Selby College students to trial new Work Placement project at Selby Hospital

A group of eight students from Selby College will be the first to take part in a brand new Work Placement project based at the New Selby War Memorial Hospital, commencing this Friday 6th March.

The pilot scheme will see students on a combination of Applied Science, Health & Social Care and A Level programmes shadow NHS staff at the hospital every Friday morning for nine weeks until the end of May.

The Selby College students will experience a number of different areas of the hospital and cover units including X-Ray, Speech & Language Therapy, Orthoptics, the Community Response Team, Infection Control in Clinical Care, the work of Dietitians, the Essence of being a Doctor, and Patient Experience, alongside their own project work.

The First Year students taking part are Sophie Easthill, 17, Paris Grenier, 17, Tamsin Moon, 17, and Mollie Campey, 16, who are all studying the Extended Diploma in Health & Social Care, alongside Alice Ball, Batool Alboush and Millie Cross, all aged 16, who are studying for the Extended Diploma in Applied Science, alongside A Level student Zena Arsalan, 16, who is studying Biology, Mathematics and Psychology.

Ahead of starting the placement, Zena said: “I’m looking forward to gaining skills and learning more about what working for the NHS involves, what it is like on a day-to-day basis and I also hope to deepen my understanding of the different type of job roles within the hospital. I was selected for this opportunity by my Biology Lecturer as I want to have a career as a nurse. I would love to see what it is like being a Radiographer and a general nurse, I hope I will gain skills that will help me in my future career path as this has always been my dream.”

Speaking of the project, Selby College’s Work Placement Coordinator Rebecca James said: “The students have all been selected due to their enthusiasm, suitability and commitment to the programme and future career aspirations. This is a brilliant opportunity for the students and the College.”

Rebecca added: “If successful this year, the hospital will be looking to continue the project in the future to give even more young people in the Selby area the opportunity to experience career paths within the NHS.”

Dr Paul Laboi, Renal Consultant, said: "We try to include all areas of healthcare so that the students can see some of the lesser known roles. There are many highly skilled roles within medicine and healthcare where people can work to their own strengths and skills so there is something to suit everyone. We wanted to highlight the huge range of opportunities open to anyone interested in health professions.

He added: “Thank you to all our staff for helping inspire these young people and good luck to the students in their future careers.”

The project has been kindly funded by The Friends of SWMH (Selby War Memorial Hospital) who are a fully voluntary organisation providing support within the hospital and coordinating fundraising in the community to provide equipment for the benefit of both in-patients and out-patients.