For the people who needed to write everything down during undergrad!

[phospho]

I know there has to be people like me out there, who need to write everything down for the information to actually stay in their heads.

My school is one of those schools that give you a big ass notepack for each class that pretty much has everything you need come exam time. When I started medical school, people called me nuts, and said I wouldn't have enough time if I were to write down everything like in undergrad. So, I just added notes to my notepack.

The result? I failed the first few exams. I eventually decided I'm going to write down everything, just like in undergrad. So, I did extremely well for the rest of the year. I would add notes to my course pack during lecture, then rewrite EVERYTHING after lecture! Yes, I was studying twice as much as everyone else, but I was passing!

I met a 2nd year (startng 3rd year now) the other day who's just like me. She said that she also has to rewrite everything. I'm planning on doing the same for 2nd year if I can't come up with a better method. I really love doing it (as I'm constantly active and "doing something"), and in a way I feel much better when I'm studying for exams from my own notes. It sounds time consuming (and it is!), but I've been doing it for so long that it's the only way to study that also feels natural.

Any thoughts or similar experiences? I guess I was hoping there were more people like me.

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[IMGUSMLEStep1]

I'm definitely a "write everything down" person, but I had to stop doing this in med school. Like you said, it was too time consuming. I had to find different ways to study. I later decided decided to use notes or review books and add any annotations in as needed. It took awhile to get used to studying from something that I didn't write myself.

What helped me a bit was using highlighters. I would highlight anything that's in the notes/review book that I would have written down if I was writing my own notes. Sometimes that meant highlighting entire pages! I go through 4-5 highlighters per month. Anyways, when it's time to go over my lectures again, I only study the parts I highlighted plus any notes I made.

Sometimes I would write down summaries or important points (as opposed to entire lectures). I guess you just need to find what works for you and do it. For me it was highlighting, for you it could be something else.

 

[Antibodies]

I am sort of similar. We get the big packet as well. However, simply reading it doesn't do much for me. I need to hear the professor say it and then I type out what the professor says (thanks to the lectures being recorded). I then combine (copy/paste) my notes and the notes we get. It takes a long time. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[Encephalectomy]

yea, I pretty much transcribed the syllabi from many of our classes + information from lecture onto flashcards and then drilled with flashcards to study. It was incredibly time consuming, and at some points I was on the verge of a repetitive stress injury from doing so much f*&!ing writing, but I really dominated any class I made flashcards for. The funny thing is that I only did this for like one or two classes in college, but most of my classes weren't as memorization focused as medschool.

 

[shreypete]

I still do this before exams. I takes a lot of time but I end up getting really good grades in the end, so I will continue doing it as long as it helps and doesn't tire me out.

 

[NTF]

I don't write everything down but I do do something similar. I make detailed outlines as I read the syllabus, sort of my own Rapid Review of the material. Easier sections are sparse. Parts I found more confusing I basically rewrote the syllabus in my own words in bulletpoint form. As the block goes along and I get a better handle on the material, I go through the outlines several times condensing/shortening them with each pass. For parts of my outline that don't trigger my memory, I go back to the syllabus, reread that section and annotate it again into the outline. I make these outlines in powerpoint so I can flip through them quickly and add figures from lecture powerpoints if I want.

By the time exam time rolls around I've got a super-condensed high yield powerpoint that I can flip through in a few hours. By that point I don't even really need to go back to the syllabus or lecture powerpoints. I've got everything I need in one outline. This usually frees up time to do practice problems. In fact, for most exams I was able to spend most of the night before doing practice problems rather than rereading the syllabus.

The method worked well for me. I generally studied 2-5 hours/day during the weekdays, did a long Saturday or Sunday of studying, and always took the other day off. (Of course exam weeks were different.) I got a full night's sleep before every exam except twice (comprehensive biochem exam, and limbs block in gross).

 

[RED88]

I completely understand you. I seem to enjoy studying more when I am looking at my own handwriting.

 

[PharmaTope]

i have notorious terrible handwriting, i mean freakishly bad. sometimes i dont even know what im writing.

i always learned best from other people's notes or pre-printed. i was a visual learner so sometimes i was able to turn an exam over and re-draw the algorithms based on visually seeing it. those helped wtih regurgitation for me in exams.


everyone is different. gotta find how you learn best. i use 1000 different hi-lighters to color code different things in notes

 

[psipsina]

My modified version for medschool is to use highlighters for the first two passes. I use one color for key terms and another for explanations on the first pass. On the second I use a third color that emphasizes things that seem high yield now that I have an idea about the big picture. On the third and final pass I write. But ONLY the things that are highlighted that I still don't know cold. This cuts down on the time wasting while still utilizing this method to cram in the last bits of information before the exam.

