Undergraduates

The student will need to submit an application following the links above. Once an application has been submitted, we will find you a placement based on your preferred departments. Should a department agree to accommodate a student, we issue a conditional offer letter which contains a list of documents the student must complete and attach. Once all the documents have been submitted, we issue the acceptance letter.

Once placement is confirmed further paperwork and clearances are required. We expect the following checks to be completed within four weeks of receiving the conditional offer.

• UK students are required to attach an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) dated within the last three years.
• International students require an Oversees police check or a letter of good standing. This must be in English or translated into English by an official notary.
• Occupational Health (OH) status check.
• Honorary Training Booklet. This must be read, signed and returned along with the other required information.
• Two valid forms of ID and one valid form of address (or vice versa).
• Two letter headered references.

We will also require you to accept your conditional offer (by logging into Trac) and attach a receipt to confirm you have cleared your placement fee.

Bank statements or utility bills dated within the last three months are valid forms of address. Passports, driving licence, identity card, residential permit are valid forms of ID.

A reference needs to include the student's full name and mention the student's personal character, clinical competency and academical qualities. References must be on letter headered paper. In the event your referee is no longer able to provide a reference, you may change your referee.

Contact your university and they will be able to apply for an enhanced DBS on your behalf. If your DBS is outdated, you may apply for a new enhanced DBS through your university. Alternatively, we accept letters from universities which contain the students name, DBS date of issue and whether annual DBS checks have taken place.

Read the list of departments at GOSH.

Unfortunately, we do not offer hospital accommodation to medical students. There are hotels and airbnbs in the local area.

Generally, departments only permit placements to last two to six weeks. If you require a longer placement, it may be possible for you to complete two separate four week placements (continuously) in different departments but this would be subject to availability.

This is possible, but subject to availability.

Placements are subject to availability and completing all the required checks prior to the deadline.

Placement fee is £100 per week of placement and an additional £150 for admin fee. Please note, payment will be taken towards the end of the application process and the placement fee is refundable up to twelve weeks before the start of your placement.

Fee reductions will only take place in extreme cases.

We require all applications to be submitted at least four months prior to the proposed start date. We also require all documents and clearances to be completed and attached within four weeks of receiving the conditional offer.

From receiving your completed application form to confirming an offer of placement, we aim to complete this process within sixteen weeks and will update you on the progress of your application form. All applications will be completed at least two months prior to the start date.

Due to the limited number of placements at Great Ormond Street Hospital, it is not always possible to accommodate all those who wish to attend. Therefore, we allow students who are not successful, to submit another application containing different placement dates or a different choice of department.

The Trust has Public Liability cover through the NHSLA Public Liability Scheme which will cover you while you are on Trust premises, on Trust business or working for the benefit of the Trust against accidental injury.

The purpose of permitting access to the Trust is to enable you to undertake your medical student placement. You will be permitted to take a history from children and their parents, conduct physical examinations, access written and computerised patient records, observe procedures, attend investigations, present patients on the ward round and/or clinical meetings and discuss patient details with other members of the team and review additional patient information for audit, research, or other official projects. This role does not permit you to participate in the clinical management or treatment of any patient including taking of specimens and any invasive or diagnostic procedures.

During the placement you will be supervised by a responsible clinician or consultant to make sure you do not engage in any activity beyond your level of competence or pose a risk to the child, parents or other team members.

You are required to remain professional; we therefore ask you to dress professionally/smart for your placement. Should you be completing a placement where scrubs are required, we recommend that you bring your own scrubs that are bare below the elbow. Scrubs are provided in most departments but are not always available.

Students may have the opportunity to complete projects and audits as part of their placement, but this would need to be discussed with the student’s supervisor.

Once you complete your elective experience, please feedback on your placement through the survey below.

Thereafter, you may contact student.observer.placements@gosh.nhs.uk to be issued a certificate. Note, the feedback you leave will help us to improve our elective program for future students and so we welcome any feedback.

Complete the medical student placement feedback form.

student.observer.placements@gosh.nhs.uk