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Study Habits Of Medical Students

Discussion in 'Medical Students Cafe' started by Egyptian Doctor, Jan 21, 2014.

  1. Egyptian Doctor

    Egyptian Doctor Moderator Verified Doctor

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    It is well-known that studying medicine is harder than any field, but with some tips you can enjoy it, it is a science that deals with humans and life situations, if you deal with it as a needed experience for your upcoming life situations and how you can save people life with what you are reading this will change the way you are studying medicine 100% and you will enjoy what you are doing so try to be practical when you are studying, in addition to that here are some tips or study habits for medical students:

    • Aim to do a little bit of studying each day, even if it’s just revising notes from the afternoon’s lectures or reading some anatomy. Little things add up, and you’ll be surprised how much you learn.
    • Flashcards are great for rote learning. I swore by flashcards when I was learning sociology and key symptoms, and you can pull them out at any time. I was clearly the coolest kid in surgery last year, whipping out my flashcards between cases.
    • Use colours. Bright colours can make even the most boring of notes more exciting. (I currently take a subject regarding administration in health care. I can only make myself study it because I’m allowed to use pretty colours for the titles.)
    • Diagrams and pictures! Anything that is conducive to being in a flow-chart or diagram should be. It forces you to think about the information, and makes a great revision tool come exam time.
    • If you are going to highlight, write notes in the margins to summarise, otherwise you’re going to have to read the text again.
    • Have a to-do list and set deadlines (realistic deadlines, of course). Nothing gives you a greater sense of achievement than crossing something off your to-do list.
    • Give yourself a break occasionally. Go watch Scrubs. It technically counts as studying, right?
    • Talk about what you learn. Teach your goldfish anatomy. Interpret blood films for your computer screen. Get your friends to test you and have debates over the ethical issues of medicine.
    Those would be my tips for studying medicine—also, these are the things I wish someone had told me in first year. I almost failed my first mid-semester exam in med school because I had no idea what to study or how to do it, so I really hope these help you!

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  2. Ray

    Ray Bronze Member

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    Get yourself a note card or flash card app like Evernote. Read your text, make your notes. Got back through your notes and refine them, get pictures, break big notes into smaller, best one sentence notes, best in question:answer format. Only go back to the book if you think you missed something, else, study the flash cards over and over again until you can do them by heart. Nice thing about Evernote, you can study on the bus, the train, in the tub (don't drop your iPhone in the bath ;-) And not have 1000 books on your back all the time. The above is right, diagrams and pictures, pictures, pictures. It is also right, teach your ferns. I put up a full sized whiteboard in my living room of my apartment and I teach the imaginary students on the couch. One last thing, divide and conquer. Got to remember the 30 bones in the arm, no problems. Break it up into 5 lists of 6 or 6 of 5. Then tackle one list at a time until you have it down. And by tackle, stand at the whiteboard and write them out, spelled correctly, drawings, everything. Then next list. Then together. Flash cards help this process out a lot and you will be amazed how quickly you will get it. I don't do mnemonics. "Some Say Sally Might Mingle By ...." whatever. Just learn it already. But if you are going to do mnemonics, don't do the clean ones. Your mind will will recall the naughty ones faster better.
     

  3. saeed baftaim

    saeed baftaim Active member

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    nice topic
     

  4. nila_f

    nila_f Young Member

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    thanks it was really helpful :)
     

  5. Anantha Krishnan

    Anantha Krishnan Well-Known Member

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    ask your seniors what is important, make a list, cram that before tests

    be a complete idiot while on rounds, shoot even the silliest and most irrelevant doubts. what you lose by looking like a fool you makeup in hours of study time gained.

    whenever you see a group of ladies studying, just sit in and listen. don't open your trap, and bring them coffee and cookies

    note down clinical presentation and diagnosis of every case you see. go back look up the d/d, try to figure out how to eliminate those d/d and get an over view of management. you can do this on sunday while you are trying to shake off your hangover - yes, it requires only that much concentration OVER VIEW: hepatic coma treatment requires gut sterilization using ampicillin and lactulose. don't go for the doses, precautions, other options, other indications etc. leave something for internship.

    I passed out with 65% aggregate, which is quite respectable grade in my country
     

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  6. Kerek Nagy Attila

    Kerek Nagy Attila Young Member

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    According to this picture.... That's exactly what my room looks like, when i'm studying :D
     

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  7. hussien

    hussien Active member

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    thank you :)
     

  8. Ray

    Ray Bronze Member

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    LOL LOL LOL Yea, my entire apartment (such as it is) looks like a hurricane ripped through a medical book and supply store. The only thing that isn't medical is my violin, and poor baby is gathering dust.
     

  9. Tuqa abu abeelah

    Tuqa abu abeelah Young Member

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    Thanks for these useful tips :) .
     

  10. vipul yadav

    vipul yadav Young Member

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    i got a new interesting way . when ever i am studying i am making notes, but i am not writing them ,i am typing them on microsoft word, or microsoft power point ,
    by this way is much better than writing on a paper like
    i can read my notes where ever i want
    i can add extra information in few second
    i can add picture through internet or during class live patient examination videos.
    i can add lecture notes also or edit lecture notes easily and add my notes in that
    i can share my notes with friend and take notes from them <not hand writing problem>
    i will not misplace them anywhere.
    i can make differentiation easily.
    most important - i donot have to make mnemonic and read it again and again and ,i am study in a day time 1 or 2 hours ,what ever i study i just type it and study in the end during exam time.
     

  11. Ray

    Ray Bronze Member

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    I use Evernote pretty much the same way. The advantage I see in Evernote is that a) it is on all platforms, b) stored in the cloud so it is everywhere I am. Just and idea. But you are right, paper notes are worthless. Seriously who has time to go back through their paper notes when it is time for an exam?????
     

  12. Timothy Ronoh

    Timothy Ronoh Young Member

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    That helps. First year is no fun at all, you start reading physiology, ten minutes into it you remember you forgot something on the triangles of the neck. oh! I need to check out this beta oxidation thing... in an hour, you find yourself having read a lot and gained nothing in particular. :p:p
     

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