 

[reedman]

OP, i am very much like you. i used up 9 spiral notebooks re-writing the syllabus and re-organizing things. i hardly took notes in class because our profs seem to just read the syllabus in lecture, but i found out right away that i need to write to memorize. that sucks because writing all that takes a lot of time. but i passed everything and my grades got higher all year.

 

[phospho]

I make detailed outlines as I read the syllabus, sort of my own Rapid Review of the material.......By the time exam time rolls around I've got a super-condensed high yield powerpoint that I can flip through in a few hours.

wow, your post just described me... I do the same exact thing, but everything's handwritten. For example, by the time I reach block 2 material for a single course, if there's something in block 1 that I know by heart, I just take out that page and replace it with a page that has like one or two sentences on it. If I ever come back to it and I don't remember what those two sentences mean, I rewrite the topic. That's why I write all my notes on filler paper. I can add and take out stuff as I go along.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your replies

yaaaaaaaaay, I'm not crazy...😀😀😀

 

[phospho]

OP, i am very much like you. i used up 9 spiral notebooks re-writing the syllabus and re-organizing things. i hardly took notes in class because our profs seem to just read the syllabus in lecture, but i found out right away that i need to write to memorize. that sucks because writing all that takes a lot of time. but i passed everything and my grades got higher all year.

The girl that I talked to showed me her spiral notebooks, and she has 2-3 for each course. Glad to see there are people like us out there. If you don't mind me asking, how much does that mean you study each day? For me, most days are 7-10 hours each day (I don't go to class). I take a day off. I'm typically done a couple days before the test so I can do practice questions.

 

[phospho]

I don't write everything down but I do do something similar. I make detailed outlines as I read the syllabus, sort of my own Rapid Review of the material. Easier sections are sparse. Parts I found more confusing I basically rewrote the syllabus in my own words in bulletpoint form. As the block goes along and I get a better handle on the material, I go through the outlines several times condensing/shortening them with each pass. For parts of my outline that don't trigger my memory, I go back to the syllabus, reread that section and annotate it again into the outline. I make these outlines in powerpoint so I can flip through them quickly and add figures from lecture powerpoints if I want.

By the time exam time rolls around I've got a super-condensed high yield powerpoint that I can flip through in a few hours. By that point I don't even really need to go back to the syllabus or lecture powerpoints. I've got everything I need in one outline. This usually frees up time to do practice problems. In fact, for most exams I was able to spend most of the night before doing practice problems rather than rereading the syllabus.

The method worked well for me. I generally studied 2-5 hours/day during the weekdays, did a long Saturday or Sunday of studying, and always took the other day off. (Of course exam weeks were different.) I got a full night's sleep before every exam except twice (comprehensive biochem exam, and limbs block in gross).

last question... (thank you for your very awesome post by the way)

how often do you go through your outlines?

😍😍😍

I can't tell you how much your post hit close to home!

 

[phospho]

My modified version for medschool is to use highlighters for the first two passes. I use one color for key terms and another for explanations on the first pass. On the second I use a third color that emphasizes things that seem high yield now that I have an idea about the big picture. On the third and final pass I write. But ONLY the things that are highlighted that I still don't know cold. This cuts down on the time wasting while still utilizing this method to cram in the last bits of information before the exam.

quick Q: how much time is there between each pass you make?

 

[reedman]

The girl that I talked to showed me her spiral notebooks, and she has 2-3 for each course. Glad to see there are people like us out there. If you don't mind me asking, how much does that mean you study each day? For me, most days are 7-10 hours each day (I don't go to class). I take a day off. I'm typically done a couple days before the test so I can do practice questions.

i usually have a minimum of three, but it goes way up before exams. like 10-12 hours a day a few days before. i just dont get really motivated until there is a fire under my @ss.

i also avoid lecture when i can, because i don't retain much. i need to manipulate the information for it to stick.

 

[C5toC9]

i also do something similar. in fact, i don't know how people can do well with just reading the syllabus notes. they are usually so disorganized, how do people just study off of that?

 

[MilkmanAl]

I wrote everything down in undergrad as well. That strategy worked for med school, too, but I was very much not okay with the time it required, especially once second year got rolling. If you're bent on writing stuff, try only transcribing key points instead of everything or everything you think you'll need to know. On the other hand, if working 8+ hours a day is okay with you, full speed ahead.

