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Studying in medical school has been compared to
trying to drink from a fire hydrant. There’s so
much information thrown at you and the
only way you can succeed is by becoming
faster and more efficient at studying. This
video will teach you how to do just that.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com
The first change you must make to study faster in
medical school is to focus
on high-yield information.
No matter how much you may want to learn
absolutely everything, you won't be able
to. With limited time, you must focus on
what will make the most significant impact.
Here are some things to look for.
Any framework of understanding that contextualizes
a concept is going to be high-yield. Comparisons,
including tables, charts, and diagrams,
are likely to be high-yield, too.
You should also watch for repeated
concepts. For example, if you see a
concept explained in your USMLE textbook
and it’s again discussed in your lecture,
there’s a good chance it’s
something worth learning.
For certain exams, practice tests can help
you narrow down high-yield information by
pinpointing your strengths and weaknesses. If
you’re already scoring exceptionally well on
one aspect of an exam, turn your focus to the
areas where you can make the greatest impact.
If you always answer pathology questions
correctly but struggle with anatomy, don’t
spend time going over and over what you already
know inside and out. Focus on your weaknesses.
Lastly, remember that all tests and exams
are weighted differently. In medical school,
you need to be intentional with your time.
Don’t invest all of your time and energy into
maximizing performance on a pass/fail exam
when there are other tests or exams where
getting the highest score possible is critical,
like Step 2 CK now that Step 1 is pass/fail.
Do your best, but align your effort with
the grading of what you’re studying for.
Next, you need to double down on active
study techniques. The way you passively
read and memorize information in college
won’t work anymore in medical school.
There’s simply too much information
to take in and not nearly enough time.
I saw many of my friends in medical school
learn this the hard way. They would waste
so much time reading and rereading notes or
rewatching lectures. By studying this way,
they were only memorizing information,
not fully comprehending it. Plus,
it took them far more time compared
to active study strategies.
To get the most out of your limited time,
choose study techniques that give you the
biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. You
want to study as effectively as possible so
that you can free up time for more studying
as well as your own wellness and downtime.
For example, instead of reading from a table or
diagram, try to recreate it yourself. Condense
and reorganize your notes to summarize what
you’re learning. Working with the information
itself and manipulating it in different ways
is an active process that’s far more effective.
Spaced repetition combined with active recall is
the most effective way to memorize information.
In fact, we ranked these two active
study techniques in place #2 and #1,
respectively, when we Ranked the
BEST Study Strategies from 9 to
number 1. Check out that video right
up here and linked in the description.
When it comes to active recall, create flashcards
or use practice problems. This has the added
benefit of practicing higher-order thinking
because instead of recalling one discrete fact,
you’re thinking in multiple layers that require
additional concepts that build upon each other.
Many students quickly abandon active recall
too soon because they find it difficult.
They turn back to passive techniques because
they feel faster. But if studying is easy,
it means it isn’t as effective and,
in the end, wastes far more time.
Add spaced repetition into the
mix by increasing the intervals at
which you expose yourself to the same
information. By reviewing information
just before you’re about to forget
it, the memory becomes more durable.
This way of memorizing helps you retain
information in the least amount of time.
The opposite is also true. Trying to
learn everything in a short amount of
time by cramming is incredibly ineffective.
10 hours of studying over 1 week will give
you greater results than studying for
10 hours straight right before an exam.
Number three is to cut out multitasking. You can’t
effectively study while watching TV, bouncing back
and forth between TikTok and your textbook,
or listening to music with distracting lyrics.
While this may make studying
a little less tedious,
it diminishes the effectiveness of both tasks.
Effective studying requires deep focus and intense
effort. It should feel challenging. While this
may feel unpleasant at the start, you’ll get
used to it as you continue to build the habit,
and this tolerance for discomfort will only help
you as you continue in medical school and beyond.
Your Step and Shelf exams aren’t
a passive or laid back experience,
so your studying shouldn’t be either. If
you won't be taking the exam from your bed,
don’t study that way. Instead of half-assing both
work and fun, study at maximum effectiveness.
This way, you can also fully immerse
yourself in enjoying your downtime.
Only multitask when combining an automatic
task with a non-automatic task. For example,
calling your parents while going for a walk,
doing practice problems while riding the bus,
watching TV while stretching, or folding
laundry while listening to an audiobook.
When it’s time to study, study.
Make that your sole focus,
and you’ll breeze through your
studies at a far faster pace.
Next, align your studying with your energy
levels and don’t force it when you’re super
tired. If you’re not in the physical or mental
space to be able to study, fix that first. Get
to the root of the problem so that any time
spent studying is efficient and effective.
Understand that you're never going to be
operating at 100 percent capacity at all times,
but to study faster, you want to be studying
when your mind is at its freshest. Aim to
study when you feel at your best rather
than when you’re already feeling drained.
This isn’t about finding motivation. If
you’re recovering from a cold and only
slept 2 hours last night, don't spend
all day “trying” to study. Instead,
focus on hydration and getting a good
night’s sleep so that you can come
back to your studying refreshed
and ready to retain information.
Don’t sit in your bed for hours late
at night casually reading your notes
or reviewing lectures. Instead, get the
sleep you need to be able to hit the
ground running the next day. Any time spent
studying at low efficiency is time wasted.
Many students feel guilty about their free time
and believe they should be studying at all times,
but that’s far from the reality of medical
school. Sure, you’ll need to study a ton, but
if you study effectively, you’ll still have room
for exercise, errands, hobbies, and socializing.
If you find yourself getting tired or your
attention waning, switch to a different task.
Your brain needs breaks, and this is when you
can turn your attention to something else in
your life that needs it, like going to the gym,
having a shower, doing laundry, or making dinner.
Lastly, taking care of your body and mind
will indirectly help you study faster. It’s
all connected. Your body needs fuel and rest.
Otherwise, you won’t run at peak performance.
It’s just like a car. If you don’t put
gas in it, perform regular oil changes,
and keep it clean, it will slowly degrade,
fall apart, and, eventually, stop running.
The best medical students take a holistic approach
to their education. They understand that sleep,
exercise, and nutrition all fit into
how they perform in school. I know
we’ve harped on this many times before,
but that’s because it’s so important,
and too many medical students ignore
this side of their performance.
You can go a couple of days without the
performance pillars of sleep, exercise,
and nutrition, but after just a few days
of neglecting your health, your performance
will begin to decline, and in the long-term,
you’ll face serious productivity setbacks.
Plus, if you don’t take care of yourself,
your immune system won’t function optimally.
You’re more likely to get sick, which will
cut into your study time… and you’ll have
to deal with being sick. Even though
doctors and doctors in training know
intimately what the body needs, they still
often neglect to take care of themselves.
A healthy body and mind will help you get the
most out of a study session so that you can
not only learn and retain more but also have
time for the other things in life you love.
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