Start with your university's student support and wellbeing service, and tell your personal tutor early. Many professions also run services open to students: medical students can call the BMA support line on 0330 123 1245 at any hour, pharmacy students and trainees can apply to Pharmacist Support for grants, and student nurses can turn to Cavell Nurses' Trust and the RCN. Your university, not the regulator, runs any student fitness to practise process.
Key facts
- Medical students
- BMA support line 0330 123 1245, 24/7, membership not needed
- Pharmacy students and trainees
- Pharmacist Support, including grants for students and trainees
- Nursing and midwifery students
- Cavell Nurses' Trust and RCN student membership
- Dental students
- BDA Benevolent Fund
- Paramedic students
- The Ambulance Staff Charity
- Urgent help
- 999 in an emergency, NHS 111, Samaritans 116 123
Pressures healthcare students describe
Healthcare courses combine academic exams with clinical placements, long travel and shift patterns. Students describe exam pressure before OSCEs and finals, money worries from unpaid or distant placements, and the strain of seeing patients die for the first time. Many hide health problems because they fear a mark on their record before they have even qualified.
- Exams and assessments: read exam pressure.
- Stress across the course: read student stress.
- Loss of a patient or someone close: read bereavement.
- Fear of asking for help: read fear of seeking help.
- Feeling cut off on placement: read isolation.
Start with your university
Your university has a student support or wellbeing service, a disability service and usually a counselling team. Your personal tutor can arrange extensions, mitigating circumstances and changes to placements. Tell the disability service about any condition which affects study or placements, so the university can plan reasonable adjustments before an exam or rota starts. Keep emails and notes of every request.
Your GP is still the usual way into NHS mental health care. If you study away from home, register with a GP near your university.
Support by course
Medical students. The BMA's 24/7 support line on 0330 123 1245 is open to all medical students, members or not. The Doctors' Support Network accepts medical students as student members, with access to an anonymous online forum. GLADD represents LGBTQ+ medical and dental students. Doctors' Association UK (opens another website) offers a low-cost student membership. See support for doctors.
Pharmacy students and foundation trainees. Pharmacist Support helps pharmacy students and trainees, with separate grants for each group, counselling and Listening Friends peer support. The PDA has a students section and advertises free membership for newly qualified pharmacists. The Royal College of Pharmacy (opens another website) has student and foundation trainee membership rates. See support for pharmacists.
Nursing and midwifery students. Cavell Nurses' Trust names student nurses among the people the charity supports. Students can join the RCN and use member services such as counselling and welfare advice. UNISON (opens another website) also counts healthcare students among its members. See support for nurses.
Dental students. The BDA Benevolent Fund helps dental students facing mental ill health or low income. See support for dentists.
Allied health students. The Ambulance Staff Charity supports paramedic students. Professional bodies such as the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists offer student membership. See support for clinicians.
Money and hardship
Ask your university about its hardship fund first, as most universities run one. The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund gives grants to medical students facing exceptional hardship and online help to find funding. Pharmacist Support and the BDA Benevolent Fund offer grants to pharmacy and dental students. Our guide to money worries lists free debt advice.
Problems on placement
Say you are left alone with a task you have not been trained for, or a staff member shouts at you in front of patients. Write down what happened, the date and who was there. Tell your placement supervisor and your university placement lead. In England, ask whether the trust's Freedom to Speak Up guardian takes concerns from students. Read bullying at work, raising safety concerns and patient aggression.
Student fitness to practise
Universities run their own fitness to practise processes for healthcare students, guided by the relevant regulator. The GPhC publishes guidance on fitness to practise concerns in pharmacy education and training, and other regulators publish similar guidance for their courses. Universities expect you to look after your health and to ask for support when you need help. If your university opens a process, ask your students' union advice centre for help, and ask your union or professional body about student advice.
If you are struggling now
Call 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger. In England, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. Samaritans answer on 116 123, day and night. Our urgent help page lists options for each nation.
Support services listed for students
Pharmacist Support
The charity for the pharmacy profession, with counselling, Listening Friends peer support, money and debt help, and grants for students and trainees.
The charity names pharmacists, trainees, students, former pharmacists and dependants. Pharmacy technicians should ask which services cover them.
DoctorsHelp
A directory of organisations offering financial help to doctors and their families.
Each charity listed sets its own eligibility and application process.
BMA wellbeing services
Free, confidential 24/7 counselling and peer support for all doctors and medical students on 0330 123 1245.
You do not need to be a BMA member for the support line. Members can also book a structured course of up to six counselling sessions.
Doctors' Support Network
Confidential peer support for doctors and medical students with mental health concerns.
Membership is free. Peer support does not replace treatment, and DSN does not support doctors through GMC processes.
Doctors in Distress
Facilitated support groups and wellbeing programmes for healthcare workers.
Programme audiences and dates change. Check the current programme includes your profession before you apply.
Canopi
Free, confidential mental health support for NHS and social care staff in Wales. Formerly Health for Health Professionals Wales.
For staff aged 18 and over. Self-referrals and doctor advisor appointments continue. New therapy referrals, including CBT, paused from 21 September 2026. Not an emergency service.
The Balint Society
Reflective groups about the emotional side of clinical relationships.
Group membership, cost, place and format vary. Check each group listing.
GLADD
A community representing LGBTQ+ doctors, dentists and medical and dental students.
Check membership and event details. GLADD does not give medical or dental advice.
HSE workplace stress resources
Official Management Standards guidance on work-related stress risks.
Guidance for employers and staff, not a treatment service. Covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland has separate arrangements.
Acas employment advice
Free official guidance and a helpline for employment questions in England, Scotland and Wales.
Acas explains rights and processes but does not act as your solicitor. In Northern Ireland, use the Labour Relations Agency.
Protect whistleblowing advice
Free, confidential advice on whistleblowing at work and how to raise a concern safely.
Protect gives advice. The charity does not investigate concerns, review documents or take legal action for callers.
Pharmacists' Defence Association
Advice, representation and indemnity for employed and locum pharmacists and people in pharmacy training.
Membership conditions apply. Ask whether a problem which started before you joined is covered.
Citizens Advice work information
Employment information and a way to find a local advice service.
Pick the version for your nation. Local capacity varies, and a listing does not guarantee representation.
Freedom to Speak Up: finding a guardian
Freedom to Speak Up Guardians continue in NHS organisations in England. NHS England has given national support since the National Guardian's Office closed on 30 June 2026.
Ask your organisation how to reach a guardian and how confidentiality works. A guardian supports speaking up and does not give legal advice.
Guides for students on Pharma Mate
Wellbeing
Burnout in healthcare
Signs, first steps and who to tell
Sleep
Sleep and night shifts
Coping with your first nights
Next job
Healthcare contracts
What to check in your first contract
Common questions
Where can a medical student get confidential support?
Medical students can call the BMA's free support line on 0330 123 1245, 24 hours a day, without being members. The Doctors' Support Network also offers peer support to medical students with mental health concerns.
Is there financial help for pharmacy students?
Yes. Pharmacist Support runs separate grants for pharmacy students and trainees. Ask your university about its hardship fund too.
Will asking for mental health support affect my fitness to practise?
Universities expect healthcare students to look after their health and ask for support when needed. Talk to your student support service about adjustments early, and ask your students' union advice centre for help if a process starts.
Who do I tell about bullying on placement?
Tell your placement supervisor and your university placement lead, and keep a written record. In England, you can also ask whether the trust's Freedom to Speak Up guardian takes concerns from students.