For those who use Anki in med school, how do you use it?

[Username555]

I keep seeing from people who use Anki that their performance has gotten significantly better since they started using it and that it seems to be the most successful method many people mention in terms of learning and remembering the content. My question is, for those of you who have used it and found success in it, how do you go about using it?

The reason I ask is because I tried to get into it at the very beginning of this year (M1). I realized that making the flash cards on every detail in each powerpoint was probably taking me an average of 45 minutes, and I type at about 120 wpm. I wouldn't want to make cards for just the high yield stuff, though, since school exams pretty much treat high yield content and minutiae the same.

At 45 minutes per lecture and 4 lectures per day, that's 3 hours per day spent just on TYPING out the cards. That's valuable time that could be spent memorizing and understand the content presented from that day. So, I'm just wondering, how is it that you guys go about utilizing Anki, and how has it brought you success despite taking up so much time just with the typing out of the cards. Thanks

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[Username555]

Also, I imagine that if you make cards for every detail, by the end of each lecture you would have quite the pile of cards. So in addition to making them, how do you find time to get through all of them? 4 lectures per day, 5 days per week, for 4 weeks in between exams, that's quite a lot of cards.

 

[pinacol]

I think part of what makes Anki work for me is that I'm not entirely focused on making the flash cards for class, but more on high yield topics that I would like to remember for Step 1. Once you lecture block is over (or however your school does it), the minute details are probably going to matter a lot less, so it would be a waste of time to continue going over those details with flash cards anyway. I think of making high yield cards as part of studying for my school exams, but not the whole picture. Sometimes I'll make a short term Anki or Quizlet deck that will be relevant for class, but it's a deck that I won't use for studying Step 1.

To make the whole flash card thing fit into my schedule, I have just incorporated it as part of my study plan (and I count making the flash cards as actual study time). First, I go over my notes from lecture--I like to rewrite the notes that I think are important to remember, and a few hours later or the next day, I will make my flash cards. I don't see making the flash cards as a waste of time but as another review of the relevant material. I try to do some flash card a day ~50-100 to try to stay on top of it. They have an app, so I can just flip through a few cards when I have downtime. Doing relevant class work is my top priority, so I'm always behind on my flash cards, but I feel okay with that as long as I get a few done a day.

I hope that helps. It feels like it got a little word vomit-y toward the end, but that's the gist of how I do it. I think it works best differently for everyone, what I outlined above is how I got it to work for me.

I hope this helps!

 

[futuremdforme]

I keep seeing from people who use Anki that their performance has gotten significantly better since they started using it and that it seems to be the most successful method many people mention in terms of learning and remembering the content. My question is, for those of you who have used it and found success in it, how do you go about using it?

The reason I ask is because I tried to get into it at the very beginning of this year (M1). I realized that making the flash cards on every detail in each powerpoint was probably taking me an average of 45 minutes, and I type at about 120 wpm. I wouldn't want to make cards for just the high yield stuff, though, since school exams pretty much treat high yield content and minutiae the same.

At 45 minutes per lecture and 4 lectures per day, that's 3 hours per day spent just on TYPING out the cards. That's valuable time that could be spent memorizing and understand the content presented from that day. So, I'm just wondering, how is it that you guys go about utilizing Anki, and how has it brought you success despite taking up so much type just with the typing out of the cards. Thanks

For tables, I use image occlusion. I use copy/pasted images a lot instead of typing out full answers.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I use Anki as my exclusive form of note-taking. My first pass is either going to lecture or watching online and simply watching for the big picture without trying to absorb every detail the first time. <-- I think this is a very underrated technique. It also allows you get a feel for what the lecturer feels is important while putting everything into a larger context. Although, if I'm super crunched for time, I'll make cards during my first pass.

On my second look, is when I make my cards but I generally try to bridge concepts together like the following:

"Patient has an underdeveloped thymic cortical epithelium. How might this cause dysregulation of T cell learning? Which form of selection is spared? What other types of cells are located in the thymus and where?"

This will reinforce what you're learning and cut down on the amount of cards you make although some cards will simply be "what is x?" and you can't avoid those. After my second pass, I might watch the lecture one or two more times between then and the test for additional reinforcement while keeping on my cards. After that particular block, if it comes back up when I'm reviewing all of my cards, I'll quickly check it against FA. If it turns out to be minutiae and low-yield info from my professor then I'll delete it right then and there.

