Honest Perspectives on Memory Retention

[CalicoKat]

So, I was wondering if any of you have viewpoints you might like to share on how much information you actually retain from what you learn. I should preface this by saying that my classmates constantly complain that they "don't remember anything" they learn, but whenever we have our small group sessions, they seem to recall things we learned MONTHS ago just fine. I very honestly feel that I can retain things just long enough to take my exams, but within a few weeks the VAST majority (at least 80%--maybe more) is beyond recall. It occurs to me that med school is the first time in my life in which long-term recall is really gauged; standardized tests and tests in college pretty much only require your performing well on one day, but you're more than welcome to forget everything after you put your pencil down. Honestly, I'm just concerned that maybe I'm going to get into clinics, and not be able to answer even the most basic of questions, let alone the obscure primed-for-pimping questions I hear about; more than that, though, I'm fearful that I'm gonna end up finding out I make a pretty crappy physician because if I haven't seen it in the past week, it's as though I never learned it at all. Again, this is not me crying wolf because I can't name all the bones of the hand--I very sincerely feel that even BIG stuff falls out of my head.

Does anyone else have this feeling? Has anyone else had it and found a way to work around it? Sorry for the rambling and thanks ahead of time...

(if there are other threads on this, feel free to refer me... I didn't see any by quick perusal...)

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[TruTrooper]

Hey. For one thing, this is why we specialize. You can't possibly recall even 30% of the information you get crammed into your head in med school.

Second, repetition is the key in med school. You will get told and see things so many times that you will want to vomit at times. Before you know it, you will just notice that the things you need to know will just automatically be retrieved without much effort. You will be like a machine.

Finally, this is what UP-To-Date is for. When you can't recall, hurry up and find a computer and look it up!

 

[deleted77919]

One of the MSI's asked an MSIV about if he had any tips for remembering key things from first year. His reply was to hold up his pda.

We were also told if something was key to the practice of medicine we would hear it at least 5 times.

 

[cfdavid]

So, I was wondering if any of you have viewpoints you might like to share on how much information you actually retain from what you learn. I should preface this by saying that my classmates constantly complain that they "don't remember anything" they learn, but whenever we have our small group sessions, they seem to recall things we learned MONTHS ago just fine. .

Unless they're prodigies, I'm sure they're simply recalling different info than you have retained yourself. Don't underestimate that they very well may be in "awe" when you recall some random fact that they themselves have forgotten. Also, I wouldn't worry about this too much. If you're studying pretty much everyday (the best for long term recall), then it's out of your control anyway. So, screw it. Just do your best.

 

[thatuvicguy]

Also note that a significant amount of 'focused' pre-reading happens for lots of small group stuff. Believe me, people are cramming around topics that are likely to come up in X session. Not necessarily to impress any tutors present but more likely not to feel like a total idiot when everyone else seems to miraculously remember that herpes zoster is part of the differential for lower R quad pain.

And as has been said, "what's common is common." You will come across key concepts numerous times in the first couple of years and I've been told that clinical context in 3rd & 4th year helps further entrench important info.

Don't worry. You'll do fine.

 

[Acherona]

I totally know what you mean. My brain detests details and ejects them upon immediate entry. I never realized how awful my memory was and what an impediment it would be to excelling in this field. In undergrad at times I felt limited by my ability to understand concepts quickly but rarely by my memory. Now I see this is only because I didn't take classes that required that much memorization, and in classes that were info-heavy I think I did do worse. I have a friend in med school with whom I spend almost every study-minute, and she consistently does much much better on exams so I'm pretty sure I have some deficit. I think we are just going to have to rely on our other intelligences to compensate and learn how to look up info fast. Still, it's a little disheartening to think that I chose a career that's dependent on a skill that I lack.

