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Hi everyone, long term member here. If this is not allowed, please delete.
I am a dermatologist in the Orlando community and volunteer Faculty at FSU COM. I was a horrible student and later became obsessed with studying.
I graduated number one in my medical school, trained in dermatology, and subsequently Mohs Surgery at MD Anderson in Houston, TX.
I want to share some of the key points that will get everyone's preclinical grades higher:
First thing to understand is that:
1) Grade = Quality of Studying x Hours spent studying
You want to increase both the quality of studying, and the hours you spend studying
2.) Improving the quality of your studying
-To improve you studying I would recommend NOT going to class. Unless you pre-read and learn well auditorily, I would skip it.
Instead, spend the morning reviewing the material for the day. Use class notes and a review source to learn the material by yourself in the morning. I would recommend spending a minimum of 3 hours in the morning. I like printing out the powerpoints and making my own notes in the Mindmap way.
In the afternoon, I would recommend listening to the lectures at 2x (if tolerable) while you review the powerpoints. With a red pen, mark anything the teacher says that stands out. These tend to be test questions. After you are done listening, spend the rest of the day mastering the material that you learned from the day. Again, minimum of 3 hours in the afternoon. With time, you should increase it. If you finish the material, review your notes from previous days.
3.) Hours spent studying
-Schools have different obligations. But in general, I like dividing the day into two sessions. Morning and afternoon. 3 hours minimum each session. With time, you can increase it by 30 min per session. If you can get to 5-6 hours a session, that is gold but is quite hard to do it
4. Anki
- I personally do not advocate for use of ANKI. If you use it, and it works well - great, keep doing it. It didn't work for me.
I preferred writing notes and reviewing them often. I felt like I understood the material at a very deep level, and even now - 10 years out of medical school - if I had to give a lecture on cardiac physiology - I probably would need an hour to review, but I am pretty sure I could give a good lecture on it. Whatever works best for you, do that.
5. Stick to a schedule.
I would study to around 7 pm everyday. I would stop at that time, go work out and then get food before going home. I then relaxed and repeated the same process the following day. I viewed it as a marathon. Consistently putting 10-12 hours would make me unstoppable. I didn't feel the urge to do 14-15 hours a day.
I would be happy to answer ANY questions you have about anything grade or study related in med school.
I am a dermatologist in the Orlando community and volunteer Faculty at FSU COM. I was a horrible student and later became obsessed with studying.
I graduated number one in my medical school, trained in dermatology, and subsequently Mohs Surgery at MD Anderson in Houston, TX.
I want to share some of the key points that will get everyone's preclinical grades higher:
First thing to understand is that:
1) Grade = Quality of Studying x Hours spent studying
You want to increase both the quality of studying, and the hours you spend studying
2.) Improving the quality of your studying
-To improve you studying I would recommend NOT going to class. Unless you pre-read and learn well auditorily, I would skip it.
Instead, spend the morning reviewing the material for the day. Use class notes and a review source to learn the material by yourself in the morning. I would recommend spending a minimum of 3 hours in the morning. I like printing out the powerpoints and making my own notes in the Mindmap way.
In the afternoon, I would recommend listening to the lectures at 2x (if tolerable) while you review the powerpoints. With a red pen, mark anything the teacher says that stands out. These tend to be test questions. After you are done listening, spend the rest of the day mastering the material that you learned from the day. Again, minimum of 3 hours in the afternoon. With time, you should increase it. If you finish the material, review your notes from previous days.
3.) Hours spent studying
-Schools have different obligations. But in general, I like dividing the day into two sessions. Morning and afternoon. 3 hours minimum each session. With time, you can increase it by 30 min per session. If you can get to 5-6 hours a session, that is gold but is quite hard to do it
4. Anki
- I personally do not advocate for use of ANKI. If you use it, and it works well - great, keep doing it. It didn't work for me.
I preferred writing notes and reviewing them often. I felt like I understood the material at a very deep level, and even now - 10 years out of medical school - if I had to give a lecture on cardiac physiology - I probably would need an hour to review, but I am pretty sure I could give a good lecture on it. Whatever works best for you, do that.
5. Stick to a schedule.
I would study to around 7 pm everyday. I would stop at that time, go work out and then get food before going home. I then relaxed and repeated the same process the following day. I viewed it as a marathon. Consistently putting 10-12 hours would make me unstoppable. I didn't feel the urge to do 14-15 hours a day.
I would be happy to answer ANY questions you have about anything grade or study related in med school.
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