Study Methods For Medical School

Studying methods vary widely, but a few are universally effective for improving learning, active memory, and recall. Effective study methods for medical school include active learning, note-taking, reviewing, and creating a positive study environment. Here are some methods to get you started. Weigh your options before deciding on a method.

Regular Material Review

One piece of advise that almost every doctor gives is the necessity to study frequently. Rush University Medical Center’s associate residency program director for simulation teaching is Dr. Inna Husain, a laryngologist. She advises starting a daily study routine and strict study practices as soon as possible.

Take Mock Tests

To get ready for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, sometimes known as “the boards,” you must regularly test yourself. You can test yourself using your own notes or in a group, but you should also take question banks into consideration.

Question banks, according to Dr. Husain, help you get accustomed to the USMLE format. Take into account that the same set of questions might be tested in several ways.

Dr. Reddy recalls that when he was studying, particularly for the boards, he would check the answer before moving on to the next question. It merely made it a little bit more memorable for me.

Establish a Productive Learning Environment

Finding a pleasant learning environment is an essential part of learning how to study in medical school—possibly even more crucial than the study techniques themselves.

Dr. Husain says, “I found the private study cubicles in the library to be the most useful as ambient noise and distractions were eliminated.”

Self-Care Is Important

While maintaining strong study habits is crucial, you should also build in scheduled breaks to give yourself some time to unwind.

Effective Study Methods to Consider for Medical School

Memory Palaces

One study technique for medical college that helps students retain information is called memory palaces. It works especially well in fields like pharmacology and microbiology.

The names of these organisms aren’t usually logical, and students have to memorize them a lot. But rote memorization doesn’t work well for these topics, so building a mental image of these things is much more effective.

A memory palace is a visual representation of a concept that helps you remember it. It helps you recall information by repeatedly viewing it and practicing the concepts. You can use a familiar place or a silly image. A memory palace can also be used to memorize a grocery list.

The ancient Greeks and Aboriginal people used a similar technique to memorise facts. The Aboriginal method involves attaching important facts to a mental image of a place from their childhood. Afterward, the student revisits that place in their mind. This technique significantly enhanced the retention of facts compared to rote learning.

Memory palaces are useful study methods for students in medical school. In a study conducted by the Princeton university, students who wrote notes in a handwritten style performed better than those who wrote them in digital format.

The Power of Learning By Teaching

Another study showed that students who were told they would teach others would be more likely to remember what they had studied. The researchers also found that using a bad font on their notes improved their memory. This was due to the fact that difficult fonts require more mental effort and active attention.

The memory palace technique has also been used to study for the MCAT. Although textbooks are useful resources for studying, they are not an effective way to learn about complicated concepts. YouTube videos are better than textbooks, and often have more information than textbooks. Additionally, textbooks provide passive review, which is the opposite of active recall.

Online Flashcards

Online flashcards can help you study efficiently. A medical student can access a wide variety of study decks for free online. Creating and revising study decks is a crucial step in your study session. It can help you keep track of what you have learned and reinforce it. You can use tags to organize your cards so that you can find them again easily.

While making flashcards can be easy or complex, most software programs are user-friendly. The easiest flashcard is one with a front and back. Remember to make flashcards short, useful, and accurate. This will increase their impact. Using electronic flashcards to study can also reduce test anxiety and reduce total study time.

Using online flashcards can also help you memorize important facts in medical school. You can organize these cards according to subject, keywords, and level of knowledge. If you use Picmonic, you can easily search for a particular subject or Picmonic. Using Picmonic is a great way to get high yield facts for medical school.

Online flashcards are one of the most popular study methods in medical school. They can help you memorize a wide variety of topics. You can create your own or use premade ones. The advantage of using these flashcards is that you can be selective about the content they contain.

Brainscape is another great resource for medical school study. This flashcard-based mobile app is specifically designed for medical students and provides high-quality content. Its paced repetition algorithm allows you to review new information at the right time. It also includes tools to predict how much time you will need to spend studying.

Taking Good Notes

One of the most important tips for students is to take good notes. Taking notes is a great way to ensure that you retain the information later. Don’t just copy what your professor says verbatim – write your notes in your own words and use diagrams to illustrate your point. By doing this, you will engage your brain and increase its ability to retain information.

Typing notes on your laptop is an easier way to take notes than writing longhand. But, this method can make you lazy as you’ll find yourself mindlessly copying and pasting paragraphs without understanding what they mean.

However, for most medical students, typing notes is a great way to take notes because it’s fast and easy to review your notes without worrying about making mistakes. If you don’t have a keyboard, you can download an application to help you type your notes.

Another way to take good notes is to download PowerPoint slides and make notes on each slide. Using PowerPoint slides can save you time because you can write down the main points on each slide. You can also make handwritten notes if you prefer. These are also useful if you are taking notes in a lecture with an instructor.

There are many ways to take notes, but the main goal is to keep them organized. Using colour-coding or underlining notes can help you remember a lecture. And don’t forget to name your notes properly. Taking notes should be organised in a way that allows you to find them easily.

Taking Breaks

Taking breaks while studying for medical school is an important part of the medical school experience. Breaks are a time for students to reflect on what they want to do with their lives and their education.

Although many students are content with taking things day by day, it is important to consider what they want to do with their life three months, a year, or even ten years from now. They can plan their next steps by thinking about what they want to accomplish, what subjects they need to learn, and what kind of specialty they want to work in.

Benefits of Interleaving In Medical Studies

Another effective way to take breaks while studying is to switch your tasks. This strategy is known as interleaving and can have similar benefits to taking a break.

For example, you may switch from studying biology to taking a literature class or revising a paper to taking care of the laundry or dishes. But you must realize that this method is only effective in the short run.

Students should establish a study schedule so that they can stick to it. They should also establish a separate study space so that they can concentrate. This could be a spare room or an office. A corner in the living room can also be used for this purpose. This space should be free from distractions and have good lighting.

Build Relationships and Networks

Apart from these methods, students should also build relationships outside the medical school environment. They can join volunteer groups or join local Meet Ups. Getting in touch with other people will help them to avoid the risk of burnout.