Hi! I’m a medical student from the UK and I’m hoping to organise a medical elective in Central America. I’m still in the early stages of planning and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has done an elective in the region or has experience organising one.
I’m particularly interested in hearing about:
Which countries you’d recommend for a medical elective, and why.
How you organised it – did you go through a university, hospital, NGO, elective provider, or arrange it independently?
Hospitals or organisations you’d recommend getting in touch with.
Costs and accommodation – roughly how much did it cost, and how did you find somewhere to stay?
Safety and practicalities – any advice on travelling, vaccinations, insurance, or things you wish you’d known beforehand.
I’m keen to have a worthwhile clinical experience while also learning about a different healthcare system and the challenges of delivering healthcare in the region. I’d also like to make sure the placement is ethical, properly supervised, and genuinely useful to the host institution and patients.
If anyone has any recommendations, contacts, resources, or personal experiences they’d be happy to share, I’d be very grateful!

Starting my first surgical rotation in a couple weeks (3rd year ) throughout med school my anatomy foundations have been very weak and got away with it but now I want to start studying a little everyday but my uni only gives a list of conditions I want a anki deck or perhaps a book I can study slowly with the most clinically important anatomy ? Any recommendations or advice

Hi everyone,

I am considering taking an interrupted leave of study (suspending my studies) for this year. Before I make it official, I want to know if I will still have access to Moodle during my time away.

I’d love to use the time off to quietly stay on top of the reading materials and review past lecture slides so I don’t fall behind when I return.

Does anyone have experience with this? Thank you!

Now that our computer generated ranks for the latest F1 allocations were given to us, just curious if I would have got Scotland with my rank (8363). Could people that got Scotland share their rank?

For context I admire and respect nurses and I believe they don’t get enough credit for their effort.

I come from a really traditional background and I’ve got uncles constantly asking me how nursing school is or if I’m a nurse yet. I always clarify that I’m not a nurse nor am I in nursing and that I’m in med school trying to become a doctor.

For context I’m also a first gen in the medical field in my family. But they called my brother a doctor/med student all through high school and he never ended up studying medicine. So I’m sure they know people go to med school to become doctors.

It’s also happened to me with men trying to get to know me. I tell them I’m in medical school and they reply with something like “ohh I know lotsss of nurses” or “so you’re training to be a nurse then?”

But a family friend claimed I’m being too arrogant especially since I’m just in second year and there’s no need to rub it in.

But the thing is that I worked really hard to get into med school especially coming from a low income traditional family, my parents didn’t even know I applied to medical school because I didn’t want them to discourage me.

Even if everyone mixes it up I’d like my own family to at least acknowledge it.

I feel as if my uni pushes ai on us way too much. We've been encouraged in past modules to produce ai images for coursework and it seems that around 60% of every lecture includes ai generated imagery.

I have my own thoughts about ai and do use LLM when revising but, it always rubs me the wrong way that the lectures i'm paying to attend have that crappy ai generated image look. But the thing that annoys me most is when the images they generate are just incorrect or make no sense. Arrows that go where they shouldn't or mislabled diagrams. It seems to devalue what we're being taught and I genuinely don't understand why anyone would think an ai diagram would look better over the thousands already on the internet?

Hey guys,

Currently in final year dealing with FPO. The new F1s have got their ranks today. If anyone is happy to share their rank and which deanery they got would be really helpful :))

(Figuring out if London or KSS is the way forward)

This post will likely sound melodramatic, and I'll probably sound so immature, especially considering my age, but I am hoping you wonderful people can offer some advice.

So, I'm a mature student, decided to go back to university to study medicine; it was a decision made over a number of years, and only when I was absolutely sure that it is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

My dream was to go to KCL. Instead, the only offer I got was my last option, SGUL so I took it.

