Current students....is there a point you run out of mental "memory"?

[yanks26dmb]

So I'm finished with the first month of school and I'm doing well. I know what I'm learning and I'm packing in tons of concepts and facts (major and minute). I use anki/quizlet religiously and can essentially memorize entire powerpoint presentations this way. I always considered myself to have an above average memory, but it really seems to be working far and beyond what I've used it for in the past.

If this method is working for me...should I continue it? Or am I setting myself up for failure later on down the road relying so heavily on anki/quizlet? Will I run out of "room" at some point and be screwed come boards time?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[costales]

You'd be amazed at how you can exercise those neuronal circuits. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I once read that the human brain has a memory capacity of 1000 terabyte (equivalent to 100 Library of the Congress).

During neuroscience, there were occasions when I felt I couldn't add a single data to the stuff I had memorized. However, I was always surprised by the ability to learn and memorize more. You just need to give meaning to things you memorize and the rest should be manageable.

 

[Dharma]

nope

 

[FrkyBgStok]

it's not about having the space for the information, it is going to get the information when you need it. i've set through countless pimping sessions where i think, "oh man, i knew that question once."

 

[macklemo]

The beauty of exams like USMLE and COMLEX is that they are multiple choice competency based questions. All medical schools prepare you for that and are all MC based questions. The answers are in front of you, you just have to find it.

 

[Elevencents]

Misread

 

[wjs010]

You store everything you've ever seen and heard... Retrieving it can be a bitch though. In reality, yes you can always learn more and memorize more... Spaced repetition helps a lot

 

[yanks26dmb]

The beauty of exams like USMLE and COMLEX is that they are multiple choice competency based questions. All medical schools prepare you for that and are all MC based questions. The answers are in front of you, you just have to find it.

I'm hoping the nature of multiple choice helps me. I'm only a month in, and have already felt like I've stored so many facts...there are times I just don't know if I can come up with something if I had to write it down on a piece of paper....but if I saw it as an answer choice I'd surely get it. I wonder if this means I'm actually not learning though...

 

[wjs010]

I'm hoping the nature of multiple choice helps me. I'm only a month in, and have already felt like I've stored so many facts...there are times I just don't know if I can come up with something if I had to write it down on a piece of paper....but if I saw it as an answer choice I'd surely get it. I wonder if this means I'm actually not learning though...

I don't think so. If you can think out the process of the answer when you're promoted by q question, you probably learned it. If you guess , then you probably didn't learn it.

 

[Seth Joo]

So I'm finished with the first month of school and I'm doing well. I know what I'm learning and I'm packing in tons of concepts and facts (major and minute). I use anki/quizlet religiously and can essentially memorize entire powerpoint presentations this way. I always considered myself to have an above average memory, but it really seems to be working far and beyond what I've used it for in the past.

If this method is working for me...should I continue it? Or am I setting myself up for failure later on down the road relying so heavily on anki/quizlet? Will I run out of "room" at some point and be screwed come boards time?

If what you are doing is working do not try changing it, go with it. Also if you think the first month of medical school is tough, wait until the second year, when the curriculum gets even more difficult and then you also have to study for the Boards.

 

[Goro]

The human brain isnt like your Dell or H/P with a set amount of RAM.

You'd be surprised at what you know, even after all the crap we throw at you.

"Medicine is knowing more and more about less and less" quoted to my by a Hem/Onc friend.

So I'm finished with the first month of school and I'm doing well. I know what I'm learning and I'm packing in tons of concepts and facts (major and minute). I use anki/quizlet religiously and can essentially memorize entire powerpoint presentations this way. I always considered myself to have an above average memory, but it really seems to be working far and beyond what I've used it for in the past.

If this method is working for me...should I continue it? Or am I setting myself up for failure later on down the road relying so heavily on anki/quizlet? Will I run out of "room" at some point and be screwed come boards time?

 

[evooo8]

Keep doing it if it works well! I'm currently using a quizlet for everything except anatomy.

 

[macklemo]

The way I'm learning is by basically memorizing what I will be tested on and explaining it to myself until I completely understand every aspect of it. Good luck though!

 

[darknecrosforte]

Look up "Advanced Learning and Teaching Technology" - Eben Pagan and watch the video seminar at 1.5x to learn how to learn (use the pdf to watch the relevant sections... it's VERY long. Metacognition op.