Work Shadowing is facilitated by the Work Opportunities Team. This is to ensure that the placement conforms with the Trust’s liability insurance, health and safety, and safeguarding policy. Shadowing placements are available for students in sixth form or higher education colleges
Preplacement clearance requirements can take up to two months to be completed. It is not possible for Work experience opportunities to be facilitated at short notice, so please ensure that the application is submitted far in advance of the planned period of work shadowing Insight programmes | CUH Careers
Students from Year 10 (age 14) up to Year 13 can apply for an insight programme. For more information please see
Medical Elective Placements, Erasmus Programme & Internships:
For information on medical elective placements and the Erasmus programme, please visit the following links provided by the University of Cambridge Clinical School of Medicine:
· Medical Elective Placements Elective placements | School of Clinical Medicine (opens in a new tab)
· Erasmus Programme, medical internships and International Students FAQ Clinical School of Medicine contact details Contact us | School of Clinical Medicine (opens in a new tab)
Nursing Elective Placements:
For nursing elective placements, please contact the Clinical Education Team directly to arrange your placement. cuh.ineedhelponplacement@nhs.net
Biomedical Science Elective Placements:
These are not available at CUH unless studying at Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge
For all other elective placements please speak to the operator on 01223 245151 and ask for the specific speciality department education team i.e Physiotherapy.
CUH offers work shadowing opportunities for students attending colleges within Cambridgeshire and Fenland areas, or just over the border into Suffolk, Herts and Essex for schools / colleges within a 25 mile radius of Cambridge University Hospitals. Please email cuh.workexperience.addenbrookes@nhs.net if you're unsure.
Please ensure you have approval from your school/college’s Careers Advisor or Tutor before applying.
All work shadowing placements are subject to availability and participants will be required to undergo pre-placement checks dependent on the type, duration and location of the offer.
Placement availability is limited and demand for certain placements is extremely high, so you are advised to consider your area of interest carefully and express this clearly in your application.
At CUH our aim is to widen participation for access to work experience. Therefore, when demand outstrips placement capacity, we will give consideration to:
- Care experienced young people (children or young adults who are currently looked after by the state, or have previously been looked after by the state)
- Young carers (a young person who helps look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem. This could be a parent or a sibling)
- People in receipt of free school meals
- Protected characteristics
We are also committed to supporting programmes that enable adults an opportunity through joint working with partner organisations such as the Combined Authority.
Application open date and close dates for 2025 -2026
Open Close
1st January 2026 31st January 2026
1st April 2026 30th April 2026
1st June 2026 31st July 2026
Please click on the link to apply to shadow during the application open periods only https://forms.office.com/e/6h3G0gGpMK (opens in a new tab)
We prefer that students contact us directly regarding work experience (instead of a family member).
Due to the high volume of emails, please allow some time for a response.
Volunteering routes
As well as supporting our patients, volunteering provides an excellent route to gaining experience and appreciation of the types of careers available in the NHS and CUH. Opportunities are available for people over the age of 16 years old, via an application process. For all volunteering opportunities, please see Home - Our Volunteers or email: Cuh.volunteer@nhs.net
Email Details for Support:
- For work experience or careers events queries email:
- For career advice or apprenticeship information, please email:
- For all volunteering opportunities, please email: