MD Help me PLEASE..... I am in BIG trouble here.....

[Tennis Guy]

Hello everybody,
So I'm a MS-1 in my first quarter. Things are not going so well for me unfortunately at this time. I'm VERY close to passing two out of three of my six credit courses each, but I am possibly going to fail another two credit course, if I don't get close to 90 on my final exam. I do put in the work, use Anki, and study with my classmates. I'm not sure why this is happening?

I do get behind on my Anki though, and I'm wondering HOW people can keep up with the HUGE amount of cards we have to do EVERY day?!?! The cards are all premade for me, and I've used Anki before, so I don't know why it takes me SO LONG to get through them? I ALWAYS feel behind. I'm feeling REALLY discouraged, and I feel like NO ONE can help me..... my adviser also basically told me yesterday that he thinks it's pretty much IMPOSSIBLE for me to pass, and that I should basically accept the fact that I'm going to fail all three courses? Can any of you give me advice and help me PLEASE? I'm in a REALLY bad place right now..... I hope you all are doing well, and thank you SO much for all of your help, time, advice, and everything. It is all GREATLY appreciated..... ☺️

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[M&L]

ok, first of all, - its ok. I almost failed my first exam in medical school, met with the professor, changed my studying methods, and got better. Now i tutor medical students, preparing for graduation (m4) and got interviews from very good programs so far. So, its ok. Breathe.

Secondly, - you need to sit down with someone and work through things, talking to strangers on internet, unfortunately, might not help much, because you need to really figure out what you are doing wrong. Have you tried to talk to academic affairs ppl? Or professors in the course? What did they say you are doing wrong?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Practice questions. You need to add those in addition to anki

 

[Goro]

Suggest NOT using Anki, and find other resources.

Have you visited your school's learning or education center? Talked tour your professors or MS2 students for help???

 

[h23]

Anki is amazing for memorizing things, but depending on how your curriculum is structured, I think you should try to do other things as well. Also, one key thing to say is "PLEASE RELAX". Yeah, its definitely a daunting task ahead of you, but what good is the extra stress going to do? Despite what other people may be saying, this is an achievable task. It'll just be hard to do. Really dig deep down and figure out what you're doing wrong. Look at how the professors ask their questions. Are exams in-house exams where professors make up their own questions or are they board style questions? What have second years done to achieve success? Also, what is the quality of the pre-made decks you used? For me, I use Anking and really love doing it. But not everything that is taught in my school is on Anking unfortunately, so I have to make sure I study my professor's lectures in order to know what to expect for the exam. If I solely used Anking, then I wouldn't have all the info needed to study and wouldn't do as well. If your pre-made decks aren't Anking though, then me personally, I'd recommend to not use those. At my school, a lot of people recommend not using ANking because apparently our lectures don't follow it, but I've had success with it, so everybody's experience is different I suppose. A lot of people here choose to make their own decks and I've always found that while there are some people who make great cards, there's a lot of people who can't. I look through some of those decks and there's basically a card that looks like an entire wikipedia article. Only people with photographic memory could memorize those types of cards lol. Just a thing to note about Anki, it's good for helping you memorize, but only if you make good cards. If your card looks like an entire dissertation, then you're using Anki wrong. Additionally, ask yourself why its taking you a long time to do anki. For me, I use an add on that pings me if I spend longer than 30 seconds on a card and its helped me a lot. Next, understand that Anki is good for memorizing, but its not good for application based stuff and critical thinking, which is often necessary in med school. You're going to have to find out what areas you feel you're deficient in, if its primarily just recalling things or whatever else. But it is doable. You just need to put in the work. No need to let other people get you down about how impossible it may be. Just do whatever you can and hopefully things will work out, but the first step is doing whatever YOU'RE able to do. It starts with you.

 

[DarkBluMage]

Hello everybody,
So I'm a MS-1 in my first quarter. Things are not going so well for me unfortunately at this time. I'm VERY close to passing two out of three of my six credit courses each, but I am possibly going to fail another two credit course, if I don't get close to 90 on my final exam. I do put in the work, use Anki, and study with my classmates. I'm not sure why this is happening?

