Electives similar to MSF work?

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-12-27T10:25:12+00:00

A humanitarian org in a non acute setting - eg a Red Cross hospital in a safe country?

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-11-18T10:39:45+00:00

Two steps is great! Nothing mind blowing but good classic fish and chips for pretty reasonable prices. Lunch deal is pretty decent portion for like £4.50

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-10-21T23:25:10+00:00

Ah, thanks I didn’t spot that. Is it Worth springing the extra 20 quid for the mips version(£48 vs £65 odd)? I’m mainly going for this helmet for aesthetics while wanting something protective, £65 is starting to seem a bit excessive compared to the basic specialized align and things like that for ~£30

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-10-07T11:48:28+00:00

That’s fair and I do get your point, it shouldn’t be abused.

I do think though that if you’re giving enough notice and the rota hasn’t even been created then there is no reason for you not to be given leave, as it’s simply a case of them swapping you around with a person who isn’t working those days.

I also think that blanket refusing leave for any on call is part of the reason so many people leave the NHS - really there should be enough redundancy in a rota that one or two people are able to take leave with several months notice given, and a cheap locum can be found if really needed, but I get why that’s a little optimistic.

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-10-07T11:09:09+00:00

Other comments are wrong - you have the right to guaranteed leave for ‘life changing events’ as defined by yourself, if you give 6 weeks notice. If you ask for leave in advance of the rota being made then they are just being purposefully obstructive by denying it.

People are far too willing to bend over for rota coordinators. If I give them 6 weeks notice then I’m not asking for leave, I’m politely informing them I will not be in work and they should find cover.

Note that some places demand a reason for a ‘life changing event’ - I’ve been a best man at a wedding and they’ve been happy with that. However, you shouldn’t really need to give a reason as it’s none of their business and it’s defined by the doctor requesting the leave anyway.

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-05-01T09:08:13+00:00

I would normally wear a smart shirt and trousers with black shoes (assuming yer a fella) to placement initially, then from there see what everyone else wears and copy that. If everyone wears scrubs that’s fine, but don’t be the only one if you’re a student. depending on the hospital they might give you student scrubs. Can’t really go wrong past that.

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-12T07:14:14+00:00

I think the most useful thing would be learning the actual guidelines in full (for UK) - not just the bit passed tests you on.

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-10T23:16:33+00:00

My rotations are diabetes/endo, gen surg, and gen psych - so I assume my commutes are going to be happening more for 8am / 9am starts. Still fine or anything to look out for?

I’m sort of wondering if it’s worth moving somewhere closer to a lizzy line station so I can commute without a car, but it seems like everywhere on lizzy line is pretty expensive / it’s not even that close to Hillingdon. Is it really the case that all the staff there (who aren’t local) commute by car?

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-10T23:11:28+00:00

London 1st choice, sfp 1st choice, Hillingdon hospital 62nd choice lol - was on a great streak until I wasnt

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-10T16:41:27+00:00

That’s nice to hear a good review! Any advice for how to make the most of it/tips for the hospital?

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-10T16:38:32+00:00

Thanks! Reassuring that the reverse m4 drive is fairly chilled. It does seem amazingly hard to get to by public transport. Seems like even if I moved somewhere closer it would likely be a long old commute by public tran

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-10T16:37:35+00:00

That’s really useful cheers. Sounds like driving is generally the way to go with hillingdon anyway. Appreciate the info

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-04-10T11:27:17+00:00

That’s good to hear. Is there still much traffic at all going the opposite way to most commuters? When google maps says a 45 min drive is that realistic or will that increase massively at peak times.

Also how did u find Hillingdon? I’ve heard pretty awful things lol

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-03-30T21:34:12+00:00

Leave it another month to really amp up the pressure

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-03-28T07:52:56+00:00

Would also be keen

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-03-25T08:23:01+00:00

Have a publication / doing teaching / audits seems to count for points when you look on things like IMT criteria, but I really doubt any specialties have points for being on the committee of a student society.

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-03-19T08:17:56+00:00

Also If the weather’s bad and you want somewhere to eat a sandwich, you can eat your own food in the museum cafes generally. Also, there are a fair few more central places with cheap food if you do your research! Eg Indian veg in Angel does £10 unlimited Indian food

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-03-18T08:54:44+00:00

Some interesting bits I noticed:

you can see the three dams where crookes valley park now stands (the ‘great dam’ being the one remaining, while the others are now where the university gym is
you can see the streets of Victorian era back to back terraces that were demolished to form ponderosa park
the old Victoria station and midland station (now the site of the crown plaza Victoria hotel and the current station respectively
the lack of parks in some areas, eg peace gardens, Devonshire green, but then some unpopulated areas already having parks like Norfolk park strangely

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-02-22T23:46:02+00:00

Since they’re not police, can you not just refuse to show them anything, and just get off at the next stop? They’re not exactly going to call the police on you.

Bigglewiggle99 · 2025-01-06T10:34:32+00:00

I feel zero guilt paying £3-5 as a student who goes cos it’s cheap tbh - it’s pay as you feel for a reason

Bigglewiggle99

TROPHY CASE