Building cards with Anki

[Jabbed]

1) What is the best way to integrate lists into flashcards? Abiding by the "1 fact = 1 card" mantra I've been trying to come up with clever ways of breaking down lists into more manageable pieces, but I still have trouble integrating all the different pieces when I have to recall the whole list.

Example: Medications that prolong the QT interval:

• Sotalol
• Risperidone
• Macrolides
• Chloroquine
• Protease inhibitors
• Quinidine
• Thiazides

Question 1: What type of antibiotic can produce QT prolongation?
Answer 1: Macrolides

Question 2: What types of antiarrhythmics can produce QT prolongation?
Answer 2: Class IA and Classs III (Sotalol and Quinidine)

etc etc

But if I had to list all the medications verbatim, I could probably manage 4 or 5 and forget the rest even though I 'know' the answers to all the cards that I've made.

2) Is it worth making cards for lecture material that isn't covered in FA/Pathoma/[insert board review material]? I always thought that the premise for Anki should be long term retention (i.e. boards) but there's no denying that it's dead useful for short/medium term retention (i.e. cramming tid bits for exams written by PhD's).

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[sinombre]

I've heard a lot of people argue that cards should be simple 100% of the time and lists should be avoided... I completely disagree. I find it much more practical to remember lists. I don't want to make a handful of cards, each asking about a different nucleus of the thalamus. I think it makes much more sense to have a card that asks "what are all of the nuclei of the thalamus and what do they do?" It's time consuming, but it forces me to remember everything. It helps me keep the big picture in mind and not just memorize individual factoids without context.

 

[sinombre]

2) Is it worth making cards for lecture material that isn't covered in FA/Pathoma/[insert board review material]?

I do this for the block (5-9 weeks each), but then use Firecracker for spaced repetition after the block. I guess you could always tag the cards you think you should remember after the block is over and then only review those.

 

[madchemist89]

One of the keys to making good anki cards is determining how to properly chunk information. Big lists and tables from FA need to be broken down into smaller, logical pieces. Lists can be helpful as long as they are limited to about 5 or less items.

 

[sinombre]

One of the keys to making good anki cards is determining how to properly chunk information. Big lists and tables from FA need to be broken down into smaller, logical pieces. Lists can be helpful as long as they are limited to about 5 or less items.

Though I agree that a smaller list is a better list (if possible), what about longer lists you can't avoid, like the example I gave?

 

[Jabbed]

Though I agree that a smaller list is a better list (if possible), what about longer lists you can't avoid, like the example I gave?

Honestly, I would say that's a bad question. Say you recall the 5 nuclei but forget that the VPM relays the trigeminal and gustatory pathways. How do you mark your card? It's not 'easy' because you didn't quite recall the information, and marking it 'good' is inefficient because it's only 1 tidbit of information out of 10+ pieces that you misremembered.

 

[sinombre]

Honestly, I would say that's a bad question. Say you recall the 5 nuclei but forget that the VPM relays the trigeminal and gustatory pathways. How do you mark your card? It's not 'easy' because you didn't quite recall the information, and marking it 'good' is inefficient because it's only 1 tidbit of information out of 10+ pieces that you misremembered.

I guess I err on the side of making sure I know everything. So if I can't recall every nucleus and what all of them do, I just click "again" and repeat it. It's tedious, but it's a good way of guaranteeing that I know everything. It's also the only way I study, so I'm not trying to combine Anki with making outlines or any other method. So I can afford to throw in a lot of detail and make sure I remember all of it.

 

[madchemist89]

Why must you be able to list them all? All you need to know is what each one does, so I would make a card specifically for each one.