I do get behind on my Anki though, and I'm wondering HOW people can keep up with the HUGE amount of cards we have to do EVERY day?!?! The cards are all premade for me, and I've used Anki before, so I don't know why it takes me SO LONG to get through them? I ALWAYS feel behind. I'm feeling REALLY discouraged, and I feel like NO ONE can help me..... my adviser also basically told me yesterday that he thinks it's pretty much IMPOSSIBLE for me to pass, and that I should basically accept the fact that I'm going to fail all three courses? Can any of you give me advice and help me PLEASE? I'm in a REALLY bad place right now..... I hope you all are doing well, and thank you SO much for all of your help, time, advice, and everything. It is all GREATLY appreciated..... ☺️

How much time do you spend on active studying? My grades improved to getting A’s regularly once I started doing this: attending class 8-5 (I’m one of the students that needs to go to class). Immediately after class I do anki for those specific classes that day. I then do about 10 practice questions from uworld on that class material and review them while referencing first aid. I make sure I understand why the correct answer was right and why the wrong answers were wrong for each question (if the incorrect answer was applicable to that units material as well).
Also if you need a tutor then get one. I use a tutor cause sometimes I need help understanding physiology.

 

[Tennis Guy]

ok, first of all, - its ok. I almost failed my first exam in medical school, met with the professor, changed my studying methods, and got better. Now i tutor medical students, preparing for graduation (m4) and got interviews from very good programs so far. So, its ok. Breathe.

Secondly, - you need to sit down with someone and work through things, talking to strangers on internet, unfortunately, might not help much, because you need to really figure out what you are doing wrong. Have you tried to talk to academic affairs ppl? Or professors in the course? What did they say you are doing wrong?

Yes, I have, understand, and will do..... I am and getting advice. However, I keep hearing going to class will solve EVERYTHING, which I don't really believe, especially if I'm behind?

 

[Tennis Guy]

Suggest NOT using Anki, and find other resources.

Have you visited your school's learning or education center? Talked tour your professors or MS2 students for help???

Yes, I am..... I am not only using Anki but also reviewing the slides with classmates, as well as on my own..... the common theme I have deduced from it all is to get caught up with lectures..... ESPECIALLY with my Anki..... the BIG question though here is..... how???

 

[Moko]

Yes, I am..... I am not only using Anki but also reviewing the slides with classmates, as well as on my own..... the common theme I have deduced from it all is to get caught up with lectures..... ESPECIALLY with my Anki..... the BIG question though here is..... how???

There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer here as there are so many different learning styles. Some people do well with classes, many others, not so much. Some people do well with group learning, Anki decks, etc., others not so much. Personally, First Aid and UWorld were my bread-and-butter learning tool. Anki decks were just a waste of my time. You need to quickly figure out and do what works for you and not what works for other people, recognizing that your optimal learning style now may be different as the volume of material has significantly increased for medical school.

Also, are there any external factors that may be negatively influencing your performance? For example, a family illness, uncontrolled depression, anxiety, etc.? If so, consider taking a LOA to get these issues fully resolved before continuing your studies. There are many students who try to power through but end up digging themselves into deeper holes. Best of luck and just my thoughts.

 

[Rapsidy]

I’m also one of those people who started to feel an overwhelming sense of panic every time I tried to open Anki so I ditched it halfway through year one. It works for many but for others it causes more stress and anxiety than it’s worth.

I second @Moko suggestion of looking at external factors and taking a LOA if needed. It’s much better to take the LOA get your life in order than it is to fail and have to repeat the year, and feeling even more stressed and anxious trying it all over again without the necessary changes needed.

 

[Goro]

Yes, I am..... I am not only using Anki but also reviewing the slides with classmates, as well as on my own..... the common theme I have deduced from it all is to get caught up with lectures..... ESPECIALLY with my Anki..... the BIG question though here is..... how???

