The Trust has a stated aim to become the employer of choice, and to be a centre of excellence for specialist services, research, education and innovation and part of the way we will achieve this is by attracting talented people to join the NHS and us in particular.
We have a large volume of applications so are unable to meet all requests. We do however offer alternatives to traditional work experience, to help individuals gain knowledge and experience of the healthcare environment.
Details of department open days and careers events will be displayed here, so keep an eye out for them!
Organisational Learning are proud to announce that Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust have been awarded the 'Fair Train' Bronze standard accreditation for Work Experience!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who can do Work Experience?
School or college students aged 15 plus undertaking Work Experience for a period of less than 5 days in total and for a number of reasons which may include:
- As a requirement of a course or for a University application
- As part of a schools work experience programme to help students to make an informed career choice
- To experience a Healthcare environment
- Beacuse of an interest in exploring a career in the NHS
- People of working age who are returning to work or conisdering retraining.
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How long are work experience placements?
Up to 5 days
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How quickly can I get into a placement?
There is no minimum time - placements are at the discretion of the team that will host you, but the longer you can give in terms of notice, the better your chances of success. We suggest an absolute minimum of eight weeks notice.
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What are the benefits of work experience?
It will give you some excellent opportunities to experience work in a very busy acute hospital trust. These will be useful when writing personal statements for higher study courses or job applications.
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Where can I get work experience?
You can apply for work experience with any of our departments, however the decision whether to accommodate your request lies entirely with them.
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Will I get an induction to the organisation?
Prior to starting your work experience placement you will need to attend a Trust Work Experience "Welcome". You will be given dates of these welcomes once your placement has been agreed. The welcome is designed to give you an overview of LTHT and answer any questions that you may have prior to your placement starting. You will also be issued with an I.D badge that you must wear at all times whilst on your placement.
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Can I be paid and claim for travel expenses?
No. If required to travel between sites whilst on work experience your ID badge will enable you to use the Trust Shuttle bus at no cost to yourself.
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Will work experience lead to paid employment?
No it won't, but it may be helpful in any subsequent application that you make.
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Will I wear a uniform?
No, you will be shadowing a member of the hosting team, you will however be provided with protective equipment where necessary.
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I want to apply for medicine at university however it is difficult getting work experience, how can I go about getting the experience to support my application?
If you are interested in becoming a doctor please visit http://www.wanttobeadoctor.co.uk.
The University of Leeds offer a widening access programme for students. Placements within Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust are some offered as part of this programme.
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How do I apply for work experience?
You need to identify the department that you wish to have a placement with. You can find a list of our services here http://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/a-z-of-services/ just navigate the links until you find the department or team you are looking for. In many cases there will be a name, telephone number or e-mail contact. Use that to make a request. When you do, make sure that you give as much information as you can, departments receive more requests than they are able to accommodate, so make sure you make a good case for yourself. If there are no direct contact details, you can write to the unit using the hospital postal address.
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What other opportunities are offered as alternatives to "traditional" work experience?
At LTHT various departments run open days throughout the year that provide an insight into particular roles. Attending these open days is beneficial as they develop your understanding of what is expected of that particular role and any questions that you may have can be answered by staff and specialists. Any current opportunities are advertised on this work experience featured jobs section of the website.
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What will I be able to do whilst on Work Experience ?
Work Experience at LTHT is defined as "A placement in a health related work environment providing Direct Observation of Healthcare". Whilst on work experience you will be classed as a visitor so will be supervised at all times.
To minimise potential Health and Safety risks associated with an unfamiliar workplace it is likely that you will spend most of your time whilst with us Work Shadowing. Activities you will be able to undertake will depend on the nature of the work area, yo age and whether your placement is in a clinical or non -clinical setting. You will not for example be able to undertake any tasks you are not trained to do including clinical tasks and the provision of direct care to patients (e.g. wound dressings, observations, assisting patients with washing, toileting, dressing). Examples of activities you may be involved in are listed below.
Examples of Suitable Activities whilst on Work Experience at LTHT
- Distribute ward leaflets or information to new patients
- Helping patient orientation in the ward
- Shadowing a nurse or healthcare assistant as they take and record a blood pressure, temperatiure & heart rate.
- Completing fluid charts under supervision
- Helping to make the beds
- General tidying of bed area
- Observing routine procedures or investigations or minor surgical procedures
- Assisting with meals (preparing over-tables, cutting food, encouraging the patient to eat and drink) and patient feeding
- Delivering and collecting items from other departments
- Talking to the patients
- Escorting patients
- Attending team meetings
- Taking part in patient activity sessions
- Surveys of patients in a ward to find out what leads to a positive experience
- Analysis of existing data, such as surveys
- Update communication materials such as the pages of the website, leaflets or noticeboards
- Reverse mentoring: helping staff to get to grips with social media
- Analysing calls to see which issues generate complaints
- Event /meeting preparation
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Will I need a Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) for a Work Experience placement?
No, as you will be supervised at all times whilst on work experience it is not necessary for you to have a DBS check (previously called a Criminal Record Check -CRB) unless the placement is more than 10 days in duration.
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What if I have a complaint or concern about a placement I have attended?
All placements are provided subject to operational capacity and with an aspiration to provide the very best experience possible. It is possible that on rare occasions the experience may have a negative aspect and we encourage students on placement - or afterwards - to contact Organisational Learning to discuss any aspect of their placement that they are unhappy with. Organisational Learning will review any complaint of this nature in the spirit of the complaints policy which is that all staff are empowered to resolve minor comments, grumbles and problems immediately.
Any concern or complaint that cannot be resolved in this way will be dealt with as outlined in Appendix A of the Trust Complaints Policy.
