Virtual work experience

1 of 8. Enrol here

Our virtual work experience programme is aimed at anybody interested in finding out more about careers in health and social care.

It is a quick and easy way of diving into the world of health and social care careers, gaining job application and interview tips, and finding out more about current job opportunities.

The first step is to register your details for the programme – please enrol by clicking the button below:

2 of 8. Joined Up Care Derbyshire

All the NHS and social care organisations in Derby and Derbyshire work together in a system called Joined Up Care Derbyshire. This video gives you an introduction to Joined Up Care Derbyshire.

Introducing Joined Up Care Derbyshire

3 of 8. What is the NHS?

The National Health Service, or NHS, is the publicly funded medical and health care service that UK residents can access free at the point of need. The government sets aside money to fund the NHS, and most of this is paid for by UK residents paying tax.

The NHS was first set up on 5 July 1948 by the Health Minister Anuerin Bevan, so that everyone would share the burden of paying for healthcare instead of payment coming directly from ill or injured people.

There are so many different types of jobs you could do within the NHS, many you may have never come across before. Watch this video to hear from some NHS team members.

We are the NHS

The NHS is a complex system made up of many different organisations across the UK. It is the largest employer in the country, and the fifth largest employer in the world! Employing around 1.7 million people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are more than 350 different job roles in the NHS alone.

Here’s a video featuring NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard talking about the 75th anniversary of the health service. It shows what the NHS has achieved over the years and the amazing impact it’s had on our society.

Achievements of the NHS

4 of 8. What is social care?

While health care is concerned with treating health conditions, illness or injuries, social care focuses on helping people who need extra support with their everyday lives. It’s about enabling people to live as independently and comfortably as possible. Often, clients may be living at home, in care homes or in supported housing.

There are many different roles within social care – not just social workers, which tends to be the first job that springs to mind when you think about social care. You could also be a care worker, activities worker, registered nurse, occupational therapist, or in other support roles such as administration or management.

Have a look at this video to learn more about social care.

So, do you think you would like a career in health and social care? Do you think you have the skills needed to work in health and social care? You may well do even though you might not appreciate it yet. Watch this video to see how someone’s attitudes and behaviours in early years might make them a great match for working in this area. The video was produced by colleagues in Gloucestershire but its messages are every bit as relevant for young people and careers in Derby and Derbyshire.

We want you

5 of 8. What types of careers are there?

Before we explain some of the types of jobs and careers available, we want to introduce you to the Careers Team at Joined Up Care Derbyshire. In this video, Susan Spray, programme lead for the Careers Team, explains about how the Careers Team supports people find roles in health and social care.

Introducing the Careers team

Spotlight on some roles…

Allied health professionals (AHPs)

There are 15 allied health professional roles, including physiotherapist, prosthetist and therapeutic radiographer just to name a few. And they all have one thing in common: they play a vital part in treating, rehabilitating and improving the lives of patients.

AHPs help patients in ways that few other healthcare professionals can, whether that’s by helping someone learn to walk again or fixing a child’s squint.

They work alongside a multidisciplinary team of doctors and nurses, in a range of settings including hospitals and patient’s homes, as they help patients overcome obstacles, both mentally and physically.

All allied health professionals have a degree level education – but this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go direct to university! There may also be degree level apprenticeships available that can be studied whilst working to gain your qualification as an AHP.

Degree courses can take between two and five years, depending on the course and the university you choose. You will also gain practical experience throughout your course via placements in a variety of clinical environments.

Usually, you will need three A Levels or equivalent qualifications at level 3, plus the relevant GCSEs to gain entry onto a degree course at university. However, entry requirements can differ between universities, so make sure you have a look at where you are interested in studying and see what they are asking for. There may be some specific A Levels that are required too.

There is some financial support available to help you study for an AHP course, via the NHS Learning Support Fund. This pays you £5,000 a year to help towards your studies, and sometimes more depending on your circumstances.

Allied health professionals

If you like the sound of working as an AHP, YouTube has lots more videos on all the different types of AHP professions which you are welcome to watch to find out more.

Healthcare scientists

Healthcare scientists provide diagnostic, rehabilitative and therapeutic services in areas such as nuclear medicine, clinical physiology, biomedical engineering, laboratory sciences, imaging, bioinformatics and rehabilitation sciences. There are more than 50 different specialisms.

In the Clinical Measurement department at Royal Derby Hospital they specialise in Cardiology (hearts), Respiratory (lungs/breathing), Neurophysiology (brains and muscles), Gastro- intestinal (digestive system) and Vascular (veins and arteries).