Always start with the big picture

 

[Tennis Guy]

Anki is amazing for memorizing things, but depending on how your curriculum is structured, I think you should try to do other things as well. Also, one key thing to say is "PLEASE RELAX". Yeah, its definitely a daunting task ahead of you, but what good is the extra stress going to do? Despite what other people may be saying, this is an achievable task. It'll just be hard to do. Really dig deep down and figure out what you're doing wrong. Look at how the professors ask their questions. Are exams in-house exams where professors make up their own questions or are they board style questions? What have second years done to achieve success? Also, what is the quality of the pre-made decks you used? For me, I use Anking and really love doing it. But not everything that is taught in my school is on Anking unfortunately, so I have to make sure I study my professor's lectures in order to know what to expect for the exam. If I solely used Anking, then I wouldn't have all the info needed to study and wouldn't do as well. If your pre-made decks aren't Anking though, then me personally, I'd recommend to not use those. At my school, a lot of people recommend not using ANking because apparently our lectures don't follow it, but I've had success with it, so everybody's experience is different I suppose. A lot of people here choose to make their own decks and I've always found that while there are some people who make great cards, there's a lot of people who can't. I look through some of those decks and there's basically a card that looks like an entire wikipedia article. Only people with photographic memory could memorize those types of cards lol. Just a thing to note about Anki, it's good for helping you memorize, but only if you make good cards. If your card looks like an entire dissertation, then you're using Anki wrong. Additionally, ask yourself why its taking you a long time to do anki. For me, I use an add on that pings me if I spend longer than 30 seconds on a card and its helped me a lot. Next, understand that Anki is good for memorizing, but its not good for application based stuff and critical thinking, which is often necessary in med school. You're going to have to find out what areas you feel you're deficient in, if its primarily just recalling things or whatever else. But it is doable. You just need to put in the work. No need to let other people get you down about how impossible it may be. Just do whatever you can and hopefully things will work out, but the first step is doing whatever YOU'RE able to do. It starts with you.

I understand and will do. I use a pre-made deck from an MS-2 at our school. They are REALLY good decks, but I feel like I just can't review them as much as I can. I've only been able to do a review of everything once or twice at the most really? I just can't figure out how to review the material as much as I want..... I feel like I'm going like a snail and REALLY don't know what to do??? ..... 🐌🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Tennis Guy]

How much time do you spend on active studying? My grades improved to getting A’s regularly once I started doing this: attending class 8-5 (I’m one of the students that needs to go to class). Immediately after class I do anki for those specific classes that day. I then do about 10 practice questions from uworld on that class material and review them while referencing first aid. I make sure I understand why the correct answer was right and why the wrong answers were wrong for each question (if the incorrect answer was applicable to that units material as well).
Also if you need a tutor then get one. I use a tutor cause sometimes I need help understanding physiology.

I do active studying at least two days before quizzes and exams. How long does it take you to do your Anki for the day? What time do you start and finish it usually? I have gotten a tutor, but I think I may need a new one, since my tutor isn't really that helpful unfortunately?

 

[Tennis Guy]

Always start with the big picture

Can you explain more please?

 

[Tennis Guy]

There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer here as there are so many different learning styles. Some people do well with classes, many others, not so much. Some people do well with group learning, Anki decks, etc., others not so much. Personally, First Aid and UWorld were my bread-and-butter learning tool. Anki decks were just a waste of my time. You need to quickly figure out and do what works for you and not what works for other people, recognizing that your optimal learning style now may be different as the volume of material has significantly increased for medical school.

Also, are there any external factors that may be negatively influencing your performance? For example, a family illness, uncontrolled depression, anxiety, etc.? If so, consider taking a LOA to get these issues fully resolved before continuing your studies. There are many students who try to power through but end up digging themselves into deeper holes. Best of luck and just my thoughts.

I understand. Will going to class solve all of my problems and increase my grades? Thank you so much..... There's nothing bad in my life really..... just the usual struggles..... just trying to get through this VERY dark and dangerous world like everyone else..... 🌑

 

[Goro]

Can you explain more please?

