My study pace is so slow

[taeyeonlover]

Current M1 here. I’m currently studying biochem right now and yesterday, it took me literally all day to absorb a 25 slides lecture and answer some review questions at the end of the lecture. I understand the concepts but to make the information actually stick, it takes me too long. I don’t check my phone or anything while studying. I wish I could make anki cards but it’s too time consuming. We had a quiz couple weeks ago on different material and I didn’t do to well.

Another problem I have noticed is that compared to my undergrad days, I am not as driven for some reason. I used to study like a madman and get As in everything when I was in undergrad and for some reason, now, I seem so much calmer than before. It’s been 6 years since I completed my undergrad. I didn’t take any classes during that 6 year gap

How should I overcome this? I’m just really scared that I won’t do well in the current module and beyond. I heard that anatomy, which is the next module that starts in couple months, is a lot harder at least at our school so I’m really worried.

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[Cornfed101]

You need to get better at Anki. If I watch a lecture at 2x speed I can finish the lecture and make (or unsuspend) relevant Anki cards in the total time of the lecture at 1x speed. You will be destroyed if you don’t become more efficient. Not everything is high yield.

 

[taeyeonlover]

You need to get better at Anki. If I watch a lecture at 2x speed I can finish the lecture and make (or unsuspend) relevant Anki cards in the total time of the lecture at 1x speed. You will be destroyed if you don’t become more efficient. Not everything is high yield.

It takes me that long to study things that are high yield. My professor actually tells us what will be tested while explaining each slide. So it’s really depressing.

 

[bioarchaeologist]

I've tried a million study strategies as an M1 and finally figured out how to cut my time so much after a lot of trial and error. I went from 12 hours a day to barely 5 a day now. Now I can use that extra time to do research, practice questions for boards or just watch Netflix/random things to entertain myself during quarantine.

first pass: boards stuff (B&B, pathoma and sketchy)

retention: zanki. Finish all the new cards a week before the test so you get a week of just reviews.

lecture specific: watch lectures at 2x as they get posted, then either make my own cards ONLY on stuff not on Zanki, or use a classmate's cards that were kindly shared with the class. I cram these after Zanki about a week before the test.

Took my last exam and scored a 92%

 

[Ho0v-man]

Don’t sit there trying to memorize every little fact on first pass. Go through it in about an hour on the first pass which includes lecture time. Then the next day see what you can recall. And read over it again. Then get nitty gritty and deep on a third pass. Short interval repetition is the name of the game now.

 

[Cornfed101]

It takes me that long to study things that are high yield. My professor actually tells us what will be tested while explaining each slide. So it’s really depressing.

thats what makes Anki or any spaced repetition ideal. The first pass I’m literally just making cards (or mostly unsuspending Zanki), you learn the material as you see it multiple times.

 

[DadIsFat]

I have no advice but just wanted to say that I understand OP. I’m M1 as well and this is how I feel. We’ll figure it out!

 

[futurebostondoc227]

Not sure if this is necessarily a problem for you OP, but if you’re watching lectures at faster than pace, make sure you’re not pausing too often as this defeats the purpose. I agree with the above that a first pass with boards material is really helpful because then you know what high yields to listen for as your professor is lecturing too

 

[jurassicpark]

Current M1 here. I’m currently studying biochem right now and yesterday, it took me literally all day to absorb a 25 slides lecture and answer some review questions at the end of the lecture. I understand the concepts but to make the information actually stick, it takes me too long. I don’t check my phone or anything while studying. I wish I could make anki cards but it’s too time consuming. We had a quiz couple weeks ago on different material and I didn’t do to well.

Another problem I have noticed is that compared to my undergrad days, I am not as driven for some reason. I used to study like a madman and get As in everything when I was in undergrad and for some reason, now, I seem so much calmer than before. It’s been 6 years since I completed my undergrad. I didn’t take any classes during that 6 year gap

How should I overcome this? I’m just really scared that I won’t do well in the current module and beyond. I heard that anatomy, which is the next module that starts in couple months, is a lot harder at least at our school so I’m really worried.

Let me tell you the story of the tortoise and the hare...

Well, first all.. you may just be rusty. Takes a while to get back into the groove of studying. If it's been six years since you had to do hardcore studying you may have to find your stride again.

25 slides in 24/hours is too slow and something else is going on. Unless each slide contains several different versions of the Kreb cycle, you may be over analyzing them. Make sure you understand the root of what they are trying to tell you in each slide, memorize and move on then repeat and repeat. Some diagrams unfortunately are just going to be brute memorization. But if you're trying to read and memorize each word and it's meaning like it's the next Ulysses, then that's probably overkill.