 

[MED786]

I am definately a person who has to write everything down. But, I found it in first yr of medical school inefficient. I wrote down the main points of each slide, but, if you have someone you can talk over slides with. Like say it out loud, it really stays. I would write the mainpoints in flashcards and then write main points in a form of a table, chart, or flow diagram. I would also do some questions pertaining to the topics from BRS and etc. But, there is just soo much information, that writing out everything is so inefficient. But, I definately think that whenever I made flashcards for a particular subject it helped. Make sure you review your flash cards at least 3-4 times. In addition, the more you see the material in different context the more you will be able to put things into memory. For example, flash cards, charts, flow charts, talking it over with a peer and doing some questions here and there. The only disadvantage of writing everything down is that you are not thinking critically what you are writing which could be inefficient. I mean flashcards are helpful, because you are turning a mainpoint into a question. And then maybe putting it in your own words the overall main point.

I had my peers and teachers explain me concepts sometimes. It was hard for me to understand it at times. We have all our lectures video archived, and I just found reading the book as inefficient. But, if you pause the slide and really think--- WHY IS THIS DAMN SLIDE HERE? How does this slide fit into the context of this block? What details could they test? Then write down the main point of it- it helps. But remember, to see the overall big picture first. And then flow in the details.

Every subject is different and how you apply your strategies. For example, Anatomy- going to the lab helped me and talking out the clinical significance.
Physiology- note cards and questions helped me
Neuroscience- Diagrams of pathways and writing it out in note cards
Physical Diagnosis- was primarily repetition and seeing how it applied in clinical setting.
Histology- repetition


Sometimes, when we are doing mundane detail busy working writing. We think to ourselves- oh I wrote this down- so I will learn this later. At least I wrote it down, so something went in my brain. REALLY, it didn't. Call your classmates, e-mail the professor, wikepedia or replay the slide, or look it up. You really didn't understand it. If you don't see how it fit into the overall big picture of things- then it didn't click. Sometimes, we don't know if it clicked or not. If you can't explain it to your classmate, it didn't click. Go do the digging.

Also, make sure you workout and do physical exercise while in this process. Because, it stops your brain from a routine of doing one mode of thinking and energizes it.

Medical School is about efficiency and being smart. Not working hard, but smart. You can do everything you want in life, as long as you really strategize your time and energy.
Hope it helps!

 

[theVster]

OP I do something more or less the same--I write down notes in lecture and then transfer it to sheets of paper and condense them, taking out all the crap as well.

 

[NTF]

how often do you go through your outlines?

I usually tried to make the initial outline during the week, keeping up with the lectures (though I almost never went to lecture). I usually reviewed the outlines on my one weekend study day, though this didn't always work out depending on my motivation or if I had plans. But generally, by exam time I'd have done 3 passes of the outlines before the pre-exam cramming. Often, they were really quick passes, because I could just flip through them on powerpoint and only slow down for parts I had trouble with or couldn't remember.

Later on in the year my outlines were usually annotated lecture powerpoints. I'd add slides with bulletpoints, remove and combine existing slides, condense easier topics into fewer slides, and add pictures or figures from online sources if they were helpful. I'd also add stuff from the syllabus not covered in lecture so I wouldn't have to go back to the syllabus.

 

[nemo10]

first of all, thank you for this thread! i'm going to be an m1 and am a nontraditional student, so i have been worrying about how to study in med school as someone who needs to manually write everything in my arial, 10 point font handwriting in black ink.

as students who like to study via writing, do you guys attend lectures and handwrite notes in lined paper or notebooks, or type them? the school i'll be attending has like a 9am-5pm schedule, and i'm afraid i won't have ample time to study everything.

thank you.

 

[strv04]

Even if you can somehow pull off writing everything down to study by copying from the information provider elsewhere (book, sylbius) you cannot do this forever.

Before you know it you will on a surgery or some other rotation in 3rd year and you will need to know a whole lot of things and have very limited time to study/take notes. I would recommend that you learn to adapt your style to study off what is given. You have to learn how to chose good learning/review resources and how to retain things from notes you didn't create.

 

[shreypete]

Even if you can somehow pull off writing everything down to study by copying from the information provider elsewhere (book, sylbius) you cannot do this forever.

Before you know it you will on a surgery or some other rotation in 3rd year and you will need to know a whole lot of things and have very limited time to study/take notes. I would recommend that you learn to adapt your style to study off what is given. You have to learn how to chose good learning/review resources and how to retain things from notes you didn't create.

