The BSMS Virtual Work Experience (VWEX) programme has been added to the Barclays LifeSkills website as a resource for young people considering medicine.
VWEX is one of only nine resources to feature on their work experience page, representing further success for the VWEX platform after it was shortlisted as a finalist for the UK Social Mobility Awards 2020 in July.
The programme, which only launched in January 2020, has attracted a huge amount of interest following the COVID-19 outbreak, with just under 25,000 people worldwide now subscribed.
Darren Beaney, Head of Admissions and Student Welfare at BSMS, said: “I am delighted to see the VWEX programme listed as part of the Barclays LifeSkills resource page. Hopefully this will encourage even more young people, most of whom are aged 16-18, to sign up to the programme and consider a career in medicine. We are proud of how successful VWEX has been in its inaugural year and hope this success will continue with major companies like Barclays acknowledging its value.”
Professor Malcolm Reed, Dean at BSMS, adds: “It has been a long-standing aspiration to have a virtual work experience programme for those who were not able to access traditional work experience, often due to lack of networks and contacts in the NHS. This rather vague idea was grasped by the Widening Participation team who employed and worked with BSMS alumnus Jake Bush, who spent a year with BSMS as a Fellow, funded by HEKSS. Together, they transformed VWEX into an amazing programme which goes well beyond the original vision. The unforeseen pandemic has made VWEX incredibly timely and beneficial to prospective medical students, and I'm sure uptake and interest will increase further with it being listed on the Barclays LifeSkills platform.”
The programme includes modules looking at the roles of different types of doctors, identifying the different skills and qualities required to be a doctor; the challenges faced by the NHS, and the various ways people access healthcare.
Visit the Barclays LifeSkills website and find out more about the VWEX programme via the links below.
Visit the Barclays LifeSkills website here >
Find out more about the VWEX programme here >