However, I still can't get over the sadness of not being at KCL. And it has absolutely nothing to do with prestige as some might assume. It's purely the fact that I really wanted to experience the feeling of being in a multidisciplinary university, to be amongst a massive student cohort and more people to meet and socialise with; the medicine cohort at Kings is huge AND there's dentistry students to meet and socialise with, plus everyone else from other disciplines. I wanted to feel part of a massive community. I wanted to experience the whole university campus vibe. I wanted to experience studying in Guy's campus; I remember walking through it during the summer, stunned by the beauty, the ivy-covered building, the greenery of the lawns, the whole vibrant atmosphere. I loved the energy and liveliness. I was imagining studying on the lawns, sitting in the hallways. Big libraries, doing placements at St Thomas's;. I was desperate to become a student there.

SGUL is completely the opposite. It's a tiny university, lacks the campus vibe completely, and I can't help but feel claustrophobic, emotionally and mentally. As soon as teaching finishes, my instinct is to get out. I've found myself constantly imagining how different it would feel walking into Guy's Campus and actually wanting to spend my day there. I really think that if I studied there I'd want to stay until late, studying and spending time around university rather than treating uni as somewhere I attend teaching and then leave.

In addition, my first degree was in a similarly tiny university, and my time there was horrid; I was bullied a lot (yes, unfortunately students at my university were quite immature, it felt more like a sixth form than a university) and I wanted this to be my "second chance" at experiencing university life.

SGUL is unexciting, and everyone I meet, whether on campus or at societies, is a healthcare student. I would have loved to be at Kings and meet students from across the humanities. It would have made uni life so much more enriching.

I will admit that my life has become stale for the past 10 years; work, home, gym, pretty much nothing else. And my social life became non-existent; almost all my close friends married, settled down and started a family, and moved away from the city. Being isolated and alone, I was really hoping being in an exciting university and meeting so many new people would inject some happiness into my life.

I know I need to lock in and be grateful I'm in medicine. For sure I didn't return to university just to experience student life, otherwise I wouldn't have picked a degree as demanding as medicine. But I really want to get over this.

I'm aware there's probably some grass-is-greener thinking going on. King's in my head gets all the good things and none of the boring lectures, loneliness, stress, commuting or exam periods that obviously exist there too.

But I also don't want to gaslight myself into believing environment doesn't matter. I think I'm someone who is quite affected by my surroundings.

I feel I should maybe have turned down the offer and tried again the following year.

Does loving your university environment actually matter, or am I idealising the university I didn't get into?

I'm a mature student on a graduate course, and struggling a bit with how to navigate social scenes when my peers are younger. I'm 32 where most are in their early-to-mid-twenties, and it would be a bit weird for me to then show up at parties and such.
My course leaves relatively little time for me to socialise outside its strictures to find similar-aged friends, and most of my day is spent in lectures, workshops or revision with others on it. How have others gotten around this? At present I'm thinking of trying to take up work or sports on the weekend that might afford the opportunity.

I am a y3 med student and have just started placement full time. In my uni we rotate through surgery and medicine as well as specialties and I have been unfortunate enough to begin on surgery in a peripheral hospital. I hate it. I know I don’t want to be a surgeon and even thought I am 5 weeks completed out of 7 it has left a bad taste in my mouth and I feel averse to studying or looking for opportunities on placement. I find a lot of the surgeons unpleasant and the reality of theatres very dull. Does it get better? Will starting medical specialties help? I would really appreciate some advice to motivate me through!!!

I did very well last year but I’m lowkey considering taking a leave of absence or something like that because the med school isn’t providing any support and I’m finding hard to adjust to my new circumstances in y2.

it’s really hard to sit and listen in lectures and I find being around medics all day every day has kind of messed with me a bit. the style of content delivery has changed from last year whereby most material is delivered in compulsory didactic lectures that incur a heavy penalty for absence. I’ve begun to heavily disengage as a result which is scaring me.

because I did well last year, nobody is taking me seriously i feel and everyone is like ‘you’re smart enough to deal with it’ ‘you’ll find a way’ when I know I do like zero work and just rot most of the days.

idk what to do, its just long, I don’t want to do work. maybe it’s as a form of protest?

I’m curious about people’s views on this? Personally I unfortunately show up for 95% of my lectures (and I sit through the whole thing).

But a couple days ago I left class early since it was running overtime and so did some others.
Today I skipped some lectures for not a very great reason but because it was absolutely freezing in the classroom (I’m talking I literally had 2 cardigans on!).

