Meley Gdey

More Money Tips and Tricks I Learnt At University

Medicine

It is that time of year again. Student finance applications just opened for next year and that got me thinking about money. I am back at it again with more financial tips and tricks that have helped me at university so far. This part has more tangible things you can do about working, saving and investing your hard-earned cash.

One of the first things I did as soon as I was eligible was sign up for a student bank account. These often come with good discounts and offers. Who doesn’t like free money? Santander has 1/3 off 16-25 railcards and 15% cashback with retailer offers (something I have used when at Costa, ordering of Just Eats or buying shoes from JD).

Thoughts On The Fear of Failure

Medicine

My end of year exams start next week (six exams in three weeks so not super intense), and it’s usually around this time of year that the fear of failure tends to peak for me. Like many others I am sure, I struggle to believe in my own abilities. Impostor syndrome is very real, and a hurdle we have to deal with.

I usually try to focus on my own work and not compare with my peers about how much work we are each getting done or test scores. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and all our situations are different.

More Tools, Resources and Tangible Tips for Studying

Medicine

Exam season is upon us! Don’t fear, I am here with more tips and tricks to get you through the next few weeks. Most of these will be tailored to medicine, but some are applicable to GCSE, A-Level or anything you are studying. I wrote a previous blog post with a lot more tips that are all applicable to any type of studying so go there for even more advice.

As usual, everything will be linked in 🙂

Acland’s Anatomy is an amazing resource to watch videos with actual specimens which I find can be more useful than textbooks with coloured diagrams as it is more realistic, and they also have exams to test your knowledge.

Back On The Wards

Medicine

I have just completed my second hospital placement on a respiratory ward at Northwick Park Hospital. This placement felt night and day from my first placement I did in December in the hepatology department at St. Mary’s Hospital. In December, I felt very awkward and always in the staff’s way and I felt nervous to ask questions. I always felt I was not bringing everything I needed or maybe I was not dressed right. Now, it felt a little more familiar and comfortable. I felt more confident asking for help and answering questions. It also didn’t hurt that I luckily had a very short commute, this time it was only 15 minutes, but it took me over an hour to get to St.

Language Learning and Identity

Medicine

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I am currently studying French which I am doing through the Horizons program. It is going well, I think, my grades from my coursework are good and I’m starting to revise for the end of year exam. Speaking in front of other people in French still makes me nervous. It has been years since I’ve studied French at GCSE and having language classes every week had me thinking a lot about identity.

In my spare time, I also have been gradually learning sign language which is a bit harder in terms of finding resources and revising when you cannot really write any of it down to refer to, it is all in my head.

Did I Seriously Just Spend My Entire Paycheck On A New Laptop?

Medicine

My banking app has a new feature called money manager which highlights income and expenses and make little pie charts and bar charts. I had a look at the last three months of account history for last year and I honestly did not realise how much I had been spending. As the title suggests, my entire October paycheck went towards a new laptop after my old one that just reached its 7th birthday officially gave up on me. This was very shocking because I know budgets are tight for nearly everyone during the pandemic and so part of my 2021 resolutions include getting my finances in order and so far, I have hit my January and February savings goals and already on my way to March.

I Am In a Studying Slump

Medicine

Has anyone else been in a studying slump lately? I have been finding it hard to motivate myself to do revision or even to attend lectures and make notes. Time to reset to work out what study techniques are working for you. I did not change the way I studied until I got to university. I used to just look over my class notes, highlight important parts and attempt practice questions. After I got into medicine, I quickly realised those methods would not serve me as well as they did in high school.

Here is a list of some tangible tips I been trying over the past year (with links to apps and resources):

Stop spending more time planning studying and study!

Time to Get Creative With Work Experience

Medicine

I have gotten a lot of questions from friends and younger students at my sixth form about work experience for applying to medicine. I found it very difficult getting work experience when applying and a lot of the time I was just too awkward or nervous to take opportunities to learn. My advice is just taking initiative and reach out to people. Obviously, due to COVID-19, chances of getting work experience in clinical settings like GPs and hospitals or even care homes is slim to none. This is your opportunity to get creative.

Do you know a neighbour that needs help collecting prescription medicine?

Exploring a New Chapter

Medicine

I joined book society during freshers week of my first year and I love it. A book is selected for that month by voting from a group of five and we can discuss it at the meeting a few weeks later. I love to read so this is the first society that jumped out at me. Growing up, my Dad took me and my siblings to the library on the weekends and I would bring an empty bag for the books I would borrow. I still remember back when heelys were a thing I would skate around the long corridors to find books I had not read yet.

Some Of My Favourite Places

Medicine

I was born in London, moved around five times in the same area (twice on the same street!) before settling where I live now. Despite never staying in one place too long, I had not explored much of the city on my own. I was always with my family, and never without at least one of my four siblings. To be honest, I had not even stepped foot on the circle line until I was 18, I think! I had seen more of London in films than with my own eyes.

After starting at Imperial, I was having lectures in South Kensington in the heart of London, I could not help exploring all the places I wanted the go, the restaurants I wanted to eat at, stores I wanted to shop at.

Learn more about life at Imperial

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