How to memorize Microbio??

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yodi

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My memorization skills are rusty so I'm wondering what techniques worked for you, especially with regard to Microbio? Is this a subject that lends itself more to charts, flashcards, practice q's, or plain ol' rote? I know it depends on your learning style but wanted to know if some techniques are generally more effective for this subject than others.

Btw, I am using clinical micro ridiculously simple which I like as an overview, but it's hard to memorize off of it.

thanks!!
 
micro made simple is such an ugly book. i don't even know how people can study from it.

you can try diagrams for some. electronic flashcards for stupid names. and charts for quick overview before exams, i guess.

there's no trick. you just have to pick up the micro everyday so that the stupid shiet doesn't slip your mind.
 
yodi said:
My memorization skills are rusty so I'm wondering what techniques worked for you, especially with regard to Microbio? Is this a subject that lends itself more to charts, flashcards, practice q's, or plain ol' rote? I know it depends on your learning style but wanted to know if some techniques are generally more effective for this subject than others.

Btw, I am using clinical micro ridiculously simple which I like as an overview, but it's hard to memorize off of it.

thanks!!

It's really person dependent, I guess you have to try books and methods that work for you. I mean Micro Ridiculously simple is probably the best book in terms of presenting it in a material that is somewhat whacky and funny so that it sticks in your mind. I remember one specific cartoon, where Neisseria meningiditis and N. Gonnhorrea are having a chat. And it shows N. Gonhorrhea as a pervert, reading porno magazines, hence it causes STD's! I mean funny stuff like that is easy to remember. But if it doesn't work for you, move on to something else. At this point its just trial and error to find what works best for you. Best of luck.
 
Micro is one of those subjects where mnemonics and algorithms prove invaluable. I would suggest using first aid as a skeleton and add key info as you progress. I am currently prepping for the step, and find the FA micro section really beneficial in this regard. Compartmentalize...gram (+), gram(-), lactose fermentors, lactose non-fermentors, optochin resistant, etc., etc., etc. After that it really is just a matter of repetition. Btw MMRS is good, although I thought HY micro by Hawley was superior. Good luck.
 
I agree about 'micro made ridiculously simple' being a hard book to learn from. Personally, I found it very disorganized.

I really strongly recommend getting the Lange Microbiology & Immunology book. The chapters are very well organized and the material is more than comprehensive enough for class, but with succinct reviews at the end of each chapters that are good for the boards. Plus, they have summaries and practice questions in the back. Oh, and their immunology section is a god-send.

As far as studying Microbio... yeah, it's basically all memmorization. Compartmentalizing is a good strategy, and you can't beat mnemonics. For me, what worked was making up little stories about each drug/microbe. For example:

To remember that Bacillus cereus survives within reheated rice, people are infected when they ingest its exotoxin, and that the two exotoxins increase cAMP and produce superantigen:

I thought of the following little story... you're cAMPing, and it's SUPER, and you eat some rice and you get sick - and your friend says: "from reheated rice?" B. Cereus!

The key is making up small stories for yourself that you'll remember - it works for me with just about every topic when you have to memorize a lot of seemingly un-related facts about one thing.

Good luck!
Q
 
What works for me (so far):
1. Read the chapter or notes before lecture
2. Attend lecture if the prof is good, skip and study if they suck
3. Review the notes the night after lecture
4. Make flash cards, note summaries, and lists of similarities
5. Try to come up with acronyms for my lists
6. Review the notes from the week on the weekend
7. Spend time doing my flash cards during breaks, breakfast, etc.
8. Find a pal to quiz with at lunch
9. Quiz with pal a few days before exam

That's pretty much my strategy.... so far I'm in line with our class average which is about 80%. If only our class wasn't so damn smart!!!
 
katrinadams9 said:
What works for me (so far):

That's pretty much my strategy.... so far I'm in line with our class average which is about 80%. If only our class wasn't so damn smart!!!


sounds like some grade inflation to me.
 
Nah, our school has crazy averages too... throughout MS1, they were in the upper 80s!! And no grade inflation - after all, the ranking is according to how you do within your class; if the mean is a 95 but you get a 90, that's still just as bad as the mean being 70 and you getting 65... but anyway.

Q
 
Same way you memorize everything else. Make rules to group things then you just have to memorize the exceptions, micro is a topic that lend itself to gouping just like taxonomy, its based upon like characteristics.
If you can learn to do this (its not to early to start) medical school and the boards can be a breeze.

Micro made red. simple sucks ass.
 
i LOVED micro made simple. the charts were excellent for fast review to make sure you got through all the said topics in each chapter. the bugs were organized very well and the pictures did in fact help make the knowledge stick. i had sherris and i didn't even crack it open. just be wary of the couple o' mistakes in micro made simple. other than that, you should be able to glide through micro with this book.
 
quideam said:
Nah, our school has crazy averages too... throughout MS1, they were in the upper 80s!! And no grade inflation - after all, the ranking is according to how you do within your class; if the mean is a 95 but you get a 90, that's still just as bad as the mean being 70 and you getting 65... but anyway.

Q
this is why unranked pass/fail PWNS ALL.
 
. . its called the Sanford Guide. You carry it in your pocket. It never leaves your white coat. I'm sure the palm version is just as good.

Yet another disconect between medical school and reality.

hippocritis.com <---medical satire for students and residents.
 
I made a ****, i mean sheet, for each pathogen listing all the ness. stuff. each sheet was the same format - so if i needed to look something up, i could do so easily. writing it all out helped me bulk memorize at the beginning of micro. then, with repetition of the sheets i made, and hence familiar with, i was able to digest quite a bit of material. for pathogens that i just couldn't remember, i made up stupid stories about each one. although it has since slipped my mind - one story involved someone trying to pick up chicks in a bar. it was quite leud - but served its purpose for the exam. repetition is the key though.
 
use MMRS and your class notes and you should be golden.
 
The best way to know the basics: use FA as your primary source memorize it COLD. Then go through Micro made ridiculously simple and only read the pictures and their captions. You'll be surprised how the stupid images stick and make you remember the important stuff.
 
i liked Clinical Micro made Ridiculously Simple... it was often the first thing i read, actually (even before the syllabus/ppt). after i got the broad idea down, then i'd go into the syllabus, noting the extra info, organizing the material into a more cohesive form (which i found the CMMRS to be), etc. the First Aid is good too; it's so condensed that you'll get a lot of the organizational schemes down easier than wading through the syllabus (or CMMRS, for that matter). and when you have to learn what seems like a million bacs and viruses, knowing how to clump similar organisms together becomes very important. (in fact, when we had to do antimicrobials, those 4-5 pages from FA were the only things i used to cram for the exam.) i didn't like the Lange very much... i found it wordy and long. i might have pulled it out twice to use as reference, but really didn't get much out of it. though i suppose if you used that as a primary source (syllabus being second), then you might find it more valuable. also, i always made my own charts, because it helped with the first run through the material. it probably saves more time, because once the exam date looms near, i basically studied straight from the 15-20 charts i made, instead of flipping through 300+ pages of notes.
 
MicroCards!!! YOu can buy these on amazon. They focus on the info you need, and you can carry them everywhere. Good for the memorization-challenged - saved me on my last Micro exam.
 
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