Any tutorials on how to use anki really well?

[dr.0ne]

I used it to study for the MCAT, but not effectively. I know it's an extremely effective tool and I've been using it much better since, esp for Anatomy. Just want to get the most out of it and see what you guys do and how you use it. Are there any good tutorials out there to cut down on how long it takes to make anki cards?

I typically anki 2x a day, once in the morning, once at night. This has been working well. Any other tips tho?

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[Pacna]

Get a group together. It's almost impossible to make the amount of Anki cards you'll need for every class in M1. Even just 3 people helps enormously.

 

[sinombre]

Get a group together. It's almost impossible to make the amount of Anki cards you'll need for every class in M1. Even just 3 people helps enormously.

I agree a group would be a good idea if everyone is on the same page, but it's definitely not "almost impossible" to make anki cards on your own. I did all of my own cards for M1 and M2 and had plenty of time left over to do other things.

 

[CR7MedStudent]

Why not just buy a flashcard program like firecracker or memorang? Sure they cost $200+ but you will be saving a lot of time. Unless you learn best by writing stuff down, I would recommend pre made flashcards.

 

[Pacna]

I agree a group would be a good idea if everyone is on the same page, but it's definitely not "almost impossible" to make anki cards on your own. I did all of my own cards for M1 and M2 and had plenty of time left over to do other things.

The detail that we do ours at, each 1 hour of anatomy lecture takes ~5 hours to create in Anki. That doesn't include the other 3 hours of classes we had each day. It's true that you can do it in less time if you're being reasonable and not memorizing the coursepack, but if it's your only method of study, it can get pretty tough to keep up.

 

[dr.0ne]

The detail that we do ours at, each 1 hour of anatomy lecture takes ~5 hours to create in Anki. That doesn't include the other 3 hours of classes we had each day. It's true that you can do it in less time if you're being reasonable and not memorizing the coursepack, but if it's your only method of study, it can get pretty tough to keep up.

So I def don't think anki-ing the entire course pack is smart and it's not something I planned to do myself. But to each his/her own. I try to keep the memorizing to a minimum and instead greatly focus on concepts, which is still somewhat obscure for anatomy because concepts are understood through heavy visual manipulation. And at the end of the day, sometimes memorizing is easier, though i still feel guilty doing it.

Why not just buy a flashcard program like firecracker or memorang? Sure they cost $200+ but you will be saving a lot of time. Unless you learn best by writing stuff down, I would recommend pre made flashcards.

I'm afraid that it won't cover information pertinent to our school and what's covered in our coursepack, specifically. And I don't want to get overwhelmed with too many resources.

 

[tyrsa]

I'm not a med student yet, so this may be a naive question. But why do so many students use Anki instead of making physical flashcards? The physical flashcard method has worked for me well in the past, including studying for the MCAT.

 

[kenjixshadow]

I'm not a med student yet, so this may be a naive question. But why do so many students use Anki instead of making physical flashcards? The physical flashcard method has worked for me well in the past, including studying for the MCAT.

Imagine you make a thousand physical flashcards and carry them around vs. the digital Anki, plus I can tag any card if I want to study a specific subject altogether.