Anki. Make every single thing into anki. Lecture, review books, UW questions, FA etc. and keep them organized. I literally knew everything for every exam that I had. Im not exaggerating or trying to impress anyone because anyone can do this with the appropriate use of Anki. I would walk out of an exam and know which questions would be thrown out due to inaccuracies or errors when everyone else was fretting about what the answer was. Thats how well I knew it because I had drilled every fact from every slide into my head. When it came time for Step 1 I had all of FA memorized because of Anki. You could open any page and ask me something and I'd know it. Same with UW explanations. Anki is incredible but people aren't willing to put in the time. It takes a ton of time but learning things to the level I'm talking about takes a ton of time with ANY method.
Study all day everyday but take tons of micro breaks and go to bed early. Many people don't like studying both Saturday and Sunday but if you do it leaves time for getting more sleep during the week and other inefficient but necessary things like going for a walk, zoning out before lecture to read you favorite internet garbage for 30 minutes, taking a long lunch just to think or call friends/family. I never advocate for filling those small break and lunch hours with studying. Fastest way to crash and burn IMO.
Be honest with yourself. Dont keep studying stuff you have down and don't ignore stuff you think is hard. Ask yourself "What would I not want to see on the exam?" and then go study that. Its hard to answer that truthfully and even harder to go to it, but its the key to success.
With those things I honored every course in MS1 and MS2 and killed Step 1. There is no secret other than working a ton and being smart enough to know when and how to recharge.
This guys pretty much right. If you are smart (which I think you probably are if you're in med school), and you do this you will probably be in the top 5% of your class, maybe 10%.
However, if you want to have a life I will give a version that's worked for me.
As everyone has pretty much said there are a couple key things.
#1) Regular studying. By regular I mean have a schedule and
stick to it. I study from 10:30am- 6pm everyday regardless of how light the day is. If I have more to do I'll study later into the day. I also study in the same place every day. (at the library)
#2) Frequent breaks. I don't think I've ever studied more than 1.5 hours straight. It's usually more like 30-55 minute intervals with 5-10 minute breaks. This keeps me sharp. If I feel like I'm 'forcing' the studying it is
significantly less effective than if I don't even feel as though I'm studying (which is the best way to study).
#3) Repetition. Seriously if you get nothing but this out of the advice everyone has given then take this advice. I will have passed through material 6-7 times before the exam comes, and usually many more for material I'm uncomfortable with. I re-read slides, use Anki, and use google. Google is actually awesome for pointed questions. Rarely I will use a text for reference (atlases for Anatomy are common)
#4) Don't study what you know. Seriously. If you know it cold, then don't waste your time. Periodically quiz yourself to make sure you aren't losing it. Anki is great for this.
So anyways, my typical day is this:
First hour-1.5 hours: Re-read the previous days slides, skipping over stuff I know cold (don't waste your time!), and diving into deeper research of things that I don't thoroughly understand or am having trouble retaining.
Next 2 hours: Watch the days lectures at increased speed (usually 1.6x depending on lecturer). Pausing where needed and rewinding if I need clarification. I don't take notes except for stuff not mentioned in slides. I don't bother rewriting the slides, its a was of time. I highlight stuff that may be buried in text that seems important, but otherwise that doesn't happen much either.
Next 2 hours: I go back to the previous days slides and make Anki cards. Note that this is now my third pass of the material,
repetition.
Last hour at the library: Start doing Anki cards, some days I can spend up to two hours doing Anki cards but I limit myself to that before my brain turns to mush.
When I get home usually I still have work to do. I usually spend this time to look up specific topics that I'm having trouble with and exploring them deeper. Almost always I go over the same days lectures and quickly breeze over them in an attempt to consolidate more advanced topics. Sometimes I'll do this at the library if I really don't want to do anything at home.
By the time the test review rolls around I will have read the lecture slides 3-4 times, and have had multiple passes with Anki. I will also read through the slides one more time
thoroughly (it's a painful 12-16 hour session) to make sure I haven't missed any details because I may have not seen the material for a month other than Anki. This is important because while my Anki cards are very thorough, I always end up missing a detail or two that I didn't think were important at the time. The rest of my test-prep time is spent in study groups with others because they also help me find things I may have missed, and it's a much more active way of learning than re-reading slides which I have already done amply.
I'd say on average my day is anywhere from 6-10 hours long (but includes multiple 5-10 minute breaks and 30 min lunch). During test time it's more like a three-four 12 hour days. So far my study method has me in the top 15% of my class. I definitely have way more of life than I thought I would.
You said it, not me.
