Study Tips
While getting into medical school is a great achievement on its own, it is only the first step on the way to becoming a doctor. The hard part begins now, as medical studies will require a lot of dedication and hard work from future doctors to pass all of the tests and exams. However, don’t feel discouraged – medical school is tough but definitely manageable, and with these 10 useful medical study tips, you will be able to stay ahead of your classes.
1. Put aside an hour or two for learning every day
Unless you were very eager, high school probably didn’t require reviewing the material every single day to make it through. Studying at a medical school, unfortunately, usually won’t be as leisurely. To make sure you don’t get lost in the vast volume of material taught in every class, it is always better to review what you already know every day.
Always plan your schedule ahead of time, making sure that nothing surprises you and you suddenly won’t be able to find any time for studying. If you find planners helpful, it can be a good idea to write down your schedule for the next week every Friday – this way, you can manage your time better and make studying a routine.
2. Always take notes
Whether you find the current material in any class interesting or not, always write down everything that might be of any importance. You never know what is and what isn’t going to appear on the final exam, so taking notes for future review is crucial. If you don’t like writing on your own, most university professors won’t mind you taking notes on a laptop – though be careful, as some old-fashioned ones might still object!
In addition to taking notes during classes and lectures, it’s helpful to take notes when reading texts assigned as homework. Prepare for a lot of reading in medical school, and taking your own notes will definitely help you better retain all of the information.
3. Try out different learning aids
There are tons of learning aids available, such as mnemonics or visual aid, and even auditory stimuli. Depending on your own preferences, you might find some of these methods useful in increasing your studying efficiency, allowing you to remember more information while spending less time with your nose in your books.
Mnemonics are a great way of remembering tedious lists of items, such as bones in a specific body part or a set of instructions to do in a certain order. For example, a common mnemonic for the questions you should as a conscious patient in a life-threatening emergency is SAMPLE, which stands for:
- Smoking history
- Allergies to medications or previous anesthetics
- Medications or alcohol use
- Past medical history
- Last meal
- Events leading up to the injury
4. Make use of medical learning apps
A great way to ensure a smooth learning experience in medical school is to use professional apps designed to help medical students prepare for their exams and increase memory retention. Some of the most helpful types of applications are medical question banks – like QUPI!
QUPI is an extensive database of medical questions, with over 10,000 questions from various fields of medicine. With QUPI, you can create personalized quizzes with specific questions you might need, preparing you better for your future work as a doctor. You can give QUPI a try and see how useful it is for yourself with a 7 Day Free Trial!