👍

 

[theVster]

Even if you can somehow pull off writing everything down to study by copying from the information provider elsewhere (book, sylbius) you cannot do this forever.

Before you know it you will on a surgery or some other rotation in 3rd year and you will need to know a whole lot of things and have very limited time to study/take notes. I would recommend that you learn to adapt your style to study off what is given. You have to learn how to chose good learning/review resources and how to retain things from notes you didn't create.

Eh it's still not a bad style for preclinicals/step 1 stuff. A lot of third year learning is supposedly practical combined with reading and practice questions, from what I hear anyway.

 

[psipsina]

quick Q: how much time is there between each pass you make?

At the beginning of a block I determine how much material I have to move thru and make a general plan to get thru it all 3 times. As soon as I finish the first pass I start the second. Generally I did the final pass in the week before the exam. So probably 3 weeks for 1st pass, 2 weeks for 2nd pass and 1 week for final pass on average by my school's preclinical block system.

3rd year has been far looser as far as schedule. There's just no way to predict how much free time I'll have on any given day. I try only for two passes and to do some question bank/book fully for that subject.

 

[JokerMD]

asdf

 

[gizmo07]

I too found myself having to write everything down to be able to retain the information. I bought a Bamboo writing tablet so that I could write my notes during lectures onto my PowerPoint (we don't get paper notes). So I just write on my computer to help save on printing things out twice (they tend to always make revisions after I had printed out the lectures). I also have the capability of writing in Word or anything else too if I want to write my notes that way. I print out my notes with my own writing (you can also have it convert your text in normal computer font)

 

[VOP]

I really never re-wrote anything during undergrad, but i did while studying for the mcats. Dunno which is better for me yet since i did about the same.

OP how much time do you spend per day with this method in medical school?

 

[thedoctor8706]

I'm glad to hear it's doable, that's how I learned pretty much all of my undergrad science material.

 

[phospho]

yaaaay! I love this thread. I'm not crazy!

OP how much time do you spend per day with this method in medical school?

well, i don't go to class, so that's +4 hours every day 5 days a week. I study (using my method) 7-9 hours a day with 1-2 days a week completely off (i.e. no studying, no class, etc...).

I know it sounds like a lot, but it really isn't when you're not going to class. I love it, because let's say I wake up at 4 a.m. I'm totally done by 2 or so. If I want to go out with friends, I wake up the next day at noon or so, and just study till 10. And It's not pure studying. I eat, shower, talk on the phone, and take 5 minute breaks in between. In my case, it's just like having my old full time job, but at least now I get to stay in my jammies! 🙂

 

[phospho]

I'm glad to hear it's doable, that's how I learned pretty much all of my undergrad science material.

👍👍👍👍

 

[TheHowardRoark]

I'm loving this thread... 😍

I start as a first year in a few weeks and totally plan on doing the exact same thing as the OP. I've long know that the best way for me to retain information is by writing it.

Some info comes naturally and is learned quickly, in which case I don't write it down or will skip re-writing it.

 

[theVster]

yaaaay! I love this thread. I'm not crazy!




well, i don't go to class, so that's +4 hours every day 5 days a week. I study (using my method) 7-9 hours a day with 1-2 days a week completely off (i.e. no studying, no class, etc...).

I know it sounds like a lot, but it really isn't when you're not going to class. I love it, because let's say I wake up at 4 a.m. I'm totally done by 2 or so. If I want to go out with friends, I wake up the next day at noon or so, and just study till 10. And It's not pure studying. I eat, shower, talk on the phone, and take 5 minute breaks in between. In my case, it's just like having my old full time job, but at least now I get to stay in my jammies! 🙂

😱

4 am? Jeez. I consider 6 am to be pretty early.

 

[phospho]

😱

I consider 6 am to be pretty early.

it is! but happy hour is from noon to 5 here... 😀😀😀

 

[Nasrudin]

Thanks for your thoughts on the techniques applicable to kinesthetic learning styles.

I get a new tablet pc laptop with my tuition expenses and was wondering if anybody favoring these learning styles you mention have used the OneNote program to assemble powerpoint slides with notes and online sources into one document. It seems like it might be an effective milieu for the physical or manipulative learner.

Anyone? Any thoughts?

Thanks. MS-1. About to be deluged.