One additional thing about Anki is that you really have to stay on it most days so that the cards don't pile up on you.

Only one semester in, but this has worked for every exam and I've performed a bit above average on the majority of my exams if not right on the mark. Hope this is clear and helps out some.

 

[sholamd]

I agree with what people have said here: curating cards to cut down on number of reviews, staying on top of reviews. It can feel a little onerous at times but it's worth sticking to it. I viewed making my Anki decks as an investment. When I was studying for Step 1, I had a great resource at my disposal - a searchable database of facts I found important throughout med school. I used my decks again for step 2, step 3, and as a resident I'm still finding cards that I pull out and put into my Dermatology deck.

Keep your subjects in separate decks so that cards from Endocrine aren't bogging you down in the middle of a Renal block.
Increase your intervals if reviews are piling up - if you know a card, perhaps you don't need to see it the next day, but could wait 3-5.
Find ways to make the process more efficient: image occlusion, copy/paste from modules, shorthand, cloze...

 

[mbeus]

I just use Anki for straight memorization facts. Like, for example, that hep A virus is a picornavirus. For each exam, I will make cards like that. Then, if the material is something relevant for step 1, I'll keep doing the deck all the way through May 2017 when I take it.

 

[kb0275]

How many cards do you guys make per lecture? And do you make a car for every single fact? Thanks

 

[Elessar]

How many cards do you guys make per lecture? And do you make a car for every single fact? Thanks

Depends on the lecture, some are more detail-dense than others. At the beginning, try to limit yourself to ~80 new cards per day (total for all lectures). As MS1 progresses, you'll get a feel for what details are important enough to warrant a card.

 

[Scrubs101]

Depends on the lecture, some are more detail-dense than others. At the beginning, try to limit yourself to ~80 new cards per day (total for all lectures). As MS1 progresses, you'll get a feel for what details are important enough to warrant a card.

This has been my biggest problem so far with time efficiency, i make a flashcard for every fact in my course pack. Only have been through two units of anatomy so far and have made 3000 cards. Starting to think this wont be sustainable come next semester when things pick up.

How do you recognize what facts are more important than others? Is it just something that comes with experience?


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[kb0275]

Depends on the lecture, some are more detail-dense than others. At the beginning, try to limit yourself to ~80 new cards per day (total for all lectures). As MS1 progresses, you'll get a feel for what details are important enough to warrant a card.

Only 80 cards? But there is so much information, how do you know what to include and what is important though. I could probably make 80 cards in one lecture hour and I have 5-6 lectures a day

 

[Elessar]

This has been my biggest problem so far with time efficiency, i make a flashcard for every fact in my course pack. Only have been through two units of anatomy so far and have made 3000 cards. Starting to think this wont be sustainable come next semester when things pick up.

How do you recognize what facts are more important than others? Is it just something that comes with experience?

I will say that anatomy is an exception, I used image occlusion and created tons of cards (probably ~50-80 per day outside of what we covered in our other lectures).

Only 80 cards? But there is so much information, how do you know what to include and what is important though. I could probably make 80 cards in one lecture hour and I have 5-6 lectures a day

This is a common issue (I also had a hard time with it as an early MS1), and honestly you just start to develop a sense over time for what's important. Cross-referencing with FA & Pathoma (or Bro's deck) is the best way to limit yourself to the most high yield facts. I supplemented Bro's deck with my own cards from class to cover any gaps between the two.

 

[kb0275]

I will say that anatomy is an exception, I used image occlusion and created tons of cards (probably ~50-80 per day outside of what we covered in our other lectures).



This is a common issue (I also had a hard time with it as an early MS1), and honestly you just start to develop a sense over time for what's important. Cross-referencing with FA & Pathoma (or Bro's deck) is the best way to limit yourself to the most high yield facts. I supplemented Bro's deck with my own cards from class to cover any gaps between the two.

See I know what is important for step 1 by just referencing it with first aid, but what about for lecture in which professors pick random facts which may not be seen in firsst aid?

 

[Elessar]

See I know what is important for step 1 by just referencing it with first aid, but what about for lecture in which professors pick random facts which may not be seen in firsst aid?

That's something I can't help you with, with each class exam you start to get a feel for how your professors like to test you. Don't beat yourself up over every random detail, just do your best to learn as much as you possibly can.