Starting NHS career - healthcare science

[Elizo]

Hi all,

Have had excellent advice here so hoping. Am in second year of Biology degree and should graduate summer 26. I volunteer at a hospital as a ward assistant/ befriender. Have done loads of research and believe the best role for me (late 40s) would be healthcare science. Probably physiological sciences - vascular/ cardiac for example. I am aware of STP and also how competitive it is. My OU degree does not give results until autumn so I will have at least a year when I need to work and I may not get STP. So what are the entry level options as a Biology grad with hospital experience? Also are there any paid roles I could do on a temp basis this summer when my studies break?

Thanks so much, feels hard to get clear info.

Good to know you’ve had useful advice here!

By way of bumping - assuming the OU offers no careers advice (?) is it not possible for you to make contact with your nearest physical university and speak to their careers department?

Thanks so much for replying. Yes I should see about the OU careers service. I feel like this is a bit too specialist but I need to start somewhere! I've done so much online research - not sure how much further I can go with it...

Have you considered an echocardiography l?

echo training position (ETP).
https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/programmes/etp/

The adverts for start date of October 2025, are likely to come out in the next couple of months.

It would be beneficial if you had some cardiac experience. Some hospitals have echo support workers.

if you can find a hospital that where you’d like to work that takes ETP, then apply for an echo
support worker (if available) to gain some further experience (exact experience will depend on the hospital).

Good luck!

This looks great thanks. The advice about the support worker is really helpful and exactly the kind of thing I need to look at in advance of (hopefully) getting a training programme place