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Don't stone me please - just asking.
Everytime I use it I use it too late like 2 months before step and then a week of total time before each test.Don't stone me please - just asking.
Waste of time
What do you do instead?
I do not know how people do medical school without it. People who think Anki doesn't work usually just need to start it earlier. Its like a train. Slow at first but once you get rolling it is super powerful. If you think you can make some cards a week before the exam and be ok then you will be disappointed.
Two tips I found helpful. 1.) Make your own cards. The act of thinking critically about something and generating a question (or multiple) about the key concept is what is powerful. The act of making them is studying itself. 2.) Make small bite sized cards. I knew people who would screenshot class slides or part of FA as a card answer. I make thousands of bite sized cards.
Some people say they aren't "flashcard people". I was one of them. I had never used a flashcard in my life prior to medical school, but once I saw the amount of information I needed to cram into my head I knew spaced repetition was the only way. I know Anki can work because over the course of MS2 I made all of FA into Anki (>10,000 cards) and I knew every single one at the end of dedicated. Anki is powerful because it knows what you are forgetting before you do and it doesn't let you waste time on stuff you know.
Ill give you that its inefficient if you keep doing cards testing something like the ion changes associated with Addisons, diuretics, or hyperaldo because all of that can be derived from a basic understanding of how aldosterone works. You have to be selective about what you make and how you make it. Also, I don't see how making cards is that different from taking notes or reading and underlining. You do have to read the cards a few more times in order to begin to segregate cards you are learning well from those you have trouble with, but I think its worth it. Wouldn't you have to go back and reread your notes/underlines again? My deck ended up being a convenient searchable database of my handwritten explanations for things along with the best images from the internet to assist in the explanations. I valued that function as well.You know why it takes so long before anki is effective? Because it is inefficient. Making and reading all of those stupid cards takes forever, simply reading and underlining the material actually makes all that time useful.
Ill give you that its inefficient if you keep doing cards testing something like the ion changes associated with Addisons, diuretics, or hyperaldo because all of that can be derived from a basic understanding of how aldosterone works. You have to be selective about what you make and how you make it. Also, I don't see how making cards is that different from taking notes or reading and underlining. You do have to read the cards a few more times in order to begin to segregate cards you are learning well from those you have trouble with, but I think its worth it. Wouldn't you have to go back and reread your notes/underlines again? My deck ended up being a convenient searchable database of my handwritten explanations for things along with the best images from the internet to assist in the explanations. I valued that function as well.
So how you memorize HLAs, chromosome numbers for diseases, antibodies present in polymyositis, what makes up a zonula adherens vs a macula adherens? Don't even get me started on micro or pharm. I also don't know how you know what you are forgetting without Anki. Its not like your brain says "Hey you are about to forget what a Heberden vs. Bouchard node is so better go check that." Do you just have to keep reviewing pages of text, much of which you already know, in the hopes that you stumble upon something you've forgotten?
Maybe I just have a poor memory, but I found it necessary.
Another plus to this is that the spatial relationship of items in notes, PowerPoints, texts, etc. can serve as cues that help you to remember and recall things.Well you read the material instead of writing it all down again in card format. That's what the huge waste of time is.
Depends on how you make the cards.Most people use Anki the wrong way, so I'm not surprised. Anki should be used for discrete stuff that can basically only be rote memorized, not for elaborate concepts like in physiology.
Well you read the material instead of writing it all down again in card format. That's what the huge waste of time is.
You must be rocking medical school since you remember every factoid just by reading them once.
Cause I said once.... you read it over and over again. You have more time for repetition since you arent spending stupidly high amounts of time making flashcards
Why are you even in this thread since you haven't even started med school
...because your profs. test off of some anonymous Anki deck posted on the internet...Reading pages of information over and over again, versus only reviewing the cards with the factoids that you have forgotten? Which is more inefficient? And there is no need to make your own cards; there are tons of cards out there you can download.
Yea when I see that kind of thinking, it makes me want to scream.Anki is a huge waste of time and POS. It drives me nuts when doing group work and there's uncertainty about an answer amongst most of the group but one person is adamant about a given answer. When asked to explain his/her reasoning, a disproportionate amount of the time that person responds with, "I don't know. I just know I saw (insert random word here) on my card related to X." Don't bother to use critical reasoning, just brute force memorize random facts...
Have you tried firecracker before anki?I do not know how people do medical school without it. People who think Anki doesn't work usually just need to start it earlier. Its like a train. Slow at first but once you get rolling it is super powerful. If you think you can make some cards a week before the exam and be ok then you will be disappointed.
Two tips I found helpful. 1.) Make your own cards. The act of thinking critically about something and generating a question (or multiple) about the key concept is what is powerful. The act of making them is studying itself. 2.) Make small bite sized cards. I knew people who would screenshot class slides or part of FA as a card answer. I make thousands of bite sized cards.
Some people say they aren't "flashcard people". I was one of them. I had never used a flashcard in my life prior to medical school, but once I saw the amount of information I needed to cram into my head I knew spaced repetition was the only way. I know Anki can work because over the course of MS2 I made all of FA into Anki (>10,000 cards) and I knew every single one at the end of dedicated. Anki is powerful because it knows what you are forgetting before you do and it doesn't let you waste time on stuff you know.