Big Picture

What are the, say five most important points of the lecture or material?

 

[Tennis Guy]

I’m also one of those people who started to feel an overwhelming sense of panic every time I tried to open Anki so I ditched it halfway through year one. It works for many but for others it causes more stress and anxiety than it’s worth.

I second @Moko suggestion of looking at external factors and taking a LOA if needed. It’s much better to take the LOA get your life in order than it is to fail and have to repeat the year, and feeling even more stressed and anxious trying it all over again without the necessary changes needed.

Oh, well what methods did you use instead? Yes, I will consider that.....

 

[M&L]

Big Picture

What are the, say five most important points of the lecture or material?

to piggyback on that - what I did, I would put up the lecture to see the list of learning points, then i open up board and beyond and watch that material there to lay a solid foundation of what is most important about it. While having first aid open in front of me. My school has NBME exams from question banks, so I knew that if something was not in board and beyond or first aid, it wasnt high yield. I would solidify that for a day or two, and THEN go to house lectures. Also, make sure you are working through all the questions you can find, - i would make sure i go through ALL the uworld questions for the topic by the exam time and all the questions that the upper classmates had. I am talking about several hundreds of questions. The "two days before the exam active learning" thing doesnt cut it. I frontloaded the board and beyond videos within the first 2-3 days of the block, - ALL OF THEM once. To get the big picture, and then I would start working through questions.

When working through questions, dont just answer them. Ask yourself "why are the wrong questions actually wrong? What would need to change about the question for these wrong answers to be right?".

 

[M&L]

I do active studying at least two days before quizzes and exams. How long does it take you to do your Anki for the day? What time do you start and finish it usually? I have gotten a tutor, but I think I may need a new one, since my tutor isn't really that helpful unfortunately?

2 days is not enough. You need to do active studying EVERY DAY since the day 1.
Also, you need to be able to explain every concept you come across. Practice explaining it to your cat, dog, whoever. If you cant explain it, - you do not know it enough. Doctors are educators - we teach other residents, medical students, patients. You need to be able to get most out of the concept after seeing it the first time and almost all of it from the second time. "see one, do one, teach one" is a thing. Especially when you come to M3 and M4 year.

The other thing, about anki. I spent about 7-8 seconds on each new anki, and about 3-4 on each review anki. I installed the app on my phone - it is much faster this way.

 

[M&L]

I understand. Will going to class solve all of my problems and increase my grades? Thank you so much..... There's nothing bad in my life really..... just the usual struggles..... just trying to get through this VERY dark and dangerous world like everyone else..... 🌑

going to class will not solve all your problems and increase your grades. you taking control over your education, however, WILL. You get to get organize, start studying from day 1 of the block, and take control over the material. Ultimately, you are the only person responsible for it. And tutor is not a magician (i know it sounds harsh, i am sorry). Tutor is there to help you understand the material, but they are not there to learn for you. YOU need to figure out how your brain works. For example, are you a "visual" person? How did you study for MCAT? how did you do on MCAT? what study methods worked for you in the past? How did undergraduate work for you? What was your major? You need to figure out how your brain works, and learn how to feed things into it most effectively.

remember, YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR EDUCATION and the quality of it. Not the school.

 

[operaman]

to piggyback on that - what I did, I would put up the lecture to see the list of learning points, then i open up board and beyond and watch that material there to lay a solid foundation of what is most important about it. While having first aid open in front of me. My school has NBME exams from question banks, so I knew that if something was not in board and beyond or first aid, it wasnt high yield. I would solidify that for a day or two, and THEN go to house lectures. Also, make sure you are working through all the questions you can find, - i would make sure i go through ALL the uworld questions for the topic by the exam time and all the questions that the upper classmates had. I am talking about several hundreds of questions. The "two days before the exam active learning" thing doesnt cut it. I frontloaded the board and beyond videos within the first 2-3 days of the block, - ALL OF THEM once. To get the big picture, and then I would start working through questions.

When working through questions, dont just answer them. Ask yourself "why are the wrong questions actually wrong? What would need to change about the question for these wrong answers to be right?".

This.

I had different resources back when I was preclinical but the approach was similar.

Big picture. Figure out what’s high yield. Prioritize. Work hard and actively from day one. Practice questions.

OP- sounds like anki may not be your jam. I suspect you’re dragging the reviews because you didn’t make the deck yourself so it’s not quite how you’d conceptualize it, and you don’t have a broader context in which to place the little factoids.

At this point just keep pressing forward, make small adjustments where you can. And focus on the highest yield level material as much as you can. Once you get through this quarter you can regroup with the new courses and at some point remediate whatever you need to.

 

[DarkBluMage]

I do active studying at least two days before quizzes and exams. How long does it take you to do your Anki for the day? What time do you start and finish it usually? I have gotten a tutor, but I think I may need a new one, since my tutor isn't really that helpful unfortunately?

Try to incorporate active studying into everyday. I used to read over slides and try to concept map from them and read the textbooks they recommended but it was just too much and I was always behind. I would constantly forget the stuff I read. I tried skipping lectures and watching boards n beyond instead but then it was hard to know what to focus on and some stuff I just wasn’t getting to at all. Sometimes I can just hear things in lecture and remember it or see something explained out in lecture and get it that first time vs trying to figure it out on my own by not going to lecture which took so much time and frustrated me. Going to lecture is my 1st pass. Lecture finishes at 5pm or earlier sometimes. I take an hour break to exercise/eat dinner. I then spend about 1-1.5hr doing anki for those specific classes of the day. Then I’ll do practice questions usually 8-10 in test mode (timed conditions). Then I’ll use the rest of my time to review those questions while referencing first aid. If I have extra time before my bed time once I finish reviewing questions then I’ll usually do some of the anki cards from the previous lecture days as well. I stop studying by 9pm and I’m in bed by 10pm.
The key is when you’re reviewing the practice questions is to make sure you’re connecting the dots and seeing how the concepts all come together. If you don’t do that and only try to memorize what the right answer would be in a certain circumstance then you’ll have too many gaps in your knowledge. When I do anki for the first time for a class I’ll read the card and make sure I understand/recall what’s going on in the grand scheme. If I feel like I can’t then I make a mental note to go and review that concept via first aid or with a tutor if I feel like I’m not understanding the concept. Usually I read the card the first two times I see it after answering it and then I speed through them.
As for my tutor, I see them once a week for about 1-2hrs. I usually send them the ppt of what I’m struggling with and they’ll pull the high yield facts and make sure I understand the concepts of them. Then we’ll do a few practice questions together to test my knowledge and make sure I actually understood what we went over. If what you’re doing with your tutor isn’t helpful then let them know or change tutors if needed. I had to let my tutor know I needed practice questions incorporated in our session cause sometimes I felt like I was understanding properly when they explained but would get questions wrong on the same concept sometimes later on my own. Practice questions will help flesh out what you do know and what you’re misunderstanding. You don’t want to wait until test day to find that out. You have to find the study style that works for you, however you need to make sure you’re doing active learning (questions) at least every day.

 

[lumya]

My questions are what has worked for you before and how are you tested in class now?

It was recommended to my class when I started that everyone attends class for the first exam and then figure out where you go from there. I went to class every day for the first exam and then tried watching videos from home at 2x speed for the second. I found that going to class worked better for me even if I ended up having less time to do Anki or other outside resources, because I liked being able to ask questions and interact during lectures. Have you tried going to class or did you jump into 2x lectures with Anki?

Anki works great for some and not great for others. One of the things I realized when I did a lot of Anki was that I started to memorize parts of the card that wasn’t a real reflection of my learning. For example if the card was to list all of the branches of the external carotid, I could recall facial artery based on the location of the card, but couldn’t list the others because I was memorizing things out of context. You said an MS2 made the cards but are they making it from lecture and you’re being tested with NBME style questions or are they pulling from Step 1 decks but your professors are writing the questions?

