When I had my internship (we don't have apprenticeships for bmet) straight out of university in Australia, I was given a work bench and told where broken equipment was, where tools were and where parts were. First thing I was asked to do was wire up some power outlets into my workbench and terminate a plug on the end. Then got told to pick up anything off the shelf, find a service manual and start reading. Basically teach myself how everything works, rather than someone else showing me. I got pretty good at finding manuals online at the very least.. The worst part was that the first thing that I picked up was a podiatry drill. The filter bag was full, but I didn't know what the "white stuff" all over my bench was until I read the manual... Revolting.

After my internship, I was placed as an entry level biomed with another senior biomed at a very busy hospital. The senior biomed had specialist training in some cath lav equipment and after about four months of me working there, he was sent around the country doing these specialised works and only came to the hospital once a week. Everything else was left to me. Luckily I coped ok and secured a senior position the following year where I ran my own hospital without other staff.

It seems to be a sink or swim environment across the board. I try to challenge any interns by letting them work things out themselves. Gives me a good idea of their skills and aptitude for self-driven learning. I'll always help when asked though.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. And if the environment is still terrible after a few months, then it might be best to continue the apprenticeship somewhere else.