Work experience at Smith+Nephew is far more than stapling, shredding and tidying the stationary cupboard. At our Croxley Head Office, we’re thrilled to offer the next potential leaders in medical technology the chance to shadow lab staff and gain hands-on experience with the latest innovations in the field, such as radiography and robotics for orthopaedic surgery.
Our work experience programs are planned by staff who are personally motivated to give the best placements possible… such as Auri De Vries, our Senior Manager in Medical Education. His passion for the Academy is inspired by memories of his own uncertainty when first considering a career in STEM:
“Growing up, there weren’t the opportunities to get hands-on experience in medical education. I’d done work experience at a hospital and I knew it wasn’t for me, but I wasn’t aware of other roles in the field, especially not at a FTSE 100 company.”
One student benefitting from the programme this year is Dimitra, a biomedical science student at Hertfordshire University. Dimitra discovered work experience at Smith+Nephew through a careers conference organized by Migrant Leaders, a UK charity that matches professional mentors with migrant students. During the placement, Dimitra prepared course equipment for surgeons visiting the Academy, giving her hands-on experience with a range of surgical instruments, x-ray machines and robotics.
Dimitra echoes Auri’s memories of feeling overwhelmed by career choices and says that work experience with Smith+Nephew has helped broaden her understanding of the options available to her:
“Before work experience here, I didn’t know of a role in a medical laboratory beyond working in the NHS. I feel much more informed about future choices thanks to the programme.”
Auri has already seen the development of work experience at Smith+Nephew to reach even more students. Over the last seven years, the work experience programme at Croxley has grown from hosting one student, to offering placements to ten students throughout the summer:
“There are opportunities out there and a company of our size has a responsibility to the next generation of medical technicians in laying the foundations for their careers.”