“Med school is like taking a drink of water from a fire hose.”
~ Miller & Bissell: “Med School Confidential”
kendra over at island med student has compiled a great list of study tips for med school. it’s neat to see that such a simple set of tools would work equally well for pre-med courses or just about any other discipline that requires you to get through large amounts of info.
she touches on a few things i have found worked for me in the past 4 years (own mnemonics, repetition, schedule) and some things i definitely do NOT do (group/buddy work). here are my top 5, in no particular order…
1. attend class and take notes
while i may not pay attention in class for every second of every lecture, i’m always physically there and physically taking notes. sometimes i’ll review material written in my own hand and can’t remember actually writing it down. i do enjoy day-dreaming! but as noted in #4, seeing things in my own hand really helps my photographic memory recall.
2. repetition and 3. schedule
i find i retain information best when my environment is routine and predictable. this makes repetition and scheduling the two most important tools in my personal study arsenal. i like to know when i’m studying and for how long. i like to repeat and review material in concentric circles (ie: eliminating the cue cards i know by heart, but adding them back in again later).
4. creativity
i also really like to use my own drawings and diagrams and mnemonics – all in my own old-fashioned printing or handwriting. i can look at a diagram 100 times, but will retain it much longer and in much more detail if i draw it out in my own hand even once.
5. efficiency
saying “i studied for 12 hours today” might sound impressive, but i am not efficient or effective at retaining information when confronted with HUGE blocks of time like that. the big picture gets lost when the brain tires and i always prefer to get a good night’s sleep before a big exam than stay up late cramming a few extra tidbits of information. if i use my time wisely, i will get more done in a shorter period and eliminate deterioration through distractions.
a lot of people that have already made it to med school did so because they know how to study. but a lot of people that would make great doctors don’t have 4.0 GPAs and have to work that much harder to keep up or stay competitive with their classmates. some people are naturals at the piano or basketball. some have to practice for hours and hours each day.
like playing the piano, studying is a skill. you may have been born with the talent or you may need to sit down and practice on a regular basis. everyone learns differently, so techniques should be tailored to suit your particular style – but “learning to learn” effectively and efficiently is a skill that can be improved with practice.
speaking of which… i have an organic chemistry midterm on friday and should really get back to hydrolysis of nitrile mechanisms…
I just wanted to say that you totally “get it!” Surprisingly, and unfortunately, I have met more than one med student who would make an incredible doctor, but who lacks the basic understanding of how to study efficiently and effectively. I am continually shocked by how many students think that “studying for 12 straight hours a day” will help them get good grades. As you mentioned, your brain gets tired after trying to force that much information inside it at once. Well guess what? Unless one is part of a VERY small minority of the population, they ALSO cannot study for that long effectively. This seems like a basic fact of the human brain that most people should understand. Yet, I’ve noticed that many students STILL try to do this. It’s crazy! (And then they think I’m insane for taking breaks to go to the beach!) And you are correct, studying is a skill that is developed, just like any other skill. I can tell that you have developed yours already. In some strange way, I’m so excited for you, because I can tell that you’re going to really excel in med school. (I can’t wait to read along as your journey unfolds.)
All the best,
Kendra
Those were great tips. Another thing I do that i’ve found really works for me, is to write something out in great detail, and then write it out again and again in increasingly condensed versions, until i’m left with the “core” of what it is i’m trying to learn. That’s the part I commit to memory, and then I review the rest of it.
Thanks for writing that post…I always like hearing about other people’s study habits, it helps me improve my own.