You’ve talked about learning styles, but do you find issues with taking the actual tests? Do you have test anxiety? Do you think you might need accommodations to have longer times or quieter spaces? Even if you’ve never had anxiety or depression, the stress of medical school can exacerbate previously controlled conditions and it may be worth seeing someone for an evaluation.

 

[Goro]

When working through questions, dont just answer them. Ask yourself "why are the wrong questions actually wrong? What would need to change about the question for these wrong answers to be right?".

Not just for OP, but for all medical students: the above is a critical part of succeeding in the preclinical years!

 

[esob]

Does your school use NBME exams or professor exams?

 

[Tennis Guy]

to piggyback on that - what I did, I would put up the lecture to see the list of learning points, then i open up board and beyond and watch that material there to lay a solid foundation of what is most important about it. While having first aid open in front of me. My school has NBME exams from question banks, so I knew that if something was not in board and beyond or first aid, it wasnt high yield. I would solidify that for a day or two, and THEN go to house lectures. Also, make sure you are working through all the questions you can find, - i would make sure i go through ALL the uworld questions for the topic by the exam time and all the questions that the upper classmates had. I am talking about several hundreds of questions. The "two days before the exam active learning" thing doesnt cut it. I frontloaded the board and beyond videos within the first 2-3 days of the block, - ALL OF THEM once. To get the big picture, and then I would start working through questions.

When working through questions, dont just answer them. Ask yourself "why are the wrong questions actually wrong? What would need to change about the question for these wrong answers to be right?".

I understand, and thank you so much. Boards and beyond, as well as Uworld is subscription only right? We have ScholarRx at my school? How much sleep do you get before quizzes and exams?

 

[M&L]

I understand, and thank you so much. Boards and beyond, as well as Uworld is subscription only right? We have ScholarRx at my school? How much sleep do you get before quizzes and exams?

i am not familiar with scholar Rx - cannot comment on the quality.

the regular amount of sleep - i never study the night before exam. I study every day, other than this one. Sort of at that point you should already know everything. I might do light review, flip through a few concept

 

[IlDestriero]

Yes, I have, understand, and will do..... I am and getting advice. However, I keep hearing going to class will solve EVERYTHING, which I don't really believe, especially if I'm behind?

This sounds like your problem. You’re not going to class? Try going. It’s hard to get too far behind when you’re in class every day.
That worked for me. No Anki, go to class, review notes. If you get behind for some reason, do what you need to do to catch up.
If you get too far behind there’s no way to catch up while trying to get back on track.

 

[mvenus929]

Not just for OP, but for all medical students: the above is a critical part of succeeding in the preclinical years!

And beyond.... This is what got me through peds boards studying.

OP, I'm echoing some of the responses above, but if you're not quickly going through Anki cards, you probably don't have enough context for the material. You should be spending more time going through things the first time to understand the material, then doing faster and faster passes through the material with each subsequent review (up until Step 1). HOW you do this is individualized--I wrote out answers to all the learning objective we were given for each class, which allowed me to find the answer, conceptualize it, and then regurgitate the information in a way that I could just read it the second time through. Others do this by actually making their own Anki cards. Some do it by watching the lectures multiple times and doing hand-written notes. Some, as above, go through question banks and figure out why the wrong answer choices are wrong (a well-written question will have good distractors that are somewhat applicable to the topic). Some do a combination of the above.

 

[h23]

This sounds like your problem. You’re not going to class? Try going. It’s hard to get too far behind when you’re in class every day.
That worked for me. No Anki, go to class, review notes. If you get behind for some reason, do what you need to do to catch up.
If you get too far behind there’s no way to catch up while trying to get back on track.

i'm going to respectfully disagree with this tbh. While going to class may work for some people, I and many other students across the nation feel that its a huge time sink. I honestly don't know how people are able to go through medical school by going to class every single day when double speeding a lecture while at home saves so much more time. Given how many classes some students can have in a day, I feel by going to class, you're depriving yourself of time you could be re-reviewing everything. Just because you're going to class doesn't mean that you automatically understand everything. Additionally, the way exams are scheduled (at least in my school), going to class can cut away some serious study time. It's just not worth it.

