Work experience

If you are a student at school in Gateshead, or at college and are thinking of a career in the NHS, then our work experience is for you.

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust was awarded the Work Experience Quality Standard in 2023 for recognition of the quality of our work experience offering.

Placements give young people important experience in the world of work. You can also gain information about a range of jobs to help you to make your career choices.

Contents

• Getting Started
• Advice for Students
• What is on offer and dates
• How to apply
• Advice for Teachers and Careers Advisers
• NHS Learning Packages
• Useful Videos and Links
• Quality Standard award

Getting Started

Gateshead Health provides opportunities for those seeking work experience placements in a variety of roles within the health and social care sectors.

This is a perfect opportunity for anyone thinking about a career in the NHS to try a work experience placement.  We offer a variety of work experience placements during a specific application window.

Work experience is available to everyone, whether you are at school thinking about your future career, people taking career breaks and wanting a change of direction or people wanting to try something completely different.

Working in the NHS and social care is an extremely rewarding career and offers an experience like nowhere else. Every role, whether it is clinical or non-clinical plays a vital role in making a difference to patients, service users and families and carers. You will learn a lot about yourself as well as developing professionally.

Gateshead Health NHS Trust has recently created a 360° virtual work experience video which allows viewers to explore a number of different job roles at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. See the environment in which real staff work, watch them going about their daily tasks and listen to them explain what their role consists of, the skills and qualities needed, the best parts of their job as well as future career opportunities. Jobs roles explored in the video include; Physiotherapist, Nursery Nurse, Pharmacist, Research Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Clinical Trials Officer, Phlebotomist, Radiographer, Research Data Manager and Outpatient Administrator. Click here to watch the video.

Advice for Students

General advice

For any students that are thinking of applying for university or for a job in the Gateshead Health Trust (or any other health setting) they will expect to see in your personal statement that you have researched the different areas available in your field of study e.g. adults, paediatrics, older people.  Please see the useful videos and links section for information on this.

Application information

Applications for work experience placements are currently closed.

In the last application window, we asked the following 3 questions and scoring applications accordingly:

Q1 – What are your career aspirations and how will this work experience placement help you work towards this?

Q2 – What research have you done on the area(s) selected for a work experience placement and what have you found out?

Q3 – What do you know about the NHS and Gateshead Health and why do you want a work experience placement with us?

For these 3 questions we use a scoring scale of 1-3, please see the scale explanation below:

1. Below standard, for example lack of relevant details
2. Meets standard, for example contains some relevant details.
3. Above standard, for example detailed answers showing clear rationale for application.

Please note that, due to the demand for placements and the limited number of available work experience placements, placements are prioritised on a combination of points scored and living in the Gateshead area.

If you are successful in being offered a work experience placement it is subject to completion of required paperwork and attending a work experience Trust Welcome in person. You would be assigned a work experience Trust Welcome from one of the following dates and times:

31st March 2026 (5pm-6pm), Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, QE Hospital

19th May 2026 (5pm-6pm), Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, QE Hospital

28th July 2026 (5pm-6pm), Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, QE Hospital

What’s on offer

Below is a list of departments that offered work experience placements in 2026 including the placement length and hours of placement. For all placements, the minimum age requirement is 16 years.

How to apply

Applications are currently closed. The application window closed on Sunday 1st February 2026.

Advice for teachers are career advisers

View the work experience toolkit for health and care organisations.

NHS Learning Packages

The learning packages have been developed by the University of Leeds and Health Education England for anyone considering a career in health.

They cover different topics with interactive tasks to help you learn in depth. They have been developed for you to complete in your own time or you could form a group to complete together at a school or college. Learning together brings added benefits as you can explore things together and test out what you have learnt.

• The 6 Cs: You will learn about the component parts of the compassionate care approach utilised by the NHS and how the NHS is currently structured. As well as the elements of the compassionate care approach via a case study exploring the areas of care, competence, communication, courage, commitment, and compassion.

• NHS structure: You will learn about the forming principles of the NHS, the formation and history of the NHS, the concept of free to access healthcare. You will be able to identify strengths and weaknesses of free healthcare for all, have an awareness of the different stakeholders involved in the delivery of secondary care in the UK, and understand how funding flows through the NHS

• Healthcare teams – primary: By working through this package you will understand the defining characteristics of primary care in the UK, be aware of the role and function of a primary healthcare team (PHCT) and have an awareness of the different team roles in a typical primary healthcare team.

• Healthcare teams – secondary: You will learn about the difference between primary and secondary care, understand the work that takes place in a hospital setting, and the different dimensions of quality improvement in healthcare settings.

• Healthcare teams – doctors: You will understand the value and importance of team-work in the treatment of patients. Learn about the various roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals who work with doctors, understand the training process to become a doctor in the UK.

• Good medical practice and regulated professions: You will learn about the principles of ‘Good medical practice’, understand more about what it means to be a good doctor, have an understanding of some of the key competencies of medical professionals.

• Values and attributes: By working through these materials, you will learn about the values and attributes that guide professionals working in the NHS. As well as understand the seven principles that guide the NHS, appreciate the distinction between values and attributes that are important for healthcare professionals.

• Capacity and consent: You will understand issues related to shared decision in clinical treatment, be aware of the complexities surrounding issues involving capacity and consent.

• Reflection: You will learn about approaches to reflection and self-evaluation, be able to apply simple models of reflection, understand the value of reflective notes and diaries.

Useful videos and links

• Healthcare Science Careers: Virtual Work Experience with NHSE | Springpod
• Work Experience in Allied Health – North East & Yorkshire | Springpod
• Work Experience in Pharmacy – North East, North Cumbria & Yorkshire | Springpod
• Psychology Unveiled: Fields and History – Virtual Work Experience | Springpod
• Virtual work experience – Queen Victoria Hospital
• NHS work experience
• 350 NHS Careers
• What next? Post school options
• NHS Careers quiz
• Work Experience Student Review

Quality Standard award

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded with the Work Experience Quality Standard in recognition of the quality of our work experience offering.

The award presented by NHS England recognises organisations that offer programmes of a high standard.