Reading/studying skills
Lo and behold, many of us are already in the final year of our 5th-7th year medical education. The years of learning, studying, suffering and practicing will finally be put to the ultimate test. All in hopes to determine that we graduate as safe and efficient doctors who can help serve the nation.
In order to start preparing for the pro’s, my friends and I tried looking around for advice and pointers from various sources including; our lecturers, seniors, colleagues and the internet. Here are a few tips among MANY others that have been put together for your reference.
The most important one of all is to READ and LEARN! Without learning or reading, there is no point in trying to proceed with medicine or anything else for the matter.
Respect yourself and your patients enough to want to equip yourselves with the knowledge that can help you become safe doctors.
To help make things easier and more organised, we have divided reading into phases:
First reading
You should set a target of 1-2 weeks per subject for an initial scheme through the books to get a rough idea of the topics you have to cover. It would be helpful to start highlighting important parts at this stage.
Second reading
Take a bit more time during this phase – approximately 2 – 3 weeks or even 4 if you have more to cover. This phase is usually the time used to understand the topics better and start making notes based on the parts you highlighted during your first reading.
DO NOT waste time re-reading difficult topics to the extent where you get distracted from other topics. Try to discuss with your friends and lecturers as sometimes, a fresh outlook can actually put things into better perspective and help you understand better.
Third reading
This phase should take as long as the first phase did. Try to ‘recall’ the information and BE CONSISTENT! Do not go a day without having read or at least browsed through something, a page of your notes every day is good enough than constantly non-efficiently burying yourself in a 1000 page book every other day and eventually burning yourself out. Nevertheless, if you are the type that is a power generator, then by all means, read away.
Apart from that, DO NOT FORGET that efficient repetition is a method that will help consolidate memory. The more times you read efficiently, the better. Hence, try to get a few minutes here and there to squeeze in a few pages of reading whenever you can.
Another way to help make your studying more fruitful is to use illustrations. Mind maps and pictures are of IMMENSE help as they can help you remember better.
I am a fan of charts, tables and graphs, especially comparative tables as they help me understand and retain information. Even non comparable topics in tabular form will be easy to remember. Studies have shown that we usually have a tendency to retain information presented as grouped data or linked to images.
Once you are done with the reading, try out a few questions to test your understanding. Exercises that have many case studies and clinical scenario based questions are helpful in testing your applied knowledge.
Now, to say is easier than to do. How do you plan and make sure you actually stick to a plan?
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”
-Alan Lakein
I would suggest creating a table/ schedule in which you can cross off or make some notes on. When completing a topic or task, simply cross it off and write a few thoughts and comments on what made you finish on time and what helped you learn better. For some, reading out in the garden helps them learn better while some like to go through notes at a café. You can observe your progress and see the reasons why you do not achieve your targets on days that do not seem to be as productive as you would like. This will hopefully help you identify problems which you can then rectify or troubleshoot.
Progress table example:
*using different coloured pens for good days and not so good days can help you improve better as the outcome will be more apparent on the table.
| Topic | Date | 1st reading | 2nd reading
(highlight/ underline important points) |
3rd reading
(note writing) |
History Taking Practice | Questions
|
Comments
· +ve points · -ve points |
||
| MCQ | SHORT ESSAY | OSCE | |||||||
These pointers are not meant for final year students only, others are definitely welcome and encouraged to try. The earlier you start, the better.
Constructive thoughts are very much appreciated. Have a go and let us know what you think at:
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Nurul Firdaus Binti Salahul Ahmed is a 5th year medical student in Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS). Learn more about the Young Columnists under the Team page.