How to improve study habits in med school?

[narla_hotep]

I'm currently a senior in undergrad and I'm horrible at studying. I feel like I get distracted constantly and need to check facebook or look up something online every 5 minutes, and a lot of my work is on my laptop so the temptation is ever-present and I end up taking twice as much time as I need to study certain material. I know the obvious advice is "just don't get distracted" but I swear I have like mild ADHD or something because if I don't follow through with a distraction, the thought of it just keeps nagging at me and breaking my train of thought until I actually do whatever the distracting thing is.

In med school, I know I'll need to study a lot more than I currently am, and this "constantly distracted" thing won't fly. Do you have any suggestions on how to train myself to study for longer blocks of time?

Also, how do you suggest studying to absorb such a large amount of material in med school? My current (rather boring) strategy is to just do all the reading and take notes, then look over the notes later. Would that still work, or are things like notecards and/or more creative study methods a must?

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[purplegold201635]

1) identify your biggest distraction.
2) eliminate it. If it's Facebook, you don't have to delete it, but I would consider deactivating it a few months before med school starts just so you can prove to yourself that your can go about your daily life without it. Honestly, breaking myself off from social media was the best thing I could have done for my study habits.

 

[Astra]

Set goals.

Tell yourself that you are gonna finish X pages in 1 hr and do it. take a 15 min break. Repeat.

 

[mistafab]

Honestly - it doesn't matter. When you get to med school you will just figure out how to survive and stay afloat. You'll either stop yourself from fooling around or you won't. No one method is going to help you. I don't think any of my classmates study like me, and I'm pretty sure everyone studies their own way. You just kinda make it work. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[wb100]

I use SelfControl app that blocks websites for periods of time. You can enter which websites you want to block. Once you turn on the timer there's no way to get rid of it without waiting it out. Pretty effective.


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[NidDAlouette]

While this won't necessarily address distractions on the computer, I usually put my phone on silent and then keep it in a different room while I'm studying. It helps me stay focused when I'm not constantly getting notification alerts. When I'm studying using notes/flashcards/books etc., I also physically stay away from my laptop so the temptation isn't even there.

As far as your proposed study strategy, it could still work for you, or you might find that it's too time-consuming relative to the amount of material you will be expected to learn. If you have a strategy that currently works well for you I'd say it's worth a shot to see if it will still work in medical school, but make sure you are really paying attention in the first week or two as to whether you're staying on top of the material and mastering everything that's thrown at you. If you find that you're really struggling to keep up, you'll do yourself a favor to adapt sooner rather than later. If you truly can't figure out how best to study, most schools have an academic support center that will help you identify more efficient ways to approach the material.

When you get a chance to interact with some of the second years at your school (either via the school's facebook group or during orientation week), ask them what resources they found valuable during first year. Every school's curriculum is a little bit different, and those who recently went through the exact same courses are in an ideal position to provide meaningful advice as to which resources will be the most high-yield.

Good luck!