Healthcare science staff who work in the physiological sciences use specialist equipment, advanced technologies, and a range of different procedures to evaluate the functioning of different body systems, to diagnose abnormalities, and to direct and in some cases, provide therapeutic intervention and long-term management and care.

Healthcare Scientists are involved in 80% of all clinical decisions in the NHS. In this video, find out about how healthcare scientists are involved in blood testing.

Healthcare scientists

Nursing

Nurses work as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing direct patient care. No two days will be the same as a nurse, and you could work in a variety of different settings, including hospital wards, operating theatres, schools, GP practices, care homes and people’s own homes. There are four key areas of nursing you can choose to specialise in – mental health nursing, learning disabilities nursing, adult nursing and children’s nursing.

Nursing

What is it like working as a neonatal nurse? Click here to read Sean's view

Shaun Edwards – Senior Lecturer Neonatal Nursing, De Montfort University, and Neonatal Nurse, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton

I finished school and wasn’t sure about the career I wanted to pursue, so I decided to look into children’s nursing, as the option to train as a paramedic was not available to me at that time. This turned out to be the best decision I had ever made! After three years at Nottingham University I graduated and started working on the neonatal unit as a registered children’s nurse.

In this role, neonatal nurses care for the most vulnerable babies in society, we can care for extremely preterm babies in incubators needing respiratory support, to term babies who have had a difficult delivery or need help with their feeding.

The day-to-day role includes feeding, changing, providing medication either orally or through an infusion pump, assessing babies breathing and heart rate, colour and tone on an hourly basis, we do this 24/7 and our aim is to ensure stability and promote growth, rest and recovery. Parents are also a huge part of this role, we now actively encourage and support parents to care for their sick new-born baby, we do this in a number of ways by encouraging mothers to express breast milk to getting parents involved with their daily care and discussing care options with them.

My role in the NHS lasted 13 years and, in this time, there are so many options available to you, I worked as a charge nurse which involved the day-to-day running of the unit and then moved into education, where I assessed the nurses on the neonatal unit and supported the new staff, before moving into management and eventually running two neonatal units and ensuring the safe delivery of care and staffing levels.

More recently, I have moved into lecturing, whereby I teach on the postgraduate neonatal nursing course and also teach student nurses here at De Montfort University, this role is both pastoral and education focused. I mentor a group of children’s nursing students through their three-year nursing degree and also teach on the children’s nursing programme.

My biggest piece of advice would be to pursue a goal and try things out, often it is the things that we are not sure of, turn out to be the best decisions we make. I enjoy nursing, and if like me you are keen to help others then this can be a really rewarding role.
What is it like working as a midwife? Click here to read Danielle's view

Danielle Pilbrow, Midwife at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

I’m Dannie and I am currently working within the community midwifery team at Darley Dale. I have been in this team for two years now and I cover two GPs surgeries. I run antenatal clinics from both the base at Darley Dale and one of the GP surgeries. I also complete home visits and attend home births. We also work on call and can be called into the hospital to help if needed on the birth centre.

I am currently the lead carer for 54 women who are pregnant or recently delivered their baby. I plan their care and offer advice and education for pregnancy and parenthood, referring them where necessary for further help, advice, scans, review etc. I complete basic checks and refer to other departments when further medical care is needed. I work in a lovely team, we look after each other and often socialise outside of work.

To get to where I am today, I completed my midwifery training at Manchester University, which was the three-year midwifery course. I worked in Oldham and Lancaster in all aspects of midwifery care before moving to New Zealand and working as a midwife there for eight years. I moved back to the UK with my family two-and-a-half years ago, transferred my midwifery registration back, and started working for Chesterfield Royal Hospital. I have loved working as a midwife and it’s adaptable all over the world!

I particularly love building up a working relationship with women and their families and guiding them through pregnancy, birth and beyond. Also seeing them again in subsequent pregnancies is fab as that relationship is already there. My job has lots of ups and downs but mostly it’s brilliant. It is constantly evolving and staying up-to-date is vital which means I’m often reading things at home in my own time. Every day is different, and I like that. Some days I’m in clinic, some on home visits, some on study days so being flexible and being able to adapt quickly is essential but much more interesting this way.

If I could offer a young person starting their career journey advice it would be to find something that you love doing and really want to excel at. Midwifery is a passion and loving my job makes my life so much more enjoyable! Find your passion! Do what makes you happy!

Midwifery

The midwifery team are professionals who support expectant parents and families in pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period.

Midwifery

Non-clinical roles/wider healthcare team

There are many diverse roles in the wider healthcare team which are vital to the smooth running of our health and care services. This includes roles such as chefs, administrators, engineers, chaplains, IT (information technology) technicians, financial accountants and managers to name just a few. Find out here in this video about working in IT services.

