University of Sheffield Medicine Student - Ask Me Anything!

Please advise about medicine course in sheffield

on the website there is no mention of an optional elective abroad, do you know if there is the option for this during the course?

Hi everyone! My name is Ami, I am currently in my second year studying Medicine at Sheffield.
I’ve really enjoyed my time at Sheffield so far... I’ve been part of the University Taekwondo team for the past 2 years, and this year I’ve been on committee as Inclusions Officer. I’m also involved with Medics Women’s Football, BAME Medics Society and I enjoy taking part in various volunteering opportunities at the University. Outside of this I’ve loved exploring everything Sheffield has to offer, through trying new cafes with friends and running in the Peaks!
I lived in Howden in Endcliffe for my first year and moved into shared student housing this year which has been a great experience and I highly recommend it!
I’ll be online every Wednesday to answer questions on any topics about Medicine, accommodation, societies, university life or Sheffield in general! Looking forward to speaking to you!

Hi Ami,
What kind of support can a student get if they have failed the exams and the resit as well? What resources are available for the student in Phase 2a? I am just trying to help my son who is studying medicine in sheffield uni. I am looking out for any apps, other resources like flash cards, support from elder years or lecturers etc... and also how to self evaluate after covering the systems/topics? Is there anything that you can guide me please. I am not into medicine but my son is in brink and need to support him. Also, is one strike is considered per exam season?

What's the workload like in the first year? Hopefully should be going Sheffield for med this september, so was wondering how is it balancing uni/social life? Obviously doing med doesn't spare a lot of time, but maybe around freshers do you have enough time to go out and have fun?

Hey @edwinn!
Congrats on your offer at Sheffield! In first year the workload is pretty manageable throughout the year but then will build up quickly during exam season. There are 4 SSC deadlines throughout the year which are the main projects to hand in, plus there is prep for GP placement, small group teaching and anatomy teaching each week as well. The rest of the workload comes from trying to keep up to date with lecture content, making notes/flashcards and recapping the content when possible.
There definitely is time to do things outside the course as all contact hours will be placed between 9-5, especially during freshers. Honestly I recommend making the most of doing everything you want to do in terms of sports, societies and nightlife in first year as the workload does progress from there especially once placement starts. There are socials and nights out run by MedSoc as well during freshers which I recommend for meeting coursemates before the first official week. It can sometimes feel like other courses will have more time to go out and make plans especially if you're living with people studying other degrees but you can definitely get the right balance in first year even with Medicine. I know it's a cliche but I just recommend planning everything out and setting smaller deadlines for yourself to make sure you get the work done as well as do everything else 🙂
Hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about med or uni life!
Ami

Hiya @Naga81 👋
Thanks for getting in touch, I understand how stressful exam season can be. Firstly I just want to say failing exams in medical school is something which so so many people go through and qualified doctors often mention how they themselves failed at least one set of exams or know people who did but have still become fully qualified and an amazing doctor. I understand it feels very serious and intense in the moment but I can assure you things will be okay in the long term 🙂
If your son did fail his exams at Sheffield, they would have had an interview with a few members of faculty, where they guide the student through how they approached the exams and ways in which they can improve for next time; they present it as a way of checking that the student has been managing things okay and how their wellbeing has been. In terms of support available there are plenty of resources from older students through the Peer Teaching Society which I recommend, and hopefully your son's 'medic parents' have shared some resources with him as well which has notes from the older years. Other than that, I recommend going back through the lecture notes and making note of the key points which continuously come up as they are what is most likely to be tested in the future exams. They can then compare this to the syllabus to identify the key topics. In terms of Phase 2A, I highly recommend again Peer Teaching Society, lecture notes, as well as Geeky Medics, Zero to Finals and PassMed for questions. A lot of students also use Anki for online flashcards. In terms of self evaluation, there is a traffic light system in place, where students can see how well they did on each question after the exam which can be useful guidance for future revision.
If there are any concerns about your son's wellbeing during this time or if he is wanting to seek further advice about how to approach the next year, I recommend that he gets in touch with the Student Affairs Team at the Medical School as I believe they can offer support with this, and there is also links for support from the university via this page: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/saas/student-health-wellbeing-support
In terms of the strike system, I believe that each set of exams failed counts as an individual strike, even if it is 2 sets in one exam season, however I would recommend confirming how this works with the medical school via this page: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/smph/contact; just drop them an email and they'll be able to confirm this for you 🙂
I hope this is all helpful, please let me know if there is anything else I can advise or support on!
Ami [2nd Year Medic]

Thank you! Could you go into a bit more detail about the SSC deadlines, as in what are the projects and what do you have to do for them? Thanks!

Thanks Ami. Much appreciated. yes, he had meetings. His EC has been accepted and the resit is mentioned as not assessed. Any possibilities to get his % marks from that resit? He is going to retake the 2nd year. I will let him know all these details. Thanks

hi you medical student ?

Hey @mick85!
Yes I'm a third year medical student at Sheffield! Let me know if you have any questions about the course or uni life at Sheff 🙂
Ami

@Naga81
I'm not entirely sure how/if the med school releases marks from the resits, I would recommend getting in touch with them directly via this page https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/smph/contact to confirm their policy. Apologies for not being able to offer more help on this; I'm sure the faculty will be able to give you a more confident answer.
In the meantime please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!
Ami

Hi everyone! My name is Ami, I am currently in my second year studying Medicine at Sheffield.
I’ve really enjoyed my time at Sheffield so far... I’ve been part of the University Taekwondo team for the past 2 years, and this year I’ve been on committee as Inclusions Officer. I’m also involved with Medics Women’s Football, BAME Medics Society and I enjoy taking part in various volunteering opportunities at the University. Outside of this I’ve loved exploring everything Sheffield has to offer, through trying new cafes with friends and running in the Peaks!
I lived in Howden in Endcliffe for my first year and moved into shared student housing this year which has been a great experience and I highly recommend it!
I’ll be online every Wednesday to answer questions on any topics about Medicine, accommodation, societies, university life or Sheffield in general! Looking forward to speaking to you!

a few questions: