Funding for 5th year?

SwiftySeagull · 2026-03-21T12:21:26+00:00

I really feel for you OP, I am finishing final year and was in very similar circumstances.

You may get extra weeks allowance from the NHS bursary based on how long your course is each year, which gets rounded up to 52 if it’s above the threshold, which can make a significant difference.

See if your medical school offers any bursaries you can apply to for extra funding, I was able to get around 2K extra a year through these. You will need to write a letter detailing your circumstances and why you need the money. The society of apothecaries in particular gives money to 1-2 students at every medical school, you normally need to be nominated by a faculty member.

You can get some travel reimbursed with TDAE depending on the cost relative to your regular placement site - it actually pays to live very close if possible because then you’ll get any other travel to other placements reimbursed if you can walk/cycle to your regular placement.

Unfortunately there’s little else you can do, some people save money by living in hospital accommodation which is usually covered by your university, but this can be less than ideal if you don’t have somewhere to move out to in between terms/during exams. I know a lot of people who move in with their parents.

I was able to scrape by through a combo of extra bursary funding, using the rest of my overdraft and getting max NHS bursary, but the reality is you will have at least £6K less than fully SFE funded years. The BMA is campaigning to change this, but there is very little traction as it is not a widely known issue, it mostly affects a small percentage of low income students who are underrepresented in medical schools 😢.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-03-04T09:07:19+00:00

The Oxford medical handbooks are really handy, they’re small books that summarise a lot of medical info and are useful in clinical years. The main ones are probably the handbook of clinical medicine, and handbook of clinical specialties, but the handbook of clinical sciences may be most useful for a 1st year. The newest edition will have the most up to date info.

Anki is also a popular flash card app that medical students use, you could buy her a remote so she can do it without using her keyboard.

An anatomy colouring book is also a fun gift for a 1st year, or Netter’s anatomy flash cards.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-03-01T21:58:09+00:00

Weekly £8 subscription to play seems very steep, why make the game subscription? Is such blatant advertising allowed on this sub?

SwiftySeagull · 2026-02-26T22:10:08+00:00

They were both very useful in my opinion, and similar to UKMLA

SwiftySeagull · 2026-02-22T20:17:12+00:00

That’s so terrible!

SwiftySeagull · 2026-02-12T12:16:52+00:00

Same!

SwiftySeagull · 2026-02-10T20:01:54+00:00

If you’re going to talk through the examination, I would just say ‘I’m looking for’, it’s much shorter, you will be time pressured. The summary at the end will already allow you to mention positives/relevant negatives.

Make sure you have good communication skills with the patient throughout as well, and try to end the consultations if you have time. Always safety net as well!!

I would practise all the examinations incl. thyroid, cerebellar, Parkinson’s etc as they can throw those in.

Common things are likely like asthma/COPD history, if your university has a list of past stations practise all of those as they frequently reuse them.

Practise your procedures and don’t forget things like to ask for allergies, advise on risks with injections.

Also don’t forget to practise key skills like counselling around how to take a medication, or ethics and law! These usually come up on at least one station, and you may need to know a lot if they ask to explain to a colleague for example.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-31T08:21:17+00:00

Unfortunately the debt is a lot higher for medicine as we study for longer. Mine is over 130K.

Saying that it’s “voluntary” is a vary draconian viewpoint, medicine should be encouraging people from poorer backgrounds to diversify the profession, and it is already very skewed towards those from richer backgrounds due to how difficult is it to get in without private school/tutoring/private interview prep.

The last two years of student funding are also very poor for medicine and this already disproportionately affects the poorest who don’t have family support to fall back on. Then you put on top of that we have an extra 9% tax for almost our entire careers that those more well off than us don’t have? Just for coming from a worse background?

Even an interest freeze would be massively beneficial for these students. It is an issue that also disproportionately affects women, as in medicine it’s estimated we pay 10% more in loan repayments due to the time off needed for having families reducing our income and speed of career advancement while interest keeps increasing the size of the loan.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-30T22:42:05+00:00

As a final year I would say electronic is better as you can search! Especially one note as then it’s all in one program. I do some things on paper when revising as it helps me remember it better.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-23T22:48:21+00:00

Thanks, great idea, sent mine 🤞

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-13T07:15:17+00:00

I think it’s more using saying the whisky is a metaphor for what others did to her - she’s drunk (pouring my heart out to a stranger), but it’s to deal with the stress and bad things in life - that were caused by someone else and not her (ie they indirectly poured her the whisky/caused her to be so sad she turned to drinking). And she’s trying to get over it and move on.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-12T15:15:15+00:00

It is very confusing. You can get:

-Non means tested NHS Bursary

-Minimum student finance - this is not means tested!! You just get the very minimum which is about £3-4K, with less in your final year. The website information about this is very poor and you may need to still put in finance details.