The thing about medical school is there's not much "depth" of what you're studying. You're covering a large breadth of knowledge, but not too deeply. It's a massive amount of data to memorize, and connect but they're not going to expect you to derive some mathematical proof or write out an electrical pathway. The depth will come later.

When you say you didn't do well on your quiz, did you have a chance to go back and figure out WHY you didn't do too well. If you're spending that much time on each slide, is it because you couldn't get through all the required reading, still had problems with memorization, or did you miss what the question was asking? I would find out and try to use that as guide to redirect you energies. If you can study all day, then stamina certainly ain't the problem.

 

[Fidelio17]

So... I had the studying too slow problem as an M1 too. I eventually adapted, and you can too!
I'm going to hazard a guess that not being motivated may stem from not having any time allotted to do non-studying things, but - just a guess.

Biochem is rough - it tends to have a lot of big complicated processes to memorize, & that can feel very daunting.

I'd suggest 2 things: using summary/boards prep type materials (Kaplan videos are really helpful if you have access/can afford it) & aiming for multiple less-intensive passes over one very thorough pass.

I know: you already don't have time - why on earth would you add more to your to-do list with board prep materials? Often they give a much clearer and concise "big picture" view - & they're usually easier to digest (& shorter than a lecture). As mentioned above, I'd actually suggest watching a relevant board prep resource video *before* watching the lecture covering the same topic. You'll get more out of the lecture if you already understand the framework - making it seem less daunting to get the details. Using multiple passes is another good strategy to let you take in a little more each time.

Also, if your professor is telling you that at least 1 thing from every slide "will be tested" - they are lying. That would be 25 questions per exam per lecture, & I'm reasonably confident your school doesn't do that. At my school, each lecture only ends up having 2-3 exam questions.

A good way to figure out what actually is important is going to tutoring, if your school offers it. Ours is done by upperclassman who have already taken the courses and know what's really high yield - & on our exams, you can usually get at least an 80% if you just learn the "high yield" things.

& I'd disagree that watching lectures at a faster speed & then pausing them defeats the purpose - that means you can give yourself more time to think *only* on the things that you need time to think about - which is more efficient.

 

[futurebostondoc227]

So... I had the studying too slow problem as an M1 too. I eventually adapted, and you can too!
I'm going to hazard a guess that not being motivated may stem from not having any time allotted to do non-studying things, but - just a guess.

Biochem is rough - it tends to have a lot of big complicated processes to memorize, & that can feel very daunting.

I'd suggest 2 things: using summary/boards prep type materials (Kaplan videos are really helpful if you have access/can afford it) & aiming for multiple less-intensive passes over one very thorough pass.

I know: you already don't have time - why on earth would you add more to your to-do list with board prep materials? Often they give a much clearer and concise "big picture" view - & they're usually easier to digest (& shorter than a lecture). As mentioned above, I'd actually suggest watching a relevant board prep resource video *before* watching the lecture covering the same topic. You'll get more out of the lecture if you already understand the framework - making it seem less daunting to get the details. Using multiple passes is another good strategy to let you take in a little more each time.

Also, if your professor is telling you that at least 1 thing from every slide "will be tested" - they are lying. That would be 25 questions per exam per lecture, & I'm reasonably confident your school doesn't do that. At my school, each lecture only ends up having 2-3 exam questions.

A good way to figure out what actually is important is going to tutoring, if your school offers it. Ours is done by upperclassman who have already taken the courses and know what's really high yield - & on our exams, you can usually get at least an 80% if you just learn the "high yield" things.

& I'd disagree that watching lectures at a faster speed & then pausing them defeats the purpose - that means you can give yourself more time to think *only* on the things that you need time to think about - which is more efficient.

To clarify, I meant more that pausing to write down details every few seconds defeats the purpose! Definitely pause when you need it!

 

[mwsapphire]

I've tried a million study strategies as an M1 and finally figured out how to cut my time so much after a lot of trial and error. I went from 12 hours a day to barely 5 a day now. Now I can use that extra time to do research, practice questions for boards or just watch Netflix/random things to entertain myself during quarantine.

first pass: boards stuff (B&B, pathoma and sketchy)

retention: zanki. Finish all the new cards a week before the test so you get a week of just reviews.

lecture specific: watch lectures at 2x as they get posted, then either make my own cards ONLY on stuff not on Zanki, or use a classmate's cards that were kindly shared with the class. I cram these after Zanki about a week before the test.

Took my last exam and scored a 92%

We need all those resources just first year? what is zanki?

 

[ciestar]

We need all those resources just first year? what is zanki?

Zanki is the name of an Anki deck that helps with Step 1 (and there is a step 2 deck).

 

[scoopdaboop]

Image occlude slides from lecture to make cards faster. Typing them out is tedious and takes too long. Also depending on curriