Work experience

Work experience is a fantastic way to gain an insight into a wide range of career opportunities in NHS.

It gives you an opportunity to experience and observe the day to day work of NHS staff.

They can help build your confidence and give you an understanding of the attitudes, behaviours and values that are expected in a healthcare setting.

Explore your future career

Not only doctors and nurses work in our Trust - there are over 350 different careers within the NHS, each with a vital role to play in delivering high quality, compassionate care.

Clinical and non-clinical careers include:

Healthcare Support Worker (HSW)
Allied Health Professional (AHP)
Healthcare Scientist
Estates
IM&T
Finance

and many more.

Visit the NHS Health Careers website to discover NHS careers that match your interests:

Take our careers quiz | Health Careers

Who can apply

We give priority to applicants from Oxfordshire schools and our immediate area.

From 15 years of age students / participants may apply for a placement in non-clinical areas and undertake administration / clerical duties.

From 16 years of age students / participants may be placed in a clinical area or ward for work shadowing/observation only - they should be assigned to shadow an employee undertaking their normal duties, allowing close observation to gain an insight into the role.

From 18 years of age students / participants / adults considering a change of career are permitted to observe in our theatres and emergency departments.

Work experience does not include longer industry placements (T-levels).

Roles within OUH

We offer work experience across clinical and non-clinical roles.

Medicine
Nursing
Midwifery
Pharmacy
Operating Department Practice (ODP)
Radiography (Diagnostic)
Therapies (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy)
Biomedical Science (Microbiology, Biochemistry etc.)
Finance
Health Administration
Human Resources
Property Services and Estates

We cannot offer work experience in our Emergency Department or Mortuary.

Locations

We have four main hospital sites and some services in the community. Some specialist roles are only available on certain sites.

For details of our sites and the transport options available please visit:

Our Hospitals - Oxford University Hospitals

How and when to apply

We open application windows three times a year. If we receive a large number of applications, we may have to close applications early.

We do our best to offer placements but we have limited capacity and cannot guarantee a placement for every applicant.

Placements usually last three days, maximum one week. If you need a full week of work experience, please bear in mind that some of our departments may not be able to offer a full week.

We offer no more than one placement to any individual for work experience, so if you apply for multiple placements we will reject your application.

We cannot offer placements at weekends or on Bank Holidays.

Academic year 2025 - 2026

Intake 1: Autumn term 2025

Placements 29 September to 12 December 2025 including Half Term 27 to 31 October 2025
No work experience over Christmas holiday
Link will be live 10 to 20 July 2025

Intake 2: Spring term 2026

Placements 12 January to 10 April 2026 including Half Term 16 to 20 February 2026 and Easter holiday 30 March to 10 April 2026
Link will be live 14 to 24 October 2026

Intake 3: Summer term 2026

Placements 25 May to 12 December 2026 including Half Term 25 to 29 May 2026 and Summer holiday 23 July to 28 August 2026
Link will be live 24 February to 5 March 2026

Contact us

Email: ouh.workexperience@ouh.nhs.uk

Discover careers in NHS - After School Talks

We invite secondary school students to attend our after-school talks. They help you understand range of healthcare professions and how they work in multidisciplinary teams.

Events for next academic year will be advertised here.

Virtual programmes

The NHS offers online work-related learning through Springpod, providing an excellent introduction to various healthcare careers and helping you prepare for in-person work experience.

This is open to students aged from 13 years living in the South East of England.

Each program takes six to eight hours to complete at your own pace with a certificate on completion.

The following areas are available:

Allied Health
Dentistry
Health and social care
Useful if you are not sure where to start - covers clinical and clinical support careers
Medicine
Nursing and Midwifery
Pharmacy
Psychology

Other opportunities

Elective placements

If you are a medical student looking for a placement on the Medical School Elective Programme, please visit:

Electives - University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division

Overseas applicants seeking elective placements please visit:

Honorary contract holders - Oxford University Hospitals

Resources

Below is a selection of links of interest to those thinking about careers in medicine, health and social care. Many others can be found online by searching.