 

[njbmd]

So, I was wondering if any of you have viewpoints you might like to share on how much information you actually retain from what you learn. I should preface this by saying that my classmates constantly complain that they "don't remember anything" they learn, but whenever we have our small group sessions, they seem to recall things we learned MONTHS ago just fine. I very honestly feel that I can retain things just long enough to take my exams, but within a few weeks the VAST majority (at least 80%--maybe more) is beyond recall. It occurs to me that med school is the first time in my life in which long-term recall is really gauged; standardized tests and tests in college pretty much only require your performing well on one day, but you're more than welcome to forget everything after you put your pencil down. Honestly, I'm just concerned that maybe I'm going to get into clinics, and not be able to answer even the most basic of questions, let alone the obscure primed-for-pimping questions I hear about; more than that, though, I'm fearful that I'm gonna end up finding out I make a pretty crappy physician because if I haven't seen it in the past week, it's as though I never learned it at all. Again, this is not me crying wolf because I can't name all the bones of the hand--I very sincerely feel that even BIG stuff falls out of my head.

Does anyone else have this feeling? Has anyone else had it and found a way to work around it? Sorry for the rambling and thanks ahead of time...

(if there are other threads on this, feel free to refer me... I didn't see any by quick perusal...)

There was another thread about this topic not to long ago. I will post essentially what I said then. Your goal in medical school is not to memorize every factoid that is placed in front of you but to build a conceptual foundation that will enable you to practice medicine. Sure, you are going to forget many little details that you learned in Gross Anatomy but with a bit of review, you can easily recall these details when needed.

When you get to third year, the "dreaded pimping" is not a difficult as it would first seem. On every rotation, you are expected to read and understand the pathology of the patients and scope of practice of that specialty. If you have mastered your pre-clinical science in the first place, a quick review will help you recall what you need very efficiently.

As you become more specialized i.e. in residency, there WILL be many things that you just file back into the recesses of your long-term memory but can be recalled if needed. Loads of material on your in-service exams for most specialties will involve basic science knowledge as applied to clinical knowledge. Are you expected to know biochemistry as a second-year resident as well as you knew it as a first year medical student? No, but you DO need to have enough of a background to apply it to clinical problems.

Your clinical sciences will build upon your pre-clinical knowledge base. You do not have to worry about what you forget as much as how well you can recall with review. In medicine, you are reading and reviewing most of your life so get used to that. Otherwise, don't sweat forgetting the little details and put that sweat into mastering as much as you can while in medical school.

 

[JohnnyOU]

Honest Perspectives on Memory Retention :

OK... here is the real deal and truth about all this memory stuff...
Back when...ummm...
one sec...
what were we talking about?

 

[45408]

For a little perspective, someone asked a question about the brachial plexus to one of the hand surgeons who guest lectured and was walking around in the lab. The surgeon laughed and said he forgot everything above the elbow. If it's important - you'll see it again and again. Not much you can do about your retention, unless you keep studying it.

 

[CalicoKat]

Thanks for all the viewpoints and reassurance--I guess at the end of the day, I'm not going to quit now for fear that I'll suck as a doctor, however significant that fear is. A few friends I talked with tonight who have made it through clinics insisted that everyone's amazed at how much they pick up and retain, so my fingers are crossed that that'll be true in this case as well!

 

[-Goose-]

double post

 

[-Goose-]

Glad to know some people feel the same way I do.

How does this thing work out on Step 1?

For a little perspective, someone asked a question about the brachial plexus to one of the hand surgeons who guest lectured and was walking around in the lab. The surgeon laughed and said he forgot everything above the elbow. If it's important - you'll see it again and again. Not much you can do about your retention, unless you keep studying it.

Wow. Thats pretty astonishing. With all the different possible lesions youd think he would see, I would have thought the brachial plexus would be part of his everyday life...

 

[Shredder]

I try to learn as little as possible except what will show up on Step 1. I know most will be forgotten. Answering questions in 3rd year is important though for recs, I hear.

 

[ddmo]

Don't be intimidated when in a group setting like that. Everyone remembers some random facts, and when you get a bunch of those people together, someone is always blurting out the answer. In your head you attribute this to mean that everyone knows all the answers, but it's just not the case.

Medicine is just learning the same stuff over, and over, and over. For example, I never realized that the second year of medical school for us was essentially learning Internal Medicine. Pretty much everything seen on an IM team in the hospital we covered, even the most rare stuff. However, you forget it all natrually, and the rest of your life is spent refreshing yourself each time you encounter it. Now if you go into something specialized, you will probably never use much of that knowledge, but will acquire a new base, and forget the previous stuff.

It's like they say: "It's not how much you know, but how fast you can find the answer"

 

[deleted29780]

As I Always Say. You Are Powerful Beyond Measure Ok.