rote memorization wont help as much esp. for boards. Repetition plays a huge role in my opinion. Esp. for pharm and micro maybe. In those cases, its good to use 'associations'. even including a funny picture helps. (yay cmmrs!) I remember learning glycolysis in gr-9 with pure memorization and forgot it a week after. in med school however, understanding the whole pathway (alot more info than before) automatically helps to know what comes next. you can also try to retain things systematically (groupings), so recalling in a similar manner helps. Do more questions (atleast 25 per day on a regular basis), so you can practice recalling. Dont make it your mission to get the answer and thats it. Other choices in the answer are probably similar concepts so ask why and whynot as you learn from those too. when preparing for step, do alot more questions. Another technique is that, you can try to teach a concept (with reference) to someone else. Some learn better by tutoring than getting tutored.