Board exams and study/memory techniques?

[docsal]

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Hey everyone,

I'm an international dental graduate thinking of studying for board/licensing exams. I'm not specifying which exam because I assume that most exams require us to know all of the same dental facts! (That, and the fact I still haven't decided where I'd like to permanantly practice dentistry!). My question is, I seem to see that alot of people using Dental Decks and Mosby's for exams. However, I tried using both and I'm facing some difficulties. 1. it is an ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF INFO, 2. How do I retain all of it? 3. what is the best method of review for this material? like assuming that i study months before the exam.. how would one review all this info???

also, how long do people take to prepare for these exams?? (ADC/ORE/NBDE)?

i hope someone can point me in the right direction! thanks

 

[dentalbuzz21]

Hi. I think you should study kaplans lecture notes first. Its the theoretical part which you need to know in detail.. And dental decks should be done side by side or after you have read the theory. Last but not the least are the asda released papers which are really worth coz you know the pattern of the exam and also many questions are repeated. This is the information given to me by my friends who cleared the exam. M preparing for the same. Some people take a year to study and some take only few months, m planning 5-6 months to study and then give the exam. You can email me at [email protected]

 

[oralcare123]

The problem with a long study is that you forget what you learned in the beginning. My strategy was to study the most difficult subject first from a textbook in detail and make short notes for the later review (pharmacology}Incase you are not sure if subject is easy or not for you - review decks. If you answer most Q right and understand why - then it is easy. Last couple of weeks I was just reading decks and ASDA

 

[docsal]

Thanks for your answers! I've never tried Kaplan notes, but I will look into that. Thing is, when I study I end up writing pages and pages of notes and I lose the basic concepts 🙁

 

[dentalbuzz21]

Well, you should try to focus. I do anatomy in the morning and micro in the evening. Once i ll finish micro i ll switch to another subject, coz anatomy is vast and its going to take a bit longer than others. Dont forget to revise your stuff frequently.... Dont make lengthy notes .. Just highlight the important points that you are going to revise later. I do it this way and i do make small notes at times.

 

[Jules711]

The only memory technique that worked for me was having diagrams, illustrations, mnemonics, formulas or whatever valuable information i could get my hands on taped to the walls of my bedroom. I literally taped everything I need on the walls, and even some in the bathroom. I wanted everything accessible so I can easily get the information i wanted. I would even tear pages off books so i didn't have to go searching for it.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

 

[docsal]

Thanks for all the ideas you guys!! It really helps! Seems that I need more than just a month of preparation, and constant reviewing. Diagrams are a great idea. 🙂

 

[Pari stl]

While doing Asda papers for the first time is it funny to feel you know nothing....

 

[docsal]

Completely normal.. happened to me 🙂