Work experience offers a unique chance to gain first-hand insight into the healthcare environment, develop essential professional skills, and explore a wide range of career paths with the county’s largest employer.
Work Experience at GHFT
Why GHFT
We work closely with schools and colleges across the county to offer young people valuable opportunities to explore the variety of roles, helping them gain insight and experience. Our aim is to raise awareness of the diverse career options and job opportunities available, we can empower people of our community and help them to make informed decisions about their futures.
With over 350 diverse careers within the NHS, each role contributes to providing high-quality, compassionate care. Work experience gives you the opportunity to build confidence, enhance your teamwork skills, and experience the rewarding nature of supporting others. Whether your placement is short-term or long-term, full-time or part-time, it can be a valuable step in helping you determine which career path is the best fit for you.
Benefits of work experience
01
Develop your skills
02
Network and build relationships
03
Gather insights into careers
04
Help boost your confidence
Nursing and Allied Health Professions Work Experience
Our in-person work experience typically last two days. If you or your school or college require longer work experience for example, a full week, there is an opportunity to complete a further 25 hours of virtual work experience. You may instead arrange additional time with another organisation to meet the required hours. This approach allows us to offer opportunities to as many aspiring Nurses and Allied Health Professionals as possible. Weekend work experience is rarely available. We aim to inform you of the outcome within four weeks of your application.
“It has been a really valuable and informative experience, which has genuinely helped me understand more about working in a hospital and in medicine. I especially appreciated how well everything was organised and how welcoming everyone was.”
Jerry completed Work Experience in Oncology in Cheltenham General Hospital
Virtual Work Experience Programme
One Gloucestershire Health and Social Care offers a Virtual Work Experience, which is flexible programme allowing you to complete the experience at your own pace. You can work through the sections in your own time, save your progress as you go, and return whenever you’re ready to continue. Once you have completed the programme, please email your finished document to glicb.workexp@nhs.net and upon submission, we will issue a certificate confirming 25 hours of virtual work experience.
We offer a Healthcare Science Virtual Work Experience Programme delivered in partnership with Springpod. This programme is available nationally on an unlimited basis to anyone aged 13 and over. It has been promoted to schools and further education institutions, supported by a wider marketing campaign across UCAS and TikTok.
Designed to break down barriers associated with traditional work experience, the programme offers an accessible and inclusive way for young people to explore careers in Healthcare Science. Featuring a wide range of interactive content, including quizzes, videos, activities, pre-recorded webinars and Q&A sessions, as well as opportunities to live chat with a Healthcare Science Ambassador. Modules include an introduction to Healthcare Science, exploration of specialisms, entry routes and career planning, and the development of key employability skills.
Applying for work experience
To complete clinical work experience at Gloucestershire Hospitals you must be in year 10 or above and either live or study in Gloucestershire. Please contact the relevant department or service you are interested in (as per the contact details below) to determine eligibility criteria and to complete your application.
If you are a college student looking for a health-related placement (not work experience), please contact your Course Tutor and/or Programme Lead to inform them that you are seeking a placement with Gloucestershire Hospitals.
Get in touch
For the specific departments, please use the contact details provided to reach the teams who coordinate work experience within each area.
Nursing or Allied Health Professionals
Neurophysiology
IT services
Estates and Facilities
This would cover services such as portering, catering, medical engineering and cleaning. Please contact penny.bickerstaff@nhs.net www.gms-facilities.co.uk
Pharmacy
(We are currently not accepting work experience)
Explore virtual work experience
Learn more about Pharmacy work experience
Medical careers
If you’re aiming to become a doctor and want to complete work experience at Gloucestershire Hospitals, please contact one of our Consultants. For support with a mock interview for your university application, contact glicb.workexp@nhs.net
Career Taster Days
Taster Days are designed to give you an introduction to different careers within Gloucestershire Hospitals. They provide an opportunity to learn more about specific roles, explore different career pathways, and gain a better understanding of what it’s like to work in these areas. During a Taster Day, you may have the chance to visit departments, meet professionals working in the field, and speak with current trainees or staff members. These sessions are a great way to ask questions, hear about real experiences, and find out more about the different entry routes into a particular profession.
Medicine Careers Taster Programme
Register your interest in the Medical Careers Taster 2‑Day Programme, taking place in July 2026 at Gloucester Royal Hospital. This programme is delivered in partnership with Bristol Medical School (University of Bristol), Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and NHS Gloucestershire ICB (We Want You Team). Please complete the form below to help us understand your background and interest.
The We Want You team will be in touch towards the end of May 2026 with further details. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact glicb.workexp@nhs.net
Midwifery Taster Session
Are you interested in a career in Midwifery? Join our Midwifery
Taster Session and take your first step towards a rewarding and
life-changing profession.
Medical Physics Taster Days
While we do not currently offer formal work experience placements within Medical Physics, we periodically run Medical Physics Taster Days for students who are interested in pursuing a career in this field. These sessions provide an opportunity to visit our departments, meet members of the Medical Physics team, and speak with current trainees.
Attendees can gain valuable insight into the wide range of roles within Medical Physics, as well as the different entry routes into the profession. Please email tony.dix@nhs.net if this is something that would be of interest. It is likely that the next taster day will be in the next few months.
“Visiting the lab gave me a great insight into this career. Everyone was so supportive and seeing all the complex things we can make as Reconstructive Scientists made me excited. I would recommend this to anyone who is considering a career in the NHS, to gain some experience!”Penny Whittington,
1st year Reconstructive Science STP
1st year Reconstructive Science STP