The NDS Work Experience Programme, now in its eighth year, aims to inform students who are 16 years and over of the many options available to them and inspire their future careers.
Run separately over two weeks, this unique taster programme was delivered by members of staff from across the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, and the Botnar Research Centre. The students were shown the breadth of research, surgical specialties and professions within the department through tailor-made experiences. This provided an invaluable mix of hands-on activities in the lab and clinical exposure on the wards with the opportunity to observe doctor and patient interactions. The students also benefited from various classroom based sessions to further enhance their skills and knowledge.
AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE WEEK ENTAILED
High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound (HIFU) - a talk followed by a HIFU device demonstration with Dr Paul Lyon.
Safety induction - Jessica Doondeea explained safety in the lab, followed by a demonstration in the Liquid Nitrogen Facility.
Quality in Organ Donation (QUOD) - an afternoon learning about organ transplantation research through demonstrations and hands-on practical work with Dr Letizia Lo Faro, Jenny Collins, Marta Oliveira, Azita Mellati and Richard Dumbill, including biopsy retrieval, the methods used to analyse the biopsy samples and organ perfusion.
Oxford Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (OxAAA) Study - shadowing clinicians and nurses on the vascular ward with Jenny Buisan and Ping Zhang.
Transplantation Research Immunology Group (TRIG) - learning about the use of T cells as potential therapy post-
transplant to reduce the need for immunosuppressants and then helping to design an experiment to test the effects of T cells on the suppression of white blood cells in the TRIG labs with Dr Hisashi Hashimoto and Dr Sarah Short.
Science Communication - Dr Hannah McGivern ran a session on the different ways of communicating scientific ideas.
Global Surgery - Professor Chris Lavy discussed some of the challenges for patients, healthcare workers and health systems in resource-limited settings when building a hospital.
Picture a Scientist - Picture a Scientist is a film which raises visibility around the critical issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in science. Conversations about these issues were led by Emily Hotine and facilitated by Ninu Poulose, Monika Tlalka, Eleanor Wilson, Anna Dzido, Louise King, and Natalie Ford.
Urology Department - the opportunity to shadow and speak with specialist nurses and surgeons (including Mr Alex Gordon-Weeks and Dr Fungai Dengu pictured left with the students) on the urology ward, observe patient consultations and MRI scans, and learn about robotic surgery with Mr Alastair Lamb - organised by the Surgical Research team (Jane Niederer, Martin Pirkl, Shelagh Lovell, Clare Dunstan and Katherine Gordon Quayle) at the Churchill Hospital.
Neurosurgery - presentation and careers chat with Mr Martin Gillies.
Introduction to Clinical Trials - Jessica Scaife, with 
help from Zoe Uttley and Alice Guazzelli, provided an introduction to the Surgical Intervention Trials Unit (SITU) and clinical trials, Mr Alex Sagar gave a talk about normothermic perfusion and transplant, Dr Nainika Menon spoke on women in surgery and Dr Joram van Rheede discussed deep brain stimulation (DBS). The students also learnt and practised their suturing skills.
How to write a competitive application - an interactive session with Emily Hotine which included an opportunity to ask questions to a past NDS work experience student who is now undertaking a medical degree.
Ethics - Mr Martin Gillies engaged the students in an ethical debate.
At the end of the week the students presented a short oral presentation about their time on the programme to their peers and invited guests, which was followed by a celebration lunch.
WHAT THE STUDENTS SAID ABOUT THEIR WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENT
‘This placement has made me consider a career in research on top of solidifying my decision to do medicine. It gave me a new perspective on research and academic medicine which I had not seen before.’
‘I enjoyed talking to some of the surgeons about their journey and their work life, as this proved insightful and useful in deciding my own career plans.’
‘The aspects of my work experience I found most useful was the friendliness of the staff and doctors in explaining, involving us and answering our questions in depth, and also the wide variety of experience in different sectors not just surgery, but medical physics, issues in healthcare and lab work.’
‘This placement has solidified my aspiration to study medicine at university, because it has shown me that a career in medicine is exactly what you make it – it doesn’t confine you to one area, like an operating theatre or clinic, but rather allows you to combine multiple areas of interest in one job! I really enjoy science and understanding the reasoning behind everything that we do, and talking to a number of doctors who do research alongside their clinical responsibilities was reassuring and showed me that I can do the same!’
‘Meeting the scientists behind the published papers has affirmed my interest in pursuing research, as their personal stories about how they entered the field were truly inspiring. Throughout the week, I grew towards the idea that scientific research is about enjoying the journey, and not the destination. As someone who currently enjoys studying science, this has strengthened my determination to pursue a scientific career, whether that be through doing research, or through applying science to improve patient outcomes in clinical practice.’
‘The work experience has made me more open to pursue a career in medical research. I feel more equipped and I now have a more developed understanding of medicine.’
‘Thank you to everyone at NDS for this exceptional opportunity. It has really opened my eyes to the field of scientific research, and taught me a lot about the multi-faceted role of the clinician-scientist in advancing patient care.’