FC is almost a bigger time sink (I've used both) and you pretty much need to start day one of med school with it. Like others have said Anki is a tool, but it definitely is not an effecient primary study source. If you can learn to use Anki for the appropriate subject matter (e.g., anatomy, some aspects of pharm, maybe a few aspects of micro) then it can be a big help. The problem is figuring out how to use it appropriately and efficiently for med school takes either time or just having a knack for it - and based on what I've seen in my class very few have the latter.Have you tried firecracker before anki?
...because your profs. test off of some anonymous Anki deck posted on the internet...
The more passes you make through your notes the less time it takes. Doing this off the bat and not wasting an absurd number hours making and reviewing flashcards on top of other studying is much more efficient and saves you time in the long run.
Ill give you that its inefficient if you keep doing cards testing something like the ion changes associated with Addisons, diuretics, or hyperaldo because all of that can be derived from a basic understanding of how aldosterone works. You have to be selective about what you make and how you make it. Also, I don't see how making cards is that different from taking notes or reading and underlining. You do have to read the cards a few more times in order to begin to segregate cards you are learning well from those you have trouble with, but I think its worth it. Wouldn't you have to go back and reread your notes/underlines again? My deck ended up being a convenient searchable database of my handwritten explanations for things along with the best images from the internet to assist in the explanations. I valued that function as well.
So how you memorize HLAs, chromosome numbers for diseases, antibodies present in polymyositis, what makes up a zonula adherens vs a macula adherens? Don't even get me started on micro or pharm. I also don't know how you know what you are forgetting without Anki. Its not like your brain says "Hey you are about to forget what a Heberden vs. Bouchard node is so better go check that." Do you just have to keep reviewing pages of text, much of which you already know, in the hopes that you stumble upon something you've forgotten?
Maybe I just have a poor memory, but I found it necessary.
👍Mostly mnemonics or some kind of mental grab for each of them that you can concretely trust. I drew a damn cartoon for every drug and made a mini story for every cancer gene relationship. Anki would work acutely like for a couple hours, but then I'd forget it the next day because that type of memorization doesn't stay for long term with my brain. Stop thinking everyone was made the same way.
You also have yet to begin med school, so.....👍
I love Anki, in case the signature doesn't give it away...but I'll be the first to admit that it's not for everyone. Because, really, nothing is for everyone when it comes to study strategy. I still recommend that people give it a try, and I still love it, but I have come to realize that few people will get as much out of it as I have been able to. It just works for me, to an incredible extent. I just prefer that other people recognize that in the opposite direction - that just because Anki isn't a good tool for them, doesn't mean it's not a great tool.
So I don't know how Anki works?You also have yet to begin med school, so.....
For those that didn't find Anki or FC useful, what did you end up doing instead? Did you like the results?
do u write anything bro. like biochem pathways etc. i read that its a good idea to make at least 4 passes of the slides and get to the point where you can predict the next slide before it comes... wat u thinkI'm probably alone in this, but the most effective strategy for me was no strategy. Don't take any notes during lecture, don't make flash cards, and don't use any software aids.
I just watch the lectures once (in real speed), actively listen, pass through the slides twice the first time and two more times before the exam, memorize what I need to (really very little), and take the exams. Anything that's explained poorly I reinforce with Najeeb.
So I don't know how Anki works?
Sure, I have tons to learn going forward. But I've used Anki for multiple physiology classes, for anatomy, for med micro, for hematology, for neuro, etc. I feel like that gives me a decent basis to say that it works for me and that I'm familiar with using it 'for physiology concepts', etc. as the discussion had been referencing. I haven't tried to speak for anyone else, or describe what med school is like or what med students ought to do. This is an Anki post and I am very familiar with Anki. The strongest assertion that I made in the post you're dismissing is that different people use different study techniques...or does that also require 4yrs of med school to say?
1st year - Crashed and burned with Anki. I made several attempts to try and incorporate it into studying, but nothing really worked. What worked best was making "high yield" summaries of lectures in note/outline format based on what was emphasized in lecture (some profs provided these). I tried to keep these as brief and to the point as possible (usually 2-4 pages/lecture). I supplemented anatomy with Acland and UMich, and for really crappy phys lectures I just studied from the Lindas. I also did tons of questions out of the Guyton and Hall review book.For those that didn't find Anki or FC useful, what did you end up doing instead? Did you like the results?
Cause I said once.... you read it over and over again. You have more time for repetition since you arent spending stupidly high amounts of time making flashcards
Why are you even in this thread since you haven't even started med school
I absolutely do not spend stupidly amounts of time making flash cards. I undoubtedly spend less time studying than before I started using Anki. I make cards while I'm watching a lecture on 2x speed. Then maybe some random times along the way. Especially since for many people, the act of making is an act of learning...and I simply remember things from flash cards better than a chunk of test. So it's actually much more efficient.
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do u write anything bro. like biochem pathways etc. i read that its a good idea to make at least 4 passes of the slides and get to the point where you can predict the next slide before it comes... wat u think
what would anki users suggest to someone who doesnt have any experience with the program and wants to hit the ground running.. i saw the mega thread but it just goes so in depth into settings and tweaks. i know the basics of good flash cards but i dont know how to start med school.. i think id like to do anki + make several passes of the lectures