I'm working really hard. And I'm doing fine. But I would like to be doing better. I don't think I'm efficient at studying. Also, I study the wrong things. If you are having some success at pharmacy school, what are your methods? Do you have a process? I need some pointers.
Also, I'm not used to forming relationships with professors. I really want to change this habit. I enjoy being an independent learner. When I don't understand something, I enjoy the challenge of figuring it out with the use of my various resources. So, a couple of times I have found reasons to go talk to a professor...but usually I have to seek out something to ask. A lot of times I feel like if I were to walk into a professor's office I'd just be like, "Hey...just wanted to uhh...say hey." lol I know it's important to talk to the professors though. Is this just a matter of making myself do it? lol What kinds of things do you talk to your professors about? Is it always related to the material? Should I ask them what to focus on? I realize this is a silly question... but I don't want to just keep doing nothing about it. Any tips or suggestions?
Firstly, the disclaimer. I am not the most efficient student. I tend to have ADD (exhibit A: I have a pharmacology exam tomorrow at 9 am and I'm on SDN) and end up spending half my study time on facebook. I also have horrible memory and probably dementia (exhibit B: I forgot to study half a lecture for a therapeutics exam, super fail) and I also skip classes if I feel like they won't help me.
That being said, I do have a 4.0 (though we shall see if that remains after finals) so here are the things that have helped me immensely since my undergrad years. I basically went from a 3.7 before pharmacy school doing stuff like just reading the slides over and over to a 4.0 (pre-reqs and pharm) by using this method. Now I feel like I'm selling something.
1) memorize everything. like, literally everything on the slides, unless the professor tells you explicitly not to in class, or it's something pointless like epidemiology (stats that change constantly) or perhaps a regimen that you know is different from hospital to hospital. Don't pick and choose, or try to "guess" what the professor will test on (unless you are 100% sure because he re-uses exams or something-- even then I wouldn't risk it). The reason for this is two fold: one, you should really be responsible for all the information, not just what is on the learning objectives or what the professor tells you is on the exam. You won't have this luxury in practice. two, you really don't want to risk not memorizing something and having it be on the exam. those points could be the difference between an A and a B.
2) you can memorize by making flashcards. short repetitions seems to work better than reading an entire lecture over and over. online is the best way, since it's a lot easier to copy/pasta from slides than to write everything out.
2a) writing things down on a notebook while studying your flashcards can help to solidify the memorization.
3) record the lectures so you can play back anything you may have missed, or had trouble understanding. if you can't record it, make friends with someone who does and then buy them lunch after the semester is over. maybe five lunches.
4) sites like wikipedia and medscape are your friend. i do like to cross check if something doesn't make sense though. i don't care if some hoity toity student comes along and tells you that "wikipedia is inaccurate" or "you suck only losers search medscape." the fact of the matter is, a lot of professors use those sources as well. and med students. residents. etc. it's dumb not to use your resources. a wise attending once said thusly to his rounding group: "can somebody google what else to give this patient for myoclonic seizures this keppra is not working." true story.
ok that might be a bit much but my point is wikipedia, medscape, etc--not evil. you guys probably knew that already though.
5) make mnemonics for long lists. preferably ones that make sense.
6) understand everything. don't gloss over something just because it's confusing. use wikipedia. use your textbook. talk to people on the forums. whatever helps. if you understand all the pathways, the reasoning behind a dosage form, why a certain structure bestows certain properties...you actually can apply that knowledge later on to help you eliminate answers on a question you may have forgotten, or to choose the correct one, maybe in a totally different class (for example i use pharmacology a lot to help with therapeutics and med chem and vice versa).
7) last but not least: if you're tired but you aren't finished studying, don't sleep. just sacrifice a few hours of beauty rest and get 'er done. you can nap the next day. or just drink a lot of coffee and stay up for 36 hours. if it comes down to all nighters, all nighters it is. the worst thing I did in undergrad was go to sleep and tell myself "oh it'll be fine." it was not fine. it was never fine. i'm still working on this...in fact I usually end up passing out rather than staying up to study. also if you try this sleep deprivation and die please tell your family not to sue.
obv my way isn't perfect. if it was i'd be getting 100s on every exam. just keep working at it, and finding new ways to improve your efficiency or what works best for you. it is my firm belief that anyone can get straight As in pharmacy school if they try. unless your professors are sadists. you can do eet!
As far as what to talk to profs about...typically their research is a good subject. Or asking questions outside of but still related to the covered material (if you are actually interested).
edit: don't ask your professors what to focus on...most of my professors throughout college - current do not like it when a student comes up to them just to ask what they need to know for an exam, unless it is something specific that makes sense (e.g. do we need to memorize this extremely complex equation or will we get equation sheets). it kind of gives off the vibe that you are just looking for shortcuts and not actually interested in what they are teaching.
