I'm not from a medical background. How can I go about getting relevant work experience?

Fortunately medical schools are well aware of how difficult it can be to get experience in clinical settings. As a result they are much more interested in how you reflect on the work experience that you have managed to secure. Primarily they are eager to see that you have demonstrated core skills such as empathy and leadership and thankfully these are easily demonstrated in many other non-medical settings. Fortunately work in the voluntary sector is often relatively easy to organise provided that you know where to look. Care homes are usually particularly keen to take on students and can also be an extremely useful setting to practice communicating with vulnerable individuals. A genuine interest in medical research is also guaranteed to make a candidate stand out and therefore attending conferences can be an easy way to demonstrate initiative. Remember that you have nothing to lose by sending off as many emails as you can requesting work experience. Often GP practices will be reluctant to sign students up for large time periods however if you impress them on day one they are far more likely to extend your placement length. I hope this answered your question. Best of luck!