Workshops By Aspiring Medics Urge Students To Consider One of 350 Available Careers In The NHS

Cleethorpes Academy Year 9 students with Isabel Williams and Aayush Nanda (centre) from ‘Medical Mavericks,’ who delivered workshops on careers in the NHS.

The wealth of alternative careers in the NHS - all 350 of them - were under the spotlight when ‘Medical Mavericks’ held two days of workshops at Cleethorpes Academy.

Year 9 students were treated to a presentation by two aspiring medics from the organisation, who delivered a passionate presentation on NHS careers, before giving the students hands-on experience with medical equipment. The workshops also covered Medicine in Sports and the types of jobs available to students within this field.

Medical student Aayush Nanda (20), who has just completed his first year at university, and Isabel Williams (22), who has just graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Medicine, were on hand to tell the students that not every career in the NHS requires them to have top GCSE grades like them.

They urged the students not to dismiss an NHS career on the basis of GCSE grades, but to consider the myriad ways to enter the NHS with grades 4-9. Isabel told them that only five roles in the NHS require the top grades 7-9, which leaves 345 roles that do not.

Both medical students said they hoped that having young people as mentors, who are “walking the walk” towards NHS careers, was an inspiration for others to follow.

Isabel said: “I was a nerd at school and did not know many people who liked the sciencey things that I did. I think being able to see someone similar to me actually going through the process would have given me inspiration and, hopefully, we can make an impression on other young people that leads them to follow their dreams of a career in the NHS.

“It is a privilege to be able to help someone else, and every role within the NHS has an element of that. Most people can reel off doctors, nurses, dentists and paramedics, but very few realise just how many careers there are available to them, from management to administration, the ambulance service, and the wider healthcare team. 

“There are so many roles to choose from, and the aim of these workshops is to challenge perceptions and make sure that young people know where to go to access information about NHS jobs.”

The students were given an introductory tour of the NHS Careers website (www.healthcareers.nhs.uk), before receiving instructions on how to take their blood pressure, check their hearing, measure their temperature and blood oxygen levels, and even check their bone growth plates using an ultra-sound machine.

Aayush Nanda, who hopes to become a surgeon, said: “Everyone thinks that to get an NHS career you must go to university, but that is not the case. We want to show them that careers in the NHS are accessible to everyone and give them an idea of how to go about it.”

Year 9 students watch a video on how to access careers in the NHS.

Aspiring surgeon Aayush Nanda delivers a video on NHS careers to Year 9 students.