Non-clinical roles

Pharmacy

The pharmacy workforce is the third-largest healthcare profession in the UK, with medicines being the most common treatment offered to patients. Pharmacy roles offer a great opportunity to make a difference to people’s health and wellbeing.

The pharmacy team works in all sectors of healthcare including hospitals, GP surgeries and community pharmacy (high street chemists). Pharmacy within Derby and Derbyshire offers varied and fulfilling roles whatever stage of your career you are at.

These roles include pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy support staff.

Pharmacists

Pharmacists are registered healthcare professionals who have completed an undergraduate four-year masters’ degree in pharmacy (MPharm) and a year of practice-based training before being licensed to practice by the General Pharmaceutical Council. They work in all sectors of pharmacy and many enhance their clinical skills by completing post-graduate training. Future pharmacists will achieve an accreditation to be a prescriber.
Pharmacy technicians

Pharmacy technicians are registered healthcare professionals who have completed a General Pharmaceutical Council approved training programme. They learn ‘on the job’ and complete their training as part of a two-year training programme, usually an apprenticeship. Once qualified, they are licenced to practice by the General Pharmaceutical Council. They work in all sectors of pharmacy and have varied roles from supplying and managing medicines, manufacturing medicines, providing care to patients on wards, in community pharmacy and in GP surgeries. The titles of pharmacist and pharmacy technician are protected in law and only those registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council can use these titles.
Pharmacy assistant/support staff

Pharmacy assistant/support staff are regulated roles that require a minimum level of on-the-job and educational training. They assist in the provision of pharmacy services particularly in medicines procurement and dispensing and supply. They have varied roles and can also be known as medicine counter assistants, assistant technical officers and dispensers. They all need to complete minimum training as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Pharmacy support staff roles do not usually require specific academic requirements for roles. Good functional skills for maths and English are desirable. Completion of a GPhC approved training programme will be required within a few months of starting work. You will learn on the job.
Associated pharmacy roles

Not all roles require pharmacy qualifications. Pharmacy Quality Assurance (QA) departments have roles which require qualifications in chemistry or biology, these positions include pharmacy releasing officers or QA managers. Large pharmacy practices may require non-clinical pharmacy managers or reception staff.

Pharmacy

You can find out what a day at work is like for members of the pharmacy workforce on pharmacy careers webpage.

Care worker

As a care worker (or a support worker) you may work with lots of different people including adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, substance misuse issues, mental health conditions and older people.

Care workers support people with different aspects of their lives such as social and physical activities, mobility, meals and personal care. They might also help with booking and attending medical appointments and monitoring conditions and possibly help people with their medication.

There are no set entry requirements to become a care worker, but each organisation will specify their requirements in their adverts and job descriptions. You don’t necessarily need to have any experience to become a care worker, but it can be desirable to have some transferable skills or experience. This may be experience gained in your personal life with family members or friends, or it could be customer service experience which has given you some key skills.

Anyone who is new to health and care will be required to complete the ‘Care Certificate’ which is a set of standards that define the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed in specific job roles in health and social care. It forms part of the induction programme for anyone new to care.

Care worker

6 of 8. Employability and application skills

There is a wide variety of different jobs within health and social care, and they all require different types of training, knowledge and skills. Whatever role you go into, there is a core set of employability skills that unite them all.

Employability skills do not just relate to the qualifications and training that someone has, but they include a whole range of transferable skills and individual values which enable them to help themselves, colleagues, patients and families.

Some examples of transferable employability skills include being organised, dedicated, reliable, empathic, compassionate and caring. All of which are important factors in most jobs within health and social care.

Hard and soft skills

Soft skills – are personal and learned by experience – including how you interact with others and contribute to a positive work environment, for example, flexibility, reliability, communication and compassion.

Hard skills – are measurable and teachable, including specific technical skills related to a job, for example, administering CPR or medicine, dressing wounds, computer software skills, or use of a specific database/computer system.

An employer will assess what skills you will bring to the workplace by reading your application/CV and holding interviews and assessments. It is a good idea to start thinking about what your skills are, and trying to build on them now, to help you put you in a good position when you are thinking about applying for jobs.
Communication skills

Communication is an extremely important transferable skill in any job role as well as in your personal life. But what do we mean by communication skills?

Essentially, communication skills are how we behave when giving and receiving information. We can often mistake communication to mean only speaking to others, however it also involves non-verbal, visual, written communication as well as listening.

In health and care, communication is vitally important. For example, this could include communicating to a patient or colleague, updating someone on a patient’s condition, or relaying results from tests and samples. It might involve providing people with varying levels of understanding, information that will make sense to them.
Listening skills
Listening can be one of the most important elements of communicating, particularly as a health care professional when working closely with patients and listening to what they have to say.