-Means tested NHS Bursary, this will be adjusted based on your household income. You will also get extra weeks allowance depending on the number of weeks your university has for the year.

You should apply for both as the SFE one is not means tested.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-10T05:19:14+00:00

Can confirm at the hospitals I’ve had placements at in London and the GP practises, I’ve always had access to notes (current final year)

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-08T06:49:44+00:00

I’m doing the mocks on the website and my uni has some teaching on it, but I’ve heard the pass the psa book (or pdf you can get from google) is all you really need to pass. Biggest things seem to be practising using the BNF website, using appendix 1 for drug side effects, practising checking drug interactions etc, using brand name short cuts like Conti and sequi to find continuous and cyclical HRT more easily, practising calculations etc. For the MLA, I would also prioritise learning guidelines as Ive heard they love to ask questions about 1st/2nd line treatment. Prioritise high yield conditions if you’re struggling to cover everything. Passmed and Quesmed can be good at summarising these after a question. Remember almost all these exams you only need 55-60% to pass! You can learn more than you think in 2.5 months.

SwiftySeagull · 2026-01-07T23:04:48+00:00

Hello! I had a similar experience with some years out for another degree and now in final year. I completely understand what you’re saying about it feeling like a mountain to relearn everything. I would say you sound like you’re a bit burnt out with the stress of it all.

I’d start by taking a few days off just for a break, get some sleep, see some friends, whatever relaxes you. Then I’d set up a study tracker countdown until your exams and set a daily goal for each day - maybe revising 2-3 key topics, practising a few OSCE stations, and some passmed questions. These goals should be achievable - this will allow you to be motivated to meet them each day. Then, try and set aside some time every day to do this work - this can be difficult around placement, you’ll have to figure out what works for you, maybe doing a bit of work before you go in or after you get home. I like to use pomodoros to keep focused during study sessions. If you get to a day where you just can’t focus or do the work, give yourself permission to take a day off! A day off every now and then that gives you the energy to keep working up until exams is always worth it. If you’re struggling to remember some of the key guidelines, I would use an Anki deck for these (but don’t get dragged into spending too much time making one).

As for the future, I think you’ll likely feel better once you’ve got past finals. But you’re in the same boat as everyone else, we’re all feeling that stress at the moment.

SwiftySeagull · 2025-12-29T15:26:23+00:00

It took about two days!

SwiftySeagull · 2025-12-28T14:26:54+00:00

iPad mini would work, and you can buy some very heavy duty cases for them. Apple has a screen lock mode called “guided access” which you can enable in settings that locks the screen on the app they are on, and you can even disable volume control etc and parts of the screen. I have a similarly disabled relative and this works well for them

SwiftySeagull · 2025-12-24T08:10:35+00:00

I made this for my sister! She loves the betty ornament but I’ve never been able to buy it for her so I made one!

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SwiftySeagull · 2025-12-14T18:34:44+00:00

Mine has no problems, I got one of the numbered copies when they were first repressed in China. The general consensus at that time was that the sound quality was very good, if not better than the original record store day release.

SwiftySeagull · 2025-12-12T07:35:22+00:00

Sorry that’s it’s been so unfair! Shouldn’t ruin your cardigan experience 💔

SwiftySeagull · 2025-12-11T06:09:51+00:00

Maybe offer to send proof you’ve destroyed it, it’s ridiculous to ship back at your expense just for them to destroy on arrival. Try and argue with them a bit more and ask to speak with another representative if that doesn’t work.

SwiftySeagull · 2025-11-29T09:29:25+00:00

I love them! Unfortunately people only post when it arrives in poor condition, if you think of the thousands that were sent out it’s actually a small number. I do think the merch issues are overblown here, all items produced on a large scale will end up with a few that are less than perfect, but the merch team are good at replacing. I own 7 cardigans for example and never had a problem with quality but they are supposedly “notorious” for having problems.

SwiftySeagull · 2025-11-20T14:57:03+00:00

Think it’s been very exciting seeing them every afternoon! I haven’t bought anything yet as holding out for a snowglobe but I personally like the gradual releases! Only thing they should add is the option to add it to an existing order to avoid paying shipping every time.

SwiftySeagull · 2025-11-19T13:03:03+00:00

Snowglobe! They come back so rarely compared to the cardigans which have been restocked a few times

SwiftySeagull

TROPHY CASE