 

[gizmo07]

So I have several classmates who used OneNote. And they just write on the slides as our lecturers cover the material.
I didn't have OneNote so I simply used the Edit feature in PowerPoint and simply marked on my slides while the professor was lecturing.
The only thing that I have noticed about OneNote is that if there is a change to the slides during the course of the lecture, I do not think you can make those changes. I think you have to do it in a new file vs. PowerPoint you can make the change in the same file.

 

[bluegene]

Thanks for your thoughts on the techniques applicable to kinesthetic learning styles.

I get a new tablet pc laptop with my tuition expenses and was wondering if anybody favoring these learning styles you mention have used the OneNote program to assemble powerpoint slides with notes and online sources into one document. It seems like it might be an effective milieu for the physical or manipulative learner.

Anyone? Any thoughts?

Thanks. MS-1. About to be deluged.

I think a tablet PC will work nicely (depending on how you feel regarding the tactile feedback, some just have to have the feeling of writing on paper), just keep the OneNote file synched somewhere, so you don't end up losing all your notes if you'd somehow lose data or the computer itself.

 

[gizmo07]

I think a tablet PC will work nicely (depending on how you feel regarding the tactile feedback, some just have to have the feeling of writing on paper), just keep the OneNote file synched somewhere, so you don't end up losing all your notes if you'd somehow lose data or the computer itself.

I agree. I write my notes on my computer with the Bamboo writing pad. So I have an external hard drive that I back up my notes on.

 

[BassCaster]

Just started school this week and I'm definitely a writer. Takes FOREVER!

 

[Anastomoses]

I did this the first semester and then I realized I was consuming way too much time and running out at the end. Now I do highlighting combined with a white board in my bedroom when I have to revise for tests.

It seems to be much better. I'm still sorta writing lists on the white board or orders of things to remember...but it's more concise and sticks better for some reason when I'm standing and repeating what I've put on the whiteboard.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Glad I read the dates before commenting. ~2 year necrobump. Damn. Oh well, not as bad as others I've seen.

On topic - if I'm reviewing stuff, anything I know I don't have to write down. If it's brand new and I find that I'm forgetting it, writing it down and re-reading it helps me remember. Can't do it with everything, just things that aren't obvious (like which antibody = which AI disease)

 

[Anastomoses]

Glad I read the dates before commenting. ~2 year necrobump. Damn. Oh well, not as bad as others I've seen.

On topic - if I'm reviewing stuff, anything I know I don't have to write down. If it's brand new and I find that I'm forgetting it, writing it down and re-reading it helps me remember. Can't do it with everything, just things that aren't obvious (like which antibody = which AI disease)

What do people have against necrobumps? Only thing I don't like is when the thread goes on for 5+ pages. If it's a tiny thread, necrobumps are fantastic! 😛

 

[DrClarkson]

Oh I thought I was the only crazy one who wastes the time with writing down anything . I swear I don't do it for high grades I LOVE WRITING then high grades come naturally .

 

[epsilonprodigy]

i also avoid lecture when i can, because i don't retain much. i need to manipulate the information for it to stick.

This is me exactly. In fact, this is what I recommend to people who ask me for studying advice. I alternate between writing in a notebook (for stuff that's diagram-heavy, or if my slides/textbook are on the computer and too huge to print) and typing my own outline (if I have a paper study guide/book, or if the stuff is "just words," like biochem.) It's a bit time-consuming up front, but saves time in the end because less repetition is necessary.

I'm an intermittent class-goer. I have ADHD which has been successfully treated, but one residual fact is that I remain a terrible auditory learner even when I'm paying close attention. It's not an issue of not taking in what's said... it's a retention thing. If I do get anything out of class, it's because I wrote it down, either ahead of time or during. I go to lectures of professors I really like, and those who say stuff that's not in the book or study guide. Also, I get a lot more out of lecture if I've pre-read and taken my own notes beforehand. Otherwise, reading a few pages and then looking away to jot down my own summary is 1000x more efficient.

Result: I am doing fairly well, hanging out frustratingly and consistently a few points below honors in pretty much every class.

 

[Signorina]

Okay, so it's not just me.

I found things come alive in my brain when I rewrite everything in bullet lists, but it is SO time consuming and inefficient. Attendance is mandatory, so with lectures from 8 to 2pm and evening labs, I get home quite late and I'm trying to adapt to a new learning style.

Now I only write down a few words and lots of arrows to remind myself of whole sections.

Then I review my super summarized notes with my highlighted packet open on the side. My diagrams are just so I can review quickly and get an overall picture quickly. Emphasis on "quickly".