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Your clinical placements are an ideal way to test different areas of Medicine. It is worth thinking about your placements in a critical manner to help form ideas about what you enjoy, what you don't enjoy and how you want to spend your future career. Things to think about whilst on a placement:
What did/didn't you enjoy?
- What are the typical working hours? Would you be happy working these hours?
- How many people are in the team?
- Do you get a chance to perform some research? Would you like to get involved with research?
- Does the hospital environment appeal or does a G.P. practice?
Ask your consultant about the career decisions they made to reach that point and the advantages/disadvantages of those stages. Are there any specific requirements, i.e. is a PhD necessary?
Think about your own qualities and how they might suit your future job. The NHS careers website, has an excellent section on the personal qualities needed for different specialties that might help you focus on your own ideas.
Whilst on your placement you can take advantage of the specialties in the clinical setting. For example, if you wish to pursue a career in Radiology, why not ask the radiologist if you can spend some time with them?
By expanding your clinical experience, you may find some interesting areas of Medicine whilst improving your knowledge. Gain the most from your placements, e.g. help with an audit or give a presentation to help develop your skills.
It is likely that these are skills that will be reviewed when you are applying for jobs and normally examples are required so it's useful to get a head-start.