Learning how to study in vet school

[jarjar1]

Hi everyone!
I was wondering if someone on here knew the website that teaches you how to study in preparation for veterinary school. I would like to take the course and brush up on my techniques.
Thanks!

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[WhtsThFrequency]

How to study varies a lot by individual....it's not really a one size fits all scenario that can be learned by taking a course. We have quite a few threads here already discussing real-world study habits that may be far more helpful than a course - if they are buried you can find them using the search function.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Hi everyone!
I was wondering if someone on here knew the website that teaches you how to study in preparation for veterinary school. I would like to take the course and brush up on my techniques.
Thanks!

There's no one way of how to study while in vet school.......everyone will have a different "best" technique that works for them. The important thing to do in order to maximize your study efficiency is to find the method that works best for you.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

There's no one way of how to study while in vet school.......everyone will have a different "best" technique that works for them. The important thing to do in order to maximize your study efficiency is to find the method that works best for you.

I also have different techniques for different classes, too. It's definitely not 'one size fits all.' What's most important is recognizing when something isn't working for you and correcting it ASAP. You don't really have a lot of time to lose when it comes to learning vet school material

 

[Staffie]

Are you talking about Ryan Orwig's STAT Program that @Lab Vet has talked about?

 

[MDB74]

In my opinion the issue of study techniques is little bit overblown. I largely study the same way I did in undergrad. Granted, I definitely study longer and have developed better (well, kinda) time management skills but it's basically the same. Some people may prefer flashcards for random recall, some like writing out the notes themselves, and some read the notes and powerpoints over and over. Personally, I'm of the opinion that most of these different techniques boil down to repetition. I know that I can draw a pretty good correlation between my grade and how many passes of the material I did. Some people do need to change how they study but I would only make that move if your don't do well on the first couple tests.

 

[Lab Vet]

In my opinion the issue of study techniques is little bit overblown. I largely study the same way I did in undergrad. Granted, I definitely study longer and have developed better (well, kinda) time management skills but it's basically the same. Some people may prefer flashcards for random recall, some like writing out the notes themselves, and some read the notes and powerpoints over and over. Personally, I'm of the opinion that most of these different techniques boil down to repetition. I know that I can draw a pretty good correlation between my grade and how many passes of the material I did. Some people do need to change how they study but I would only make that move if your don't do well on the first couple tests.

I disagree with this completely. I needed to modify my study methods significantly for success in vet school. Quantity of passes through the material is important. For those of you that re-copy your notes or obtain supplemental info from texts, there's simply no time for that in a clinical curriculum. Most importantly, find what works best for you. Experiment at the outset, and don't fixate on a particular method if it's not producing results.

 

[Lab Vet]

Are you talking about Ryan Orwig's STAT Program that @Lab Vet has talked about?

He's amazing, by the way.

 

[JaynaAli]

I also disagree with MDB74. I really didn't have to study in undergrad to make satisfactory grades. One or two quick reads through the notes and doing practice problems was sufficient. Vet school came and I floundered figuring out how to make everything stick. Through lots of trial and error and below average grades first year I was able to figure it out and improved academically every year, but my way was very different than my best friend's and other buddies.

 

[Lupin21]

Definitely a case of everyone is different. I didn't have to change anything about how I learn for school either, but I found I was in that spot all by my lonesome. Having helped teach, I can definitely say that the brain is fascinating in how it interprets and takes in info, so each person has to persist and evolve as needed for each challenge if they don't get it right the first time.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

it will likely take some experimentation (or at least it did for me... heck, I'm still playing around with different techniques; it's definitely a continuous process) to find what works for you.

Definitely -- I went back to school after being out in the "real world" for over 10 years, and I had to sort of learn how to study again. I'd had a few years of undergrad courses to get my pre-reqs, but those were really easy in comparison and very little study was really needed (easier not just in content, but in volume). I had to try a couple of things, and I had to struggle to not fall into an "everybody does it this way" mindset to follow my gut and find what worked for me - and what worked for me was definitely not the way everybody else did it.

 

[deleted498041]

I disagree with this completely. I needed to modify my study methods significantly for success in vet school. Quantity of passes through the material is important. For those of you that re-copy your notes or obtain supplemental info from texts, there's simply no time for that in a clinical curriculum. Most importantly, find what works best for you. Experiment at the outset, and don't fixate on a particular method if it's not producing results.

Unless you're at my school, and then that's all you do I probably changed my study techniques every year, refining them and tailoring them to individual classes. I don't think I ever studied in a "wrong" way, but there were constant improvements to be made. I spent a lot of time reading textbooks and taking notes based off of that which worked extremely well for me. I'm a fast reader, fast typer. My school only has exams every 8 weeks, so I had a plan where I basically read and took notes for weeks 1-5, and then at the end of week 5 began reviewing the previous weeks. All I did to review was look through these massive study guides that I had made over the previous weeks -- one dedicated to each week of class. That worked great for me. Other people solely relied on what other people contributed to our class Drive because they didn't have time to read, take notes, and then study that material. Ultimately, I think everyone finds what works best for them.
Also, I don't know what emphasis other schools have on using specific textbooks, but don't be afraid to branch out and use other books. I relied on probably 4-5 books for anatomy, since I had such a hard time relating diagrams to my specimens. If my school had only ever emphasized Dyce, I probably would have been in some trouble when it came to anatomy.

 

[TrashPanda]

Hi everyone!
I was wondering if someone on here knew the website that teaches you how to study in preparation for veterinary school. I would like to take the course and brush up on my techniques.
Thanks!