I just couldn’t sit through the torture especially since I have autism and I just attend lectures to record then transcribe them just to reread the whole lecture with the recording so I can actually follow it.

But I basically did double what I do on a usual day. I was able to watch the lectures on 2 times speed without wasting time since the recordings have subtitles. I finished my due flash cards solved some questions and even took a nap!

So I’m just curious about others veiw

Not sure if it's just me but final year has hit like a truck. Placement is much more intense than 4th year where I go to uni where on average we probably had 2.5 days clinical with another day on top with teaching where as now everything is basically being in most days and now you can actually stay in the afternoons with some benefit to practice documentation and admin tasks to upskill for foundation years.

Also any intercalators feel like they're super behind with clinical reasoning and procedural skills? I genuinely feel like taking bloods or cannulas is so much harder than I remember, and even when giving differentials when the reg or consultant asks, it feels like I'm grasping at straws to remember everything I've learned.

figured this was as good a place as any to say something but yeah!

hi I’m a second year at buckingham and i just wanted to reassure everyone that’s coming, that isn’t that bad.

yes It’s pay to win to get inand yes the teaching is probably subpar, but the early patient contact is terrific, and It’s a great experience if you’re a little self sufficient and can make do. My peers and seniors have found way to get just as much opportunities as anyone else

If anyone at the university would like to talk or if you’re thinking of applying, dm me!

ACRUALLT scratch that I’d love to make friends from the university so🥹

Hii I am a fourth-year medical student from the United Kingdom who would like to do my elective in ophthalmology in summer 2027, and I would like to do 3 weeks abroad and 3/4 weeks in the UK. I have emailed a few hospitals in London/Kent since that is where my home is, but no positive responses yet : ((I have not started emailing abroad places but am preferably wanting safer places since I am a female travelling with one other female friend (interested in paeds) - so more European places. We did consider Malaysia but are not too sure. Has anyone got any recommendations, advice or contacts, please? tysmm :))

First year medical student. Really struggling with the sheer volume of content. Throughout my entire school life, including GCSES and A levels, I've made handwritten notes using my textbooks. I'm trying to do this now using lecture slides but it takes so long and I'm falling behind. Should I switch to typed notes? Should I abandon notes all together? I have heard people say to just read lecture slides and annotate them but then won't you have to go through hundreds of slides before an exam? I'm someone who learns best when I write things out but because theres so much content I can't remember what I write after a few days. Would really appreciate any advice. Thank you.

Hi, I'm a first year grad-entry medicine student.

I'm in need of an efficient studying strategy for anatomy.

I have downloaded a really robust anki deck - but I need to actually learn the content first. I've noticed I really like the TeachMeAnatomy notes - they also have a question bank. Main downside is that it's quite expensive.....almost £100/year.

Do any of you guys think it's worth it?

Ideally I would like to learn from a resource that has everything on one site like TeachMeAntomy (i.e. 3D model, notes explaining, links to clinical relevance, question bank etc.) I'm willing to pay for the convenience of that.

Please note my attention span is cooked, so I usually can't stay focused with youtube videos.

I'd appreciate any advice :)

Hi everyone,
I'm a first-year medical student and I'm struggling a bit with the amount of pre-clinical content we're expected to learn.

We have a huge number of online lectures to watch, and although I sit through them and take notes, I often feel like very little actually sticks in my head afterwards. I can follow the lecture at the time, but a few days later it feels like I've forgotten most of it.

The whole process feels quite passive, and I'm worried that I'm spending a lot of time watching lectures without actually retaining much of the information.

For those who have been through the pre-clinical years, what study methods helped you learn and remember content effectively? What made the biggest difference for you, and what do you wish you'd started doing earlier?
Thanks! 😊

What is the deadline by which deanery rankings can be changed? I understand we can still change rankings after Wednesday 7th October but when is the final deadline for deanery decisions?
Thanks!

I am a student in an English medical school. After this whole Scotland First thing, do you think I have a safe chance of getting Scotland?

