Work Experience is an introductory experience to careers in the health and care sector.

Who can apply?

• You must be at least 16 years old and in Year 12+ (or equivalent) when you start your placement.
• We give priority to:
  • Care-experienced applicants (e.g. looked after children, care leavers) living on the Isle of Wight
  • Students and young people aged 16-25 living on the Isle of Wight
• We aim to reduce inequalities for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds and the barriers to accessing career opportunities. Therefore, by providing individuals from these backgrounds with work experience, the IW NHS Trust can increase representation and widen access crucial for delivering culturally competent and compassionate care. Work experience can help to level the playing field for those often facing barriers, to gain vital skills and access opportunities that they may otherwise be excluded from.
• While we do our best to fulfil as many requests as possible, we have a limited capacity and cannot guarantee placements. We may pause applications if we reach capacity.
• All applications must be able to provide a suitable reference at the time of application (employer, school/college, social worker, caseworker, IWT staff member).
• If you have any questions, please email iownt.careers-work.experience@nhs.net
• Applicants under the age of 18 must have permission from a parent/carer to participate in workplace shadowing.

What roles can I experience?

Below is an example list of departments who have previously supported our work experience programme. Click to find out more about each experience:

• Pharmacy - Healthcare science
• Cardiac investigations - Healthcare science
• Central booking service - Customer service and administration
• Medical devices - Engineering and electronics
• Clinical education - Nursing, healthcare support and learning and development
• Library - Administration and digital

Please note, that placements within these teams may not be available in all taster weeks, as this is always dependent on departmental capacity at any given time.

Successful applicants will be expected to complete preparational work-related learning as part of their experience to gain those impact out of the programme, and to feel fully prepared for future employment within the NHS.

As work experience opportunities are highly competitive and places are limited, we recommend completing online work-related learning through one of our partners prior to applying:

• NHS 350+ Careers - Virtual Work Experience
• Springpod Virtual Work Experience

If you don’t know which role you’d like to experience, explore roles on NHS Health Careers and take the careers quiz to find your role. For further information, please contact iownt.careers-work.experience@nhs.net

Where does work experience take place?

• Most placements are based at St Mary’s Hospital, Parkhurst Road, Newport, Isle of Wight (although some may take place at the Apex Centre, St Cross Business Park, Newport).
• Our site is well served by public transport. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide transport.
• There is a car park on site for which there is an hourly charge.

When can I apply?

• You can apply for work experience during the time periods below.
• Capacity for placements within our host teams is limited, and applying for an experience does not guarantee a place on our programme.
• Placements usually last two days, plus an additional induction day.
• We do not offer placements on weekends.
• We aim to let you know if your application has been successful or unsuccessful no longer than 2 weeks after the closing date.
• Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications received outside of these dates. Please email iownt.careers-work.experience@nhs.net if you have any queries about work experience.

Workplace shadowing will take place within the following weeks, for 2 days. The induction day will usually take place on the Monday, and the 2 days within your chosen area will depend on the department’s capacity and staffing. This will be communicated to you if you are successful with your application.

This is for university students who are already studying towards their healthcare career

We work with local universities to support clinical placements, which lead to registration with the NMC and HCPC regulatory bodies.

We are able to consider elective placement requests for out of area universities if students are keen to work for the Trust upon registration. 

To access clinical placements in any of these areas, please contact your university programme lead.

The placement must be arranged at least 3 months prior to commencement. 

For further information email the Clinical Education Team iownt.ClinicalEducationTeam@nhs.net

This is for students who are already studying a level 3 qualification in their chosen career.

T-Levels were introduced to the Isle of Wight exclusively at the Isle of Wight College in September 2022, and have been developed in collaboration with employers to prepare young people with the knowledge and skills that will prepare you for workplace.

We offer industry placements in the workplace environment to students currently on a T-Level programme with the Isle of Wight College in Health, Digital and Business Administration.

For further information email The Clinical Education Team iownt.ClinicalEducationTeam@nhs.net

This is for sixth form students wishing to pursue a career in Medicine.

This is a special two-day observation course, which aims to provide an insight into the duties of a junior doctor at a busy hospital and will include shadowing a Foundation Trainee in Medicine and General Surgery. 

To be considered for this course, the requirements are GCSE passes of grade 7 or above and three predicted A Levels at A/A*, two of which must be science-based.

For further information or to apply, please visit our Medical work experience page.

Explore the wider NHS and the health and care sector.

Working in partnership with our NHS 350+ Careers Team, we welcome requests to support local careers events which provide young people with the opportunity to engage with our professionals. 

Education and training providers should contact:

• NHS 350+ Careers Schools Engagement Team - NHSEducation.Outreach@solent.nhs.uk
• Isle of Wight NHS Trust Careers Team - iownt.careers-work.experience@nhs.net

To support you with your career journey, please take a look at the following resources:

• Real-life stories: what is it really like to work for the NHS?
• Video stories: check out what NHS staff have to say
• Careers A – Z: over 350 different roles to choose from
• Personality test: map your career
• NHS 350+ Careers and Virtual Work Experience
• Nursing & Midwifery Experience - Healthcare Careers with Springpod
• Psychology Unveiled: Fields and History - Virtual Work Experience (springpod.com)
• Allied Health : Virtual Work Experience with Health Education England (springpod.com)
• Dive into Dentistry: Virtual Work Experience with Dental Careers (springpod.com)

If you’re interested in becoming a doctor, explore:

• Health Education England Medicine Online Work-Related Learning: for students in years 10-13 and who live in the South-East of England
• Aspiring Medics –  Award winning programme supporting students in years 9-13 with aspirations to go to Medical School
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School virtual work experience
• Medic Mentors – Motivating Medical Minds
• British Medical Journal – How to get into medical school
• British Medical Association – Becoming a doctor
• Roles for doctors – NHS Health Careers
• Academy of Medical Royal Colleges: explore the different medical specialists.
• Or visit our Medical Education pages for more infomation