I don't know of anything specifically for veterinary school, but you may find the book Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning helpful.

There actually isn't much evidence that people have different learning styles, though there are certainly individual preferences. That doesn't mean everyone has to study or learn in the exact same way, but the principles are the same.

If you already have good study skills you'll already know a lot of it (reading study guides is useless, active recall is key, etc.) but there are some interesting details and it's a good read regardless.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

There actually isn't much evidence that people have different learning styles, though there are certainly individual preferences.

There is lots of evidence that people have different learning styles.

Are there studies that show that teaching specifically to that learning style doesn't statistically improve outcomes? Yes, but that's not the same thing. The first statement is about the individual, the second is about teaching methods to a class/classes of different individuals. We're not talking about statically changing the outcomes of a large group of learners, we're talking about maximizing the outcome for one specific learner.

 

[TrashPanda]

There is lots of evidence that people have different learning styles.

Are there studies that show that teaching specifically to that learning style doesn't statistically improve outcomes? Yes, but that's not the same thing. The first statement is about the individual, the second is about teaching methods to a class/classes of different individuals. We're not talking about statically changing the outcomes of a large group of learners, we're talking about maximizing the outcome for one specific learner.

Research or anecdotal evidence?

I certainly don't mean that every person should study everything in the exact same way. It's just that these differences generally come down to other factors (e.g., topic, level of expertise, how it will be tested, etc.) rather than the individual's learning style.

I think a lot also depends on how granular you want to go. For instance, active recall and repetition are important, but the nitty-gritty details of how someone uses active recall and repetition are considerably less important. If you want to get down to very, very specific details of how someone studies, then yeah, I think you'll find YMMV much more than if you're looking at more basic principles of how learning works.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Research or anecdotal evidence?

I certainly don't mean that every person should study everything in the exact same way. It's just that these differences generally come down to other factors (e.g., topic, level of expertise, how it will be tested, etc.) rather than the individual's learning style.

I think a lot also depends on how granular you want to go. For instance, active recall and repetition are important, but the nitty-gritty details of how someone uses active recall and repetition are considerably less important. If you want to get down to very, very specific details of how someone studies, then yeah, I think you'll find YMMV much more than if you're looking at more basic principles of how learning works.

I'm not going to get into the Battle of the Research Studies over something as trivial as this. Yeah, we're talking about adult individuals trying to excel in school, not "how learning works" or how learning patterns develop.

 

[TrashPanda]

I'm not going to get into the Battle of the Research Studies over something as trivial as this. Yeah, we're talking about adult individuals trying to excel in school, not "how learning works" or how learning patterns develop.

You mentioned evidence so I asked- I think it's an interesting topic and it is directly relevant to adults trying to excel in school. Definitely not looking for a battle, and sorry if it came off that way.

 

[Scared vet]

How to study varies a lot by individual....it's not really a one size fits all scenario that can be learned by taking a course. We have quite a few threads here already discussing real-world study habits that may be far more helpful than a course - if they are buried you can find them using the search function.

I know this is totally unrelated but m struggling in vet sch,n HV just failed my first professional exams.I feel m close to depression n right now CNT find d courage to start again or start attending classes with d YR below me

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I know this is totally unrelated but m struggling in vet sch,n HV just failed my first professional exams.I feel m close to depression n right now CNT find d courage to start again or start attending classes with d YR below me

Sorry to hear that. I almost dropped of my third year due to depression, anxiety, and a host of other issues (including poor marks as a result of said issues). As "type-A" personalities, we tend to care about everything but our own well-being and that does nothing but hurt us. It isn't selfish at all to put your own mental and emotional health above other things, even career - if you need to take time off, you need to take it. Do you have any counseling services available where you are?

 

[VetMed812]

You Probably Believe Some Learning Myths: Take Our Quiz To Find Out

NPR did a story on myths and realities from brain science. Looks like the idea of different learning styles has no evidence to support it! Haha

 

[pinkpuppy9]

You Probably Believe Some Learning Myths: Take Our Quiz To Find Out

NPR did a story on myths and realities from brain science. Looks like the idea of different learning styles has no evidence to support it! Haha

Not sure why you felt the need to add "Haha" at the end because it comes off as horribly rude. Sounds like you didn't bother to read the paper NPR cited anyways, because they actually state that not all instructional methods will work for all learners (which is exactly what the main point of this conversation was).

 

[VetMed812]

Not sure why you felt the need to add "Haha" at the end because it comes off as horribly rude. Sounds like you didn't bother to read the paper NPR cited anyways, because they actually state that not all instructional methods will work for all learners (which is exactly what the main point of this conversation was).

I like to laugh even in text! And no I didn't bother to read each link backing every statement up because frankly I didn't care. Thank you for doing that though! I'm glad my post helped you further investigate and then enlighten me. I thought it was relevant to the topic so I shared.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Different learning styles is one thing, but different study habits and preferences exist - one is about learning things in a classroom environment from another person, the other is about memory and retention of what you have been previously taught and is self-driven. E.g. some people love to listen to music while they study, some people can't do it and find it completely distracting. Some people prefer to draw diagrams and pictures, others prefer to write out sentences, others verbally read things back to themselves. Some people study small bits at a time over long periods of time, others do better with a fewer but more intense periods of study followed by breaks. Etc.

 

[Therio]

There is a good course on coursera:
Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects - University of California, San Diego | Coursera
Hopefully 2B Helpful