdb.workexperience@nhs.net

Work experience and placements for careers in Occupational Therapy

The work experience programme offered within Occupational Therapy gives candidates a great insight into a selection of the different departments/specialties in which occupational therapists work. It is a two-day programme where you get to spend a day at Royal Derby Hospital and a day at Florence Nightingale Community Hospital visiting various departments. You'll get to shadow occupational therapists as well as meet other members of the multi-professional teams. 

Applicants must be in at least Year 11 at school. Attending the course is useful for university applications and each student will be provided with a certificate of attendance for your portfolio.

For further details on work experience in Occupational Therapy and application forms please email: uhdb.workexperience@nhs.net.

Placements at Queen's Hospital Burton

At Queen’s Hospital Burton, we want to encourage anyone who is thinking about a career in either Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy to take part in our therapy work experience, to help broaden their knowledge of the role and spend time with our clinicians.

We accept school pupils (must be in year 11), college students, university students and those who are considering a career change. 

Therapy work experience is every Tuesday for Physiotherapy (8am – 4pm), and Thursday for Occupational Therapy (8am – 4pm). Students will have the opportunity spend time with a number of different departments, including both inpatient and outpatient areas, to gain an overview of the role. 

We only accept one student at a time, to ensure they will receive one to one attention. The student is hands-off and purely for observation and shadowing only. 

Attending the course is useful for university applications and each student will be provided with a certificate of attendance for your portfolio.

To apply, please follow the instructions under the "How to apply for work experience" section.

This 4.5 day work experience programme provides participants with an insight into careers associated with the far reaching and ever evolving role of technology in supporting and enhancing patient care and functional ability.

Participants will spend time observing and shadowing the clinical scientist and clinical technologist attached to the Gait Laboratory and Environmental Assistive Technology team, the Clinical Engineering department, and the Prosthetists / Prosthetic workshop team based within the Amputee Rehabilitation Centre.

This placement is split across the UHDB Derby sites of Florence Nightingale Community Hospital and the Royal Derby Hospital.

The placement will be based within clinical and workshop environments. Participants should be prepared to wear any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) they are asked to (this would be provided) and adhere to all health and safety advice and directives given. There will be the opportunity for some observation with patient interaction and so candidates should feel comfortable potentially meeting people with complex and long-term health needs. 

It is suggested that this placement would be best suited to people with an interest in engineering / design / manufacture or those who are working towards science, design or technology qualifications, and interested in finding out about NHS careers where these skills could be utilised.