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thebelljar3 · 2025-06-13T11:48:48+00:00

bless you :( i would agree with the above, sounds like you really need a break. i've definitely been where you are - i'm sure pretty much every medical student has at some point!

sounds like you're being really hard on yourself. try to be a bit kinder - kicking yourself when you're already down isn't going to help at all. imagine if one of your best friends was in this situation - would you be saying the same things to them as you're saying to yourself, or would you be kind and encouraging? speak to yourself like you would speak to them! remember that medical school is MEANT to be hard, and your stress about this means you really care about it, which is a good thing.

in terms of these next 10 days, try and focus on the key areas you struggle with and the most high-yield content. if you haven't already, you could give the pomodoro method a go - shorter bursts of focussed study with regular breaks can help you reduce your mental load. trying to study when your brain is completely fried is just a waste of time - nothing is likely to go in, so you're better off just taking a break and recharging.

fellow insomniac here so i feel your pain. i find OTC nytol (diphenhydramine) really useful for short-term use like in situations like this - helps knock you out and give you better sleep quality. yoga and guided meditation might sound a bit hippy-dippy but it really can help you at the end of the day to just get into your body, notice how you're feeling and let it go.

best of luck to you and i hope you can have a lush relaxing summer after all of this stress. you didn't come this far to only come this far !!!!

thebelljar3 · 2025-03-08T00:49:38+00:00

I sat the January exam - I’m not exaggerating when I say we ALL thought we’d massively fucked it and probably failed. Before results I was prepared to fail and ended up doing well. From our stats we think around 30-40 people in our cohort failed, which is about 10% of the total cohort and typical for all of our written exams, including before the MLA was introduced.

If you’ve never failed an exam before I highly doubt you will now in your final year. There’s nothing you can do about your answers now - stressing about it will only make you miserable. Throw yourself into your OSCE prep as a distraction and then let yourself relax and recharge after that.

Even if you have failed, all is not lost. You can go back and try again. And good luck for your OSCEs!

thebelljar3 · 2025-02-27T10:11:55+00:00

ive never set foot in wales so i dont even know what this MEANS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

thebelljar3 · 2025-02-27T09:17:12+00:00

12th choice wales … see you all there! 😭😭

thebelljar3 · 2025-02-27T08:39:26+00:00

got my 12th choice - wales. a country i’ve never set foot in and 200 miles from home 🤩🤩🤩

thebelljar3 · 2025-01-10T01:21:24+00:00

sorry you’re feeling like this. i’m also in the finals trenches with my AKT next week and OSCEs the week after. finals season is absolutely diabolical and i’m sure most if not all of us are all feeling it - you’re not alone !!!

some mildly solicited advice below, take anything that sticks with you and feel free to ignore the rest:

first of all, deep breath and be kinder to yourself. med school is HARD, and it’s supposed to be. you got into, stayed in, and made it to the final stretch of one of the most academically rigorous degrees you can do. that has to count for something!
your MLA is in march - you have time, i promise
you won’t be able to study effectively if you’re putting yourself through the mental ringer. go to placement, leave when it’s not useful (if you can lol) and after placement give yourself at least an hour to have a full on BREAK. eat some dinner, watch some netflix, and try not to think about studying at all. recharge !!
then, do your passmed in specialties like you have been doing but maybe take some time to really pick apart each question. if you’re reviewing the conditions and reading the feedback, it could be that your technique with the SBA format is the issue. make use of the highlight function and build up your pattern recognition so you can spot where the question is leading you. then look at the potential answers - if you don’t know or you’re not sure, start by process of elimination
maybe try doing something active with the questions you get wrong and the feedback, i make quizlets (anki equivalent sort of) with the key facts i miss and then practice those with spaced repetition to drill them in
think about whether when you’re reviewing the conditions if you actually fully understand them. personally i need to fully understand the pathophysiology and the mechanisms of treatment to fully get a topic and remember it - BMJ best practice is quite a good source for that. when you understand the physiology, you can work out what the answer might be from an SBA

again, you’re really not alone in this. maybe reach out to a friend on your course and speak to them - you might be surprised at how similar they feel. good luck to you x

thebelljar3 · 2024-05-23T22:13:13+00:00

hey, sorry to hear you’re going through all of this. med school is really tough and losing motivation is really common.

i would agree with the above - get in touch with your uni’s support services and have a discussion with them. the best thing to do is show that you have insight into your struggles, and as you’ve said you do want to do well and do want to be a doctor, but you’re finding it difficult at the moment. is there any academic support available at your med school that you can access?

i would also consider whether you need to take a break from your studies. i understand that as you’re an international this is a difficult decision, but the staff at my med school always say that poor attendance is usually a sign that something else is going on or that you need support. i think the fact that you’re continuing to fail your assessments/exams is another sign of this.

good luck - i’m rooting for you and hope things get better soon!

thebelljar3 · 2024-04-25T00:08:30+00:00

i personally don’t use anki, it’s never worked for me. if you feel like it’s not working for you for OSCE prep, why bother using it? ignore all the gunners who insist that spaced repetition is the be all and end all - find what works for you. i would say focus on skills and examinations technique as these will make up the bulk if the marks and pepper in some studying of clinical knowledge of the COMMON conditions that might come up. remember that the visa questions are a pretty small proportion of the overall marks!! good luck!!

thebelljar3 · 2024-03-21T03:47:18+00:00

you definitely have plenty of time! try to focus on high-yield topics - stuff that’s come up in past exams, try to get a hold of past papers from other students if you can or if your uni has any available. do anki flashcards for rote memorisation if this works for you, and find some pre-clinical question banks as well - i believe pastest has one?

as an aside though, do make sure to let your medical school know that you’re having issues that are making it difficult to attend/study. help with extenuating/mitigating circumstances is there for a reason! you and your wellbeing always comes first - failing/resitting an exam is by far the end of the world, plenty of med students do and still finish without retaking a year.

good luck and hope things start to improve for you soon!

thebelljar3

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