During the practical clinical year, or PJ, your daily routine can change between placements and hospitals. An advertised allowance is not a complete funding plan. You need the actual payments and benefits for each location, together with costs arising between rotations.
Record each placement separately
Ask the institution about cash payments, benefits in kind and the first payment date. Free accommodation or reduced-price meals can lower particular expenses but are not unrestricted income. Check how partial months are treated and which documents must be received before payment starts.
Marburger Bund’s 2023 PJ survey documented differences in payment arrangements. Historical survey findings are not current commitments for your own placement. Use the terms confirmed by your own institution and the applicable current rules. An amount described by someone at another hospital may not apply to your placement.
Moving costs can come before the first payment
Plan accommodation, any deposit, arrival travel and daily journeys. Keeping your existing home while renting another room can increase the burden. Check whether subletting is permitted and feasible before counting potential rent as secure income. Include the cost of moving between rotations rather than considering only the months spent at each location.
For an invented example, accommodation costs €420 a month and travel €65, while the first allowance arrives at month-end. At least €485 must be available upfront, before food and other regular expenses, even if the later allowance is sufficient. An agreed reimbursement changes this timing only if it is actually paid earlier.
Budget for equipment according to the placement’s requirements. Avoid buying an extensive set of items from a generic list when the institution provides them. Ask what is available and which receipts are needed for any reimbursement.
Check other funding and the months afterwards
If you receive BAföG or another form of support, ask the responsible office how the specific cash and non-cash benefits are treated. Do not automatically add the entire allowance to your previous funding amount. Follow the relevant reporting and evidence requirements when arrangements change.
Retain a side job in the plan only if the hours are realistic. Long attendance periods and travel may displace shifts that previously fitted around classes. Compare a real placement month with your old work schedule instead of carrying the same earnings forward unchanged.
Finally, include the period after the last placement: examinations, any charges, housing and the gap before confirmed employment. Funding that ends precisely with the PJ can simply move the shortfall into the following month. Review the calculation at every change of placement using the terms actually confirmed for the next location.
