This question was asked on Quora.com, and best answer were chosen: First answer from Jo van Schalkwyk, Still enjoys teaching, 30 years down the line. So many good answers here that I’m tempted not to add my 2c. But we do forget, and there is a solution. So here goes. It’s about hooks. Every day choose a patient you’ve seen, and read up on their problem, condition or therapy. It doesn’t have to be a long read. It doesn’t matter if you get side-tracked by an interesting, related topic. (In fact, this is a good thing). You can use the memory of the patient you saw as hook on which you can hang information. You will gradually build up a host of associations—and this will allow you to make yet more associations, keep up to date, and learn things that are relevant to your practice. Make this a habit. Stick to it. Later, encourage your students to do the same. A little every day is far better than great big indigestible chunks of learning. This is why enforced learning, “continuing medical education”, congresses and so on don’t really work that well. But this does. A little every day. Forever. Jo. Second answer from Matt Saks, studied at New York University School of Medicine They forget A LOT. They forget more than the average person ever learns in their lifetime. Don't worry though, they do remember what they need for their job/specialty. More importantly, they know where to look to find the answer to things they don't know. They also rely a ton on experience and constantly hone their knowledge by reading and interacting with other professionals. Medical learning is a lifelong process. In the first two years of med school you learn a ton of anatomy and physiology. But depending on your specialty, you only need to recall a small fraction relevant to your field. In practice, the details are often less important than understanding the general concepts. Don't think of doctors as just repositories of info. Instead, consider them as experts at finding and processing relevant info and using it to solve problems.