 

[DarkBluMage]

i'm going to respectfully disagree with this tbh. While going to class may work for some people, I and many other students across the nation feel that its a huge time sink. I honestly don't know how people are able to go through medical school by going to class every single day when double speeding a lecture while at home saves so much more time. Given how many classes some students can have in a day, I feel by going to class, you're depriving yourself of time you could be re-reviewing everything. Just because you're going to class doesn't mean that you automatically understand everything. Additionally, the way exams are scheduled (at least in my school), going to class can cut away some serious study time. It's just not worth it.

Not everyone learns the same. Not going to class didn’t work for me. Going to class does. Yes it’s a big chunk of time out of the day however recorded lectures were a waste of my time because I was unable to ask questions that I normally would in lecture that would lead to quick clarity on something vs spending a few hours trying to figure something out. Do what works for you. I’ve been successful with going to class. When I skipped class, I struggled.

 

[h23]

Not everyone learns the same. Not going to class didn’t work for me. Going to class does. Yes it’s a big chunk of time out of the day however recorded lectures were a waste of my time because I was unable to ask questions that I normally would in lecture that would lead to quick clarity on something vs spending a few hours trying to figure something out. Do what works for you. I’ve been successful with going to class. When I skipped class, I struggled.

Yeah, i know everyone learns different, but personally if I have some difficulty with a concept, I just approach professors in their office or study with friends and see if they got the concept better than I did. But if you have success going to class, then keep doing that, don't let me stop you

 

[mvenus929]

i'm going to respectfully disagree with this tbh. While going to class may work for some people, I and many other students across the nation feel that its a huge time sink. I honestly don't know how people are able to go through medical school by going to class every single day when double speeding a lecture while at home saves so much more time. Given how many classes some students can have in a day, I feel by going to class, you're depriving yourself of time you could be re-reviewing everything. Just because you're going to class doesn't mean that you automatically understand everything. Additionally, the way exams are scheduled (at least in my school), going to class can cut away some serious study time. It's just not worth it.

I mean, we have someone who is coming here and saying they're struggling with the material and aren't going to class. The poster you quoted is basically saying 'what you're currently doing isn't working, try something else'.

If YOU do fine without going to class, great. Good on you. But as others have said, that doesn't work for everyone. And if something's not working, they need to change it.

 

[Karlington]

Hello everybody,
So I'm a MS-1 in my first quarter. Things are not going so well for me unfortunately at this time. I'm VERY close to passing two out of three of my six credit courses each, but I am possibly going to fail another two credit course, if I don't get close to 90 on my final exam. I do put in the work, use Anki, and study with my classmates. I'm not sure why this is happening?

I do get behind on my Anki though, and I'm wondering HOW people can keep up with the HUGE amount of cards we have to do EVERY day?!?! The cards are all premade for me, and I've used Anki before, so I don't know why it takes me SO LONG to get through them? I ALWAYS feel behind. I'm feeling REALLY discouraged, and I feel like NO ONE can help me..... my adviser also basically told me yesterday that he thinks it's pretty much IMPOSSIBLE for me to pass, and that I should basically accept the fact that I'm going to fail all three courses? Can any of you give me advice and help me PLEASE? I'm in a REALLY bad place right now..... I hope you all are doing well, and thank you SO much for all of your help, time, advice, and everything. It is all GREATLY appreciated..... ☺️

How much time was Anki taking you?

 

[h23]

I mean, we have someone who is coming here and saying they're struggling with the material and aren't going to class. The poster you quoted is basically saying 'what you're currently doing isn't working, try something else'.

