itsartipatel

There are a lot of different ways to study and everyone has their unique study method which works best for them. I’m going to be sharing some study tips and methods that worked out very well for me. This does not mean that you have to follow these methods in order to succeed in school. I just wanted to provide a layout of what I did because I remember struggling at the beginning and not knowing where to start. 

Before going into the specifics, I do want to mention that you will notice yourself changing up study styles as you progress forward and that is completely okay. Do not be scared of changing things up because one specific method will not always workout the way you need it to. 

[#1: have a schedule]

I know it might sound very “OCD” to have a detailed schedule but it is a lifesaver when you have multiple things going on with your personal and academic life. I revolved my schedule around the lectures and mandatory clinical sessions because that was the most logical for me. This was useful because I did not go to campus as often unless I needed to be there. Although I do have a specific daily routine that I followed, I will be discussing that in a separate post. 

You could make a schedule for 1 week, 2 weeks, the entire month, etc. I found it helpful to make my schedule based on the modules and exams we would have. Instead of planning out the entire semester at once, I took it one exam at a time. For example, if the module was 3 weeks long, I had a 3-week study schedule to follow. Not only did it help me finish everything on time, but it allowed me to have a few days before the exam to review through all the content so that I wasn’t cramming the night before. 

The schedule consisted of lectures I needed to watch and take notes on, practice questions that needed to be completed, mandatory sessions, and other important events that needed to be noted. Although it seemed redundant to have the same checklist for each day, it helped me stay on top of my things and gave me a sense of peace at the end of the day. It allowed me to have a little bit of time each night for myself so that I could enjoy things I like to do. 

[#2: Pomodoro method]

Studying for hours at a time can be exhausting and many times, ineffective. We may think that we’ve been productive and studying for a long period of time when in reality, we were constantly distracted. The Pomodoro method is a gem when it comes to being productive and efficient. You can choose how long you want your study session to be along with a designated break. I used to do a 45-minute study session with a 15-minute break. This helped me stay focused throughout the entire 45 minutes instead of having the urge to check my phone or get distracted with other things. I used my breaks to talk to family, stretch my legs, make coffee, eat a snack, etc. At the end of the day, this method allowed me to be much more productive without exhausting my brain. As I continued to use this method, I noticed that my stamina built up and I was able to study for longer periods. We have this mentality that we need to constantly be studying in order to be productive, but our brains cannot handle studying for 3 hours straight without a break. In fact, even 1 hour may be too much at the beginning. It’s important to figure out how long you can study before you start getting distracted and lose focus. And based on that, you can set your study sessions for that specific amount of time and get a lot more done each day.

[#3: brain dump]

An abundant amount of content is going to be covered during each module and it becomes difficult to figure out what you know and what you don’t. It’s easy to start thinking you understand the material when you are reading through lecture slides, but you may still seem lost when trying to answer questions. These knowledge gaps can be found by using a plain piece of paper or white board to jot down everything you know about the topic. If you don’t want to write things down, its also a great idea to talk things out with another person. Trying to teach the material to someone else can help you identify those knowledge gaps and also reinforce what you already know. At RUSM, each lecture had a set of objectives and I would try to answer the objectives as much as I could without using any resources. This helped me figure out what I still needed to review and what my knowledge gaps were. This method also helped me recall the information instead of forcing myself to memorize everything from the slides. 

[#4: note-taking]

I prefer to take hand-written notes because it helps me retain the material better. I do believe that the more you write something out, the more it sticks in your brain. But, this is not always the best option. As I progressed further into basic sciences, I started typing out my notes because it was more efficient with the large amounts of material we needed to get through. 

So how did I go about studying?

I watched my lectures for the day and noted down any additional points that were made. Once I was done with lectures, I would start my notes from scratch. I liked using a table format with 3 columns for majority of my classes. The first column was for the topic that was being discussed, the middle column was for all the details on the said topic, and the third column was for images that were associated with said topic. I would add these notes onto my iPad after and go through them whenever I was not watching a lecture or taking any additional notes. Repetition was key for me. Going through these tables over and over helped me become more familiar with the content and I would always have something new to add to it as I learned more about it. It was also a lot easier to review the material with these concise tables. I know not everyone likes to take notes and many people will study directly from the PowerPoint slides but one recommendation I have is to make tables for pharmacology. As you advance further, you will be learning about many different drugs and it can get overwhelming. These tables were a lifesaver when it came to studying the exams.