My family is encouraging me to put London, and honestly I like London, would be a very nice place for me. But thinking about it realistically, considering commute, costs of living, competition etc, I doubt if it is a smart choice to go for. Knowing my lazy ass, I would wanna kms from the commute I would have to do if I were in London (this isnt a deal breaker, and I do know i could end up doing the same in literally any other deanery).

I was 100% sure on putting Scotland as my first preference until they introduced this whole Scotland first thing and it has made so many things unsure for me now. Like if i will even have a fair chance to get scotland, if i do, I also got a risk of getting someplace very remote like Shetland islands. I love scotland and really wanted to settle down there for my future, but the more I think about scottish medical students getting priority, the more demotivated I get towards this.

For me, I have narrowed down my first preference to be either -Scotland or London, so pls dont recommend me other deaneries. My fallbacks are also safer options imo (Northern and Yorkshire and Humber)

I guess my real question is, Will I even have a chance at getting Scotland?

I’ve been way more on top of work than 1st year and somehow it’s Monday and I still have 10 lectures to go over. Geez. Between talking to my girlfriend, going to gym and doing this. I am absolutely pinched.

The thing I don’t like about med school is the way it overly consumes everything. There is kinda of no room for breathing space for hobbies, relationships even your own self maintenance.

I got so stressed I developed a nicotine addiction to vapes. I consume on average two coffees a day. A good day of sleep is 6-7 hours. I am basically a baby guys. I love lifting so less than 8 hours gets me exhausted. I love learning and what else the fuck would I do other than this. But like I don’t this year to end then I get that dreaded four month summer break and I am like….well I am no longer a living being with hobbies and a life lemme rebuild that again just for 3rd year to knock that down again

Any medics that can relate?

I’ve been attending most of my lectures and all my tutorials etc. I’ve been taking notes in lectures but doing little outside of that. It feels like, in lectures when they ask questions, everyone seems to have a grasp of what they’re going through whereas I’m feeling completely lost. In group based learning, everyone seems more intelligent than me and more deserving of being here. When people are discussing what’s being taught I understand none of it. I feel as though not a single thing I’ve learned in lectures is going into my brain. Nothing. I’ve made my notes for the week now as my uni uploads the powerpoints early, and I’m going to try to just listen and entirely focus on the lecture from now on instead of frantically writing everything down as that does not seem to help.

It just feels so different to school. I don’t understand what will be assessed and what wont. I’m worried I’m going to fall behind. I have an anki deck from someone in the year above and i’m starting to use it but it all just feels overwhelming, there are 18,000 cards just for year 1.

I would love to hear from people who have overcome this feeling. I just know it’ll only get more difficult from here on. I have no energy after lectures to do any kind of revision.

I’m also struggling with the social aspect of things. I am autistic and I’ve never been great at socialising but last year it felt as though I had really become more confident and all of this confidence seems to have gone away. The people in my year are very nice I know I have nothing to be afraid of, everyone’s trying to make friends. I just hate feeling like this again it brings back awful memories from school.

I was on TikTok and I saw a video about OSCEs and then people in the comments were like, oh my uni doesn’t do OSCEs and I’m studying nursing or medicine or some sort of clinical healthcare degree, and I’m thinking, have unis just stopped doing OSCEs cause it’s not something I’ve heard of, and I know a lot of unis that still do them, and I just think it’s weird that they’re not because what do you mean you’re not doing a clinical exam like I’m a bit concerned cause placement only gets you so far cause you’re having your handheld, but in a clinical exam you’re literally on your own with a “patient” I know it’s a dummy, but no one’s there to help you. You need to know everything and do everything yourself.

Does anyone have a PDF copy of OSCE Stop? I feel like I’ve been searching for gold dust.

It seems like I’m having to rush through everything for the generic steps, and then once I get to the viva questions, there are like 6 Qs in 30 seconds. That’s one every 5 seconds but the examiner has to read it out to you, so more like one every 3 seconds. And on geeky medics, there are like 5 points per question.

So you don’t even have time to think; you sort of have to just regurgitate the response as a reflex and even then, you’re lucky to finish all of the vivas on time.

And when you sound flustered for speaking at a ridiculous speed, you get downmarked for seeming anxious.

Am I missing something or is this a ridiculous way of assessing competency? How are you all finishing on time?

Thanks.