If YOU do fine without going to class, great. Good on you. But as others have said, that doesn't work for everyone. And if something's not working, they need to change it.

alright, let me preface this by saying that the way that your post is structured, it seems like you believe that i think going to class is bad for absolutely EVERYONE. I don't. In fact, i said this in my previous post that if going to class works for you, then great. Don't let me stop you. I just don't understand how it can help, but if it works, keep doing what you're doing. Most of what I said was based on my opinion. Next, let's also note that OP stated that they start active studying two days before the test and I'm sure everybody can agree that two days isn't enough. In fact, it's been mentioned numerous times in this thread. So yes, you're right that they actively need to make a change, but thinking that just by going to class and expecting all problems to be solved doesn't seem like the best strategy here. Personally, i believe the active studying two days before the exam can be one problem. Maybe its one of a few more. But I'm not OP and I don't know much about their situation beyond what I remember from this thread. You're free to think whatever you like in terms of what can help them do better in their coursework, whether that's by going to class or some other method.

 

[Tennis Guy]

How much time was Anki taking you?

It was taking me WAYYYYYY TOOOOOO LONG because of the volume I believe? I just couldn't move quick enough to finish the hundreds, if not over one thousand cards per day? How long should it take you?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

15s/card

 

[Captain_Falcon]

15s/card

This is still way too long imo (as someone who matured Anking for step 1 and 2).

Step 1 I averaged I believe 10seconds and Step 2 I believe was 9 seconds

 

[M&L]

This is still way too long imo (as someone who matured Anking for step 1 and 2).

Step 1 I averaged I believe 10seconds and Step 2 I believe was 9 seconds

Yeah I am at 6-7 sec for new cards, 3-4 sec for review

 

[Captain_Falcon]

Yeah I am at 6-7 sec for new cards, 3-4 sec for review

Speed demon!

 

[M&L]

Speed demon!

-growling demon noises-

My brain just works like that Hahshs

 

[Karlington]

It was taking me WAYYYYYY TOOOOOO LONG because of the volume I believe? I just couldn't move quick enough to finish the hundreds, if not over one thousand cards per day? How long should it take you?

Depends. Was it that many repetitions because you let them pile up, or even when you did them each day?

And how much time did it take? In approximate time units, not like "WAY TOO LONG"

 

[mvenus929]

15s/card

Edit: Messed up my math, my bad. But point still stands, I don't have the attention span for it.

And this is why I couldn't do Anki. I tend to use flashcards for quick review while doing other things (waiting in line at the store, mental break from reading, etc) rather than as a primary means of review. It takes me too long to get through the cards.

The theory behind Anki (spaced repetition) is great and it does work, but it's hard to do with a large volume of information.

 

[Captain_Falcon]

And this is why I couldn't do Anki. Let's say you have 200 cards to get through in a day (which was realistic for me at one point in my studying process). Spending 15s/card means you're spending 12.5 hours in one day doing those cards. Not including breaks for meals, standing, bathroom, etc. Bring that down to 10s/card still means you're spending more than 5.5 hours on it. My attention span isn't that great--I'd get bored after an hour. I tend to use flashcards for quick review while doing other things (waiting in line at the store, mental break from reading, etc) rather than as a primary means of review.

The theory behind Anki (spaced repetition) is great and it does work, but it's hard to do with a large volume of information.

Your math is way off. 15 sec a card = 4 cards / minute. 200 cards at that rate takes 50min to get thru.

For me preclinical I averaged 650 cards a day over the course of about 19 months. At 10 sec per card —> 6 cards/min. That equates to 108min a day for Anki.

That is the way Anki works

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

To be clear anki is my second option. I will not go through anki unless I have already read the PowerPoints and right before exams I use only PowerPoints. Anki is to help consolidate in between

 

[mudfud26]

I think Anki is helpful for memorizing info (drugs and bugs, proteins), but if you find yourself getting overwhelmed because you missed a day or two (or 10), or want to take off, consider the delay overdue cards add-on.

Delay Overdue Cards - AnkiWeb

Second, if you’re using Anking or another tagged deck, try to filter your deck so that you’re only doing cards you have covered in lecture. You need to be doing cards you have already learned and not try to learn from the cards.

 

[throwaway123342]

It was taking me WAYYYYYY TOOOOOO LONG because of the volume I believe? I just couldn't move quick enough to finish the hundreds, if not over one thousand cards per day? How long should it take you?

So...did you end up failing?