Memorizing

[MDpride]

Well, I HATE memorizing but i had to memorize consequences of excess and deficient intake of vitamins, minerals, and stuff along with bunch load of drugs.

How useful it is to memorize vitamins-- deficiency and excess intake?

HOW does one memorize it?

i had very hard time memorizing it and didnot do that well in test.

ANYHELP with memorizing details and stuff will be appreciated.

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[strv04]

I retained most of my knowledge of vitamins following M1 biochem for all about 2 hours after the test. It wasn't until M2 when important stuff came back again related to concepts we were learning. An example of this is vitamin K and why it is important for clotting and how it is related to warfarin. Learn as much as you can now but realize you won't remember most of it. When it appears again you will retain more then you thought you did and it will make more sense as a concept rather then a list of facts. If being a doctor was all about memorization we would have been replaced by computers by now. Learn the concept.

 

[Inuranic]

For stupid lists of stupid crap:

1) Open to page full of said crap
2) Open MS Notepad
3) Type out list into manageable chunks of 7-9 items
(i.e. vitamin - deficiency symptoms - excess symptoms)
4) Keep re-typing the list trying to not look at the original
5) You have won when you can type out the list from memory
6) Move on

I just did this for a test on Friday and it worked pretty well. It can be time-consuming but I knew I had the stuff down cold, as opposed to the old "close my eyes and repeat it to myself" trick, which works well but not as well as writing it down. I like using Notepad because I can type way faster than I can write, so it's still semi-efficient.

 

[HPSPpayissues]

Repetition young man. Repetition! Memorize things the week before your test, and then, memorize them again two days before the test. Afterward, review them again the night before.

 

[GreenShirt]

Vitamins come into play in GI an Hematology mostly for diseases such as anemia and osteoporosis. Learning bugs and drugs relies mostly on memorization so repetition with flash cards is usually the main way to go. If you can find a way to use mnemonics or put things in context it will help make things "stick". The context doesn't even have to be clinical. I'll do things such as imagine the vitamin as a character or shape and then tell a story with it. Images stay in my head longer than words.

 

[TMP-SMX]

If you have to cram for the first time you learn it in biochem keep in mind that it will come back to you in year II over and over again. It will stick. Do your best.

 

[DrJosephKim]

I suggest the "ridiculously made simple" series. They may seem really silly, but those types of memory tricks can be very helpful.

 

[studentcarl]

Repetition young man. Repetition! Memorize things the week before your test, and then, memorize them again two days before the test. Afterward, review them again the night before.

How much time would you say someone has to spend just memorizing every day? My memory is ok I guess, but I forget things very quickly... 🙁

 

[MDpride]

How much time would you say someone has to spend just memorizing every day? My memory is ok I guess, but I forget things very quickly... 🙁

Same here.. Understands everything but forgets rather quickly

 

[WellWornLad]

How much time would you say someone has to spend just memorizing every day? My memory is ok I guess, but I forget things very quickly... 🙁

You will forget the things you don't use regularly. It's just how the brain works, it clears out the deadwood regularly.

However, in medical school, if something is important, you will see it again and again. Biochem was certainly not the last time I heard about B12, folate, vitamin K, etc.

If you hear or read something that you used to know come up in another lecture, write it down and refresh your memory when you get a chance. That sort of reinforcement goes a long way towards remembering the important things.

 

[braluk]

Honestly, the best way to "memorize" something is to learn the pathophysiology behind something- why certain things present themselves the way they do if something is missing, and how it is supposed to work. Aside from that, another way I remember things is to (believe it or not), youtubing videos of patients with those types of diseases or stories/images about said diseases. VIsual ways to learn things are always excellent ways to solidify textual learning.

 

[HPSPpayissues]

The best way to memorize, like Braluk said, is to TRULY UNDERSTAND something. When you understand the material, a lot of stuff just sticks to you without much effort. Also, it makes memorizing things so much easier.
In addition, looking at pictures of descriptions, while reading, helps pple out a lot.
More tips:
Try to put things in categories. Try to relate things. Try to understand how each material you are learning relates to the whole, especially in the context of organ system. Go study your notes. Go listen to the lectures that emphasize same concepts as your notes. Read review books that emphasize same points.

I usually skip lectures that don't follow the notes and ones, in which professors go off track to talk about his research and so on. Finally, review frequently. Most importantly, try not to be too stressed out about memorizing things. When you are stressed, it is harder to retain information.

 

[braluk]

Additionally, and you'll figure this out when you start board studying (I wish I started in my first year doing this), annotating your books is a great way to connect concepts. Case in point- in my Board Review book, let's say I just finished a section on normal and abnormal EKG's and interpreting it. I'd annotate on the side, how left axis and right axis deviations work (drawing pictures in the process), some basic things like LaPlace's, and additional things that could alter EKG (infectious endocarditis [and its causes]) amongst virtually anything that comes to mind. In doing so you 1) learn the physiology, pathology, biochemistry, etc..etc.. behind a system and 2) you connect many different concepts together which make it easier to remember and also help you figure out things that you've never even studied. When I review my annotated notes it's kind of like reading my own thoughts as I thought of them when I first studied it.

 

[Igor4sugry]

Make Tables.

Structure them to have columns for vitamins; deficiency; effect

Tables make it very easy to review material and compare things.