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Have a look at and  to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. Some of the job profiles include:  

Medicine

Dentistry

Allied health professions

Pharmacy

Optometry

Nursing and related occupations

Management

See for occupational information on a variety of NHS management roles.

• compassion, resourcefulness, stamina, motivation and perseverance
• the ability to build a rapport and develop relationships
• the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals
• excellent listening and communication skills for dealing with patients
• the ability to work under pressure and deal with different demands
• good IT skills for keeping patient records
• excellent time management skills to balance appointments with admin work
• a flexible approach to work and the ability to manage change
• empathy, patience and tact
• verbal and written communication skills, including skills in listening, observing, taking notes and record keeping
• organisation skills to plan and deliver activities
• creativity, energy and enthusiasm
• cultural awareness and respect for the religious and cultural diversity of patients
• an understanding of confidentiality and safeguarding issues
• health, safety and risk awareness

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in healthcare can vary widely depending on the position. 

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources: 

• our  offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations 
• job profiles, such as those listed on  or  
• vacancy sites such as  and  

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers. 

• Browse our NCL Graduate Employment and Work Experience directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed.
• Use LinkedIn’s  to find out what Â鶹´«Ã½ graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. ³§±ð±ð Â鶹´«Ã½ Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on  [3:13±Õ. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• Attend alumni events, such as Â鶹´«Ã½ Develop, to hear directly from our graduates. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• Sign up for mentoring support with  a²Ô»å . These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting. 
• Attend events such as recruitment events and  employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.  

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process: 

• - placement year reviews written by students. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• – graduate job reviews 
• – company reviews from employees &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Read career guides for each sector: 

Medicine

• - includes entry requirements and skills required
• – advice for medical students
• – advice and information on becoming a surgeon

Dentistry

• includes a breakdown of types of dentists, dentist training and your career after dental school.

Allied health professions

• – includes information on roles and entry requirements
• - includes a register of

Pharmacy

• – information on training and courses

Optometry

• - information and case studies

Nursing and related occupations

• - overview of NHS nursing roles

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews. 

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. 

See also our recruitment events a²Ô»å employer & sector insights.

Join , such as:

• anatomy society

Use social media to find industry insights 

´³´Ç¾±²Ô  on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on Twitter a²Ô»å TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate. 

Find out more about how to use social media for your career and subscribe to our  Twitter list. 

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network  

Professional bodies often: 

• run networking events  
• have specialist groups you could join 
• post vacancies on behalf of their members 
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications 

Key organisations include: 

Medicine

• - professional association for doctors

Dentistry

Art therapy

• - includes

Dietetics

• - careers for dieticians

Drama therapy

• - includes information

Music therapy

Occupational therapy

• - includes how to

Paramedic

• - includes

Physiotherapy

• - includes

Prosthetics and Orthotics

Radiography

• - includes

Speech therapy

• - includes

Chiropody and Podiatry

Pharmacy

• - includes

Optometry

• - includes
• - includes

Nursing and related occupations

• - includes how to become a and a .

• Search for vacancies on - often advertises paid, part-time personal carer, care assistant and support worker vacancies.
• - search for part-time healthcare assistant or related jobs
• - regularly advertises part-time care assistant and similar roles

•  offer voluntary experience - see
• - offer NHS and healthcare placements
• - volunteering opportunities
• - search for local hospices and visit their website to see if they recruit volunteers
• and - first aid volunteering
• recruits volunteers for its counselling helpline - see the for specialist helplines
• - opportunity to gain experience before qualifying in music therapy
• - opportunity to gain experience before qualifying in music therapy

See Volunteering for more information. 

The Careers Service runs flexible, paid  with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage and often includes healthcare related projects.

Search for these under Vacancies on . Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box. 

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find: &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice 
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our directories. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

For your two years of foundation medicine after graduation, you will apply early in your last year, in September. See the for more information on applying to the foundation programme.

Similarly, for your year of dental foundation training, applications tend to open in August and close in September of your last year of study. See the for information.

Other healthcare roles tend to be immediate start graduate jobs. These can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts 

There are a wide variety of places to find vacancies within the healthcare sector.

Healthcare (general)

• , , and
• - healthcare vacancies in the prison service
• , and - medical careers in the armed forces
• - includes part-time vacancies in social care.

Medicine

• - two-year training programme between medical school and specialist/general practice training
• - GP and consultants directory with free registration required for full access

Dentistry

Art therapy

Dietetics

• - jobs and careers

Drama therapy

Music therapy

• - use this list to see where current music therapists are working

Occupational therapy

• - advertises vacancies to paid members

Orthoptic

• (membership needed for full access)

Paramedic

• - visit individual websites for job opportunities

Podiatry

Prosthetics and orthotics

Radiography

• - Society for Radiographers

Speech and language therapy

Pharmacy

Optometry

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites. 

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find: &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

• additional vacancy websites &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• CV, application and interview advice  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you:

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on . Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The tool shows you where Â鶹´«Ã½ graduates are currently working
• browse our directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

Find contacts through professional associations, institutes and trusts, as listed in sector and industry insights, such as charities

See  for details of specific trusts.

Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.

³Ò´Ç¾±²Ô³Ò±ô´Ç²ú²¹±ô’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings: &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

• staffing agencies and temporary help firms &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• executive recruiters and search firms &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

For information on routes into medicine see Applying for Medical School.

To practise as an allied healthcare professional you will need to register with the (HCPC). To register with the HCPC you first need to complete an approved degree. See the individual occupational profiles in roles and skills for information on specific professions.

Find a course by using the .

To practise as a pharmacist, you need to complete a master's degree in pharmacy (MPharm). This must be a course approved by the .

On completion of your degree, you must first complete a pre-registration training year in a GPhC-approved community or hospital pharmacy and pass a registration exam.

Find a degree by using the or see the GPhC website for details of approved 

To practise as an optometrist you need to complete a approved degree in optometry.

On completion of your degree, you must then complete 12 to 15 months' pre-registration training with a GOC-approved optometrist and pass a GOC assessment.

See the GOC website for details of .

To qualify as a nurse, you need to complete a degree approved by the .

Find a course by using the or course finder.

Funding for some healthcare courses is provided by . The amount of money awarded will depend on your personal eligibility and student status, you can find this out by using a .

Find out about that is available, including the NHS Learning Support Fund.

See Further Study for more information on funding and applying for courses, or speak to one of our information advisers.