Study Habits for a new MS1...... Flashcards?

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Hi all! I was curious if anyone makes and uses flashcards to study? Is there too much material? Would there not be enough time to make up the cards and then review them? Thoughts??? I used them a great deal (probably owe my 3.8gpa to them) but I am aware that they take quite some time to make up and then memorize. Good idea or no??

IMO helpful for pharm and micro where you have lots of buzzwords and quick facts to recall for lots of unique things (drugs/bugs.) Far less helpful for diseases and conditions when there's just not enough room to fit everything you need to know for each thing on a 3"x5" index card.

Originally Posted by GenusTide

Hi all! I was curious if anyone makes and uses flashcards to study? Is there too much material? Would there not be enough time to make up the cards and then review them? Thoughts??? I used them a great deal (probably owe my 3.8gpa to them) but I am aware that they take quite some time to make up and then memorize. Good idea or no??

there is an app called "Mental Case" you can purchase through iTunes.... It makes not card making/studying much faster and organized.

Do whatever works for YOU. If you like using flashcards do it. I think making flashcards is far too much of a waste of time vs just reading...but thats me. You may be diff.

Originally Posted by GenusTide

Hi all! I was curious if anyone makes and uses flashcards to study? Is there too much material? Would there not be enough time to make up the cards and then review them? Thoughts??? I used them a great deal (probably owe my 3.8gpa to them) but I am aware that they take quite some time to make up and then memorize. Good idea or no??

For many things in med school, note cards are going to be difficult to use because of the breadth of material and occasionally the speed. Back in the day, I tried to use note cards but often found I didn't have time to review them. Certain subjects lend themselves to note cards. For Micro, pharm and a few other things, they will be good. For physiology and pathophys, probably less helpful.

A few other tid-bits:
1) I am assuming because you are asking the question, you are an accepted pre-med. As you have not started medical school, you are not a med student (although your status says otherwise). Just a friendly reminder from your neighborhood status nazi.
2) Did we really need the shameless GPA plug?

First off, thank you guys (or girls) for your thoughts. I had a feeling I was not going to be able to use flashcards for all the classes, but it is how I retain information best. I do find it difficult to correlate ideas this way due to focusing on details. I guess I will have to try both approaches to find my niche.

A couple tid-bits for Instatewaiter:
1) Thank you for your advice
2) Classes start in less than two months so I did not figure changing my status was going to a big deal and will take your concern into consideration. I certainly do not want to be labeled "that guy" who was excited about starting medical school.
3) Nothing wrong with being humble and proud

Just finished MS1. I used Mentalcase for some of my classes, and loved it. Like someone else posted, gotta go with what works for you. All our lectures and outlines were digital, so I used Skitch (free) to clip and blank out pictures and diagrams, then made MC flashcards. Good for anatomy, histology, neuro etc. waste of time for physiology, behavioral etc.

Also, there's a thread floating around SDN on Gunner Training. They have a pretty good system and the flashcards are pre-made. Most importantly, if you are looking for ideas on how to go about studying, reading their philosophy and then coming up with ways to personalize it and apply it might be helpful.

GT Learning Principles

Drink coffee, read notes.

Plenty of people use notecards in my class. I use them for extremely specific
details, like numbers or random diseases inserted in paragraph. Other than that I find didnt have enough time. I would just read each chp bout 3 times and hoped things stick. Their will be certain topics that it will help though. Pharm, micro, immuno, anatomy, ect.
You still coming to Bradenton?

Originally Posted by gators21

Plenty of people use notecards in my class. I use them for extremely specific
details, like numbers or random diseases inserted in paragraph. Other than that I find didnt have enough time. I would just read each chp bout 3 times and hoped things stick. Their will be certain topics that it will help though. Pharm, micro, immuno, anatomy, ect.
You still coming to Bradenton?

Thanks for the info. Yes, I will be there. I will actually be right next to campus tomorrow and Thursday for my son's AAA playoff games. Excited to start! Any need to know advice now that your almost done with your first year?? Things to do or not do?

Originally Posted by Mdard

Just finished MS1. I used Mentalcase for some of my classes, and loved it. Like someone else posted, gotta go with what works for you. All our lectures and outlines were digital, so I used Skitch (free) to clip and blank out pictures and diagrams, then made MC flashcards. Good for anatomy, histology, neuro etc. waste of time for physiology, behavioral etc.

Also, there's a thread floating around SDN on Gunner Training. They have a pretty good system and the flashcards are pre-made. Most importantly, if you are looking for ideas on how to go about studying, reading their philosophy and then coming up with ways to personalize it and apply it might be helpful.

GT Learning Principles

Dam i am so jealous! I still have another month! boooo

Too time intensive for the most part. It would certainly help for some subjects but if you're going to use them make sure you can make them fast (digital means work well for this: check out Quizlet) or just buy them.

Like others mentioned, pharm, micro and buzzwords can be worth it.

Stuff like physio? Not so much (not other than some formulas, but most of those are relatively intuitive).

http://www.studyblue.com/

anki

mental case

^^ all good options.

Flashcards don't work for everybody!

They certainly don't for me.

Thanks again everyone!