A crucial part of your application is your understanding of what being a doctor entails – and it will be tested from your personal statement to your interview. To have an idea of what working in the healthcare world is like, you might want to arrange some shadowing at a local surgery or at the closest hospital; you’ll often be asked to help out with simple tasks. This can be a first step towards your decision process of becoming a doctor, too! Some students decide to go abroad (often during a gap year) to explore healthcare in a different country. These are often very valuable experiences but can be very expensive: it is important to remember that they are not mandatory. Many universities, however, will expect you (if not require you) to have some kind of work experience in your portfolio! It is crucial that you don’t just passively shadow a surgeon: you need to reflect on what you’ve learnt, the skills that you saw in action, the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. Â