Depending on your role, you could be part of a patient’s support network, which means they are more likely to open up to you about important issues and tell you their thoughts, concerns and feelings. Through listening and really hearing what they say, this will help you to provide the best quality of care to them.

Active listening involves really hearing and understanding what people say, being able to process that information and responding appropriately. When you are seeking a new job opportunity, improving your active listening skills will help you succeed and increase your value as an employee.

Here are some active listening tips you can use to improve your interpersonal skills:

Paraphrase (summarise the main points to show you understand their meaning)

Ask open-ended questions (that can’t be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and to guide them into sharing additional information)

Ask specific probing questions

Use short verbal affirmations (to show you are engaged e.g. ‘I see’, ‘yes, that makes sense’.)

Display empathy (share their feelings, show compassion e.g. ‘I’m so sorry that happened to you, here’s how I can help’)

Share similar experiences (this can help build relationships, talk about a similar experience and how you dealt with it)

Recall previously shared information (showing you remember what they have said previously)

Nod (a helpful, supportive cue to show you are listening)

Smile (can encourage them to continue, ensure they feel comfortable)

Avoid distracting movements (e.g. glancing at your watch or phone, sighing, tapping a pen etc. avoid non-verbal communication with others which can make the speaker feel uncomfortable)

Maintain eye contact (try to keep your eyes on the speaker and avoid looking at other people or objects in the room).
Teamwork
Effective teamwork in any role, in any workplace can promote an atmosphere of friendship, loyalty and unity. Good relationships can encourage employees to work harder, co-operate and be supportive of one-another.

Within a team, everyone has their own talents, strengths and weaknesses which should complement each other and work together to achieve the overall aims of the team.

Within health and care, teamwork is important for several reasons:

Offering differing perspectives – healthcare professionals work in multidisciplinary teams to ensure a holistic approach and consider the whole needs of the patient or service user.

Efficiency – We can’t do everything on our own. Teams allow workload to be shared, ensuring tasks are completed efficiently and reducing pressure on individuals.

Learning – health and care needs are constantly changing, and professionals are constantly learning. Teamwork allows insights from different viewpoints and learning from more experienced individuals.
Application forms - top tips
Read the job description/person specification thoroughly. You need to understand what the job is that you are applying for, and ensure you match your skills and experience with what the employer is asking for in the person specification.

Always tailor your application for each job you apply for – don’t just use the same wording for multiple roles as they may have different requirements. You need to show the recruiter why they should hire you for the job.

Proof-read your application before you submit it – spelling and grammar mistakes do not create a good impression.
Structuring your CV - top tips
Try to keep it to a maximum of two pages of A4

Start with your name and contact details at the top

Introduce yourself with a personal statement

Summarise your skills and achievements and career goal – this is your selling point!

List your education and training (relevant to the role) starting with the most recent first

Include any interests/hobbies that may help to sell you
Job hunting tips
Things you can do now to help boost your CV and applications:

Take on a leading role in a club

Do some volunteering

Learn a new skill

Find a part-time job – any experience is good experience, even if it’s not related to what you want to do as a career. It will show employers that you are willing to work hard to get to where you want to be.
Interview tips
Interview Tips

Preparation is key! Do a trial run before the day to ensure you know where to go, how long it takes to get there and parking arrangements. Turning up late does not create a good first impression.

Plan what to wear and get any required documents/certificates ready in advance.

Re-read the job description and think of examples from your experience which you can talk about in your answers to the questions. Try to think of different examples which demonstrate the breadth of your skills and relate to the requirements of the job e.g. communication, organisation, reliability etc.

Research the company – have a look at their website and even social media posts to give you an understanding of what they do and their core values and culture.

Try to think of one or two questions to ask the panel. This will show that you are thinking seriously about what it would be like to work there. Some examples might be:

Can you explain the day-to-day responsibilities of the job?

What challenges would someone in this role experience?

How would you describe the culture within the team/company?

7 of 8. Take the e-assessment

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our virtual work experience content and picked up some helpful insights along the way.

It’s now time to take the e-assessment. You will need to pass this in order to be able to download the certificate of completion.

Good luck and enjoy!

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8. Next steps

Congratulations! You’ve got to the end of the programme. Hopefully you’ll feel more informed about potential jobs and careers in health and social care. We would love you to make your career in the sector here with us in Derby and Derbyshire. If you have any questions about next steps, please email us: ddicb.joinedupcareers@nhs.net

There’s also a lot of other resources out there in case you want to find out more. We have listed a few of those resources here.