[#5: practice questions]

Practice questions are always a must when it comes to studying and bringing everything full circle. It helps you learn how the questions will be formatted for the exam and it will help you become better at test-taking. When working on practice questions, it’s important to go through each answer choice thoroughly. The best way to utilize these questions to the max is to see how each answer choice could be the correct answer if the question were to be worded differently. Many times, similar questions are given on the exam but with a different answer because of a slight change in wording. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to have a high score when doing these questions but I like to think that the more you get wrong, the more you will learn. We often to scroll past a question when we answer it correctly and automatically tell ourselves that we know the answer. But, you could have got the question right due to a lucky guess or the wrong reasoning. It’s good to use these practice questions to your full advantage and learn as much as possible from them.

[#6: eat your pancakes everyday]

When I started MERP, this was the most useful tip they gave us. We were told that if we don’t complete our lectures for the day, they will build up a lot quicker than you’d realize. It’s a lot easier to eat your normal stack of pancakes everyday compared to double the amount the next day. I understand that life happens and there may be a day or two when you are unable to get through all the lectures. But, when you fail to complete your lectures on a daily basis, it piles on and you will regret it as the exam date approaches. The one thing I did tweak to my liking was having a goal to finish my notes by the end of the next day. During MERP, I was able to watch my lectures and complete my notes on the same day. But, this was impossible for me during basic sciences because of the increased load in material and lectures. So instead, I would make sure I watched all my lectures for the day. For my notes, I would start them the same day, but I gave myself the next 24 hours to complete them. Rushing myself to review through the lectures was not helpful when it came to understanding the material so this tweak in my study method was a game changer. 

[#7: keep a consistent sleep routine]

Having the same consistency in sleep and getting a proper 7-9 hours each night is going to make a huge difference. Not only will you not be exhausted each morning, but it will make you feel better overall. During first semester, I was all over the place. There were days when I would wake up at 5am to study and other days when I wouldn’t want to get out of bed until 9am. This inconsistency always had me feeling tired and not wanting to do anything. By the end of second semester, I had a consistent routine of waking up by 5:30am and being asleep by 9pm latest. Now, I know what you guys are thinking. That 9pm is way too early to sleep or 5:30 is way too early to be awake. This is what worked out best for me, but everyone is different. I felt good mentally and physically, so I decided to keep up with this routine. Perhaps you are someone who can study until 1am. That is perfectly okay. Just make sure you’re awake by 8 or 9 each morning to get your day started. The only thing I would recommend is not having such an odd sleeping period where you have a risk of missing mandatory sessions. Exams and mandatory sessions are usually in the mornings and early afternoons so it’s always good to keep that in mind when figuring out what works best for you. 

[#8: switch up your location]

It’s good to have a specific location that is your permanent study spot because you know it will help you stay focused. But, I like to think that it’s healthy to switch it up sometimes. It becomes dreadful sometimes to always be sitting in the same spot each and every day. A change in location can help you feel more lively and energetic. For me, the living room at my house in Coverley was my number one spot. But there were days when I wanted to be on campus or at the Villages of Coverley Town Center. It felt good to see other people on those days since I was usually alone majority of days. It is important to remember that switching up locations could be distracting. I made sure to find a spot on campus where not many people would be passing by so that I could still get my work done for the day. 

[#9: take breaks when you need them]

The chances of burnout are very high in medical school, but it is still possible to overcome that by giving yourself a break when it’s needed. Yes, there is a lot to do and a lot to learn. But, we’re still humans, not robots. You can only push yourself so much until you hit the point of complete exhaustion. Instead of coming to this point, give yourself time for you. Your physical and mental health are both important. Everyone will make it seem like all you’re supposed to being doing is studying. This is not true. You will always have time to do things you enjoy if you make the time for it. This is why it is so important to have a schedule that works best for you. I always made sure I had some time for myself after dinner each night. For me, this was relaxing and allowed me to de-stress. Students often feel guilty for taking a break, but it shouldn’t have to be like this. What is so bad about taking a small break? It is much better than forcing yourself to study because you will most likely not be retaining any of that information. A break does not have to be an entire day. Sometimes all you need is one or two hours to step away and clear your mind of all that clutter and stress. 

[#10: STOP comparing yourself to others]

This is not a competition between you and your peers. Everyone works at their own pace and in different ways. When you compare yourself to someone else, it will only make you feel worse about yourself. Just because someone else is able to get through all their lectures in a shorter time than you, doesn’t mean they are ahead of the game. Maybe they need more time on something else compared to you. And it’s important to remember that everyone has different milestones. You can’t compare the differences and think you are not doing your best. I will say this though: be a better version of yourself as much as you can. A little friendly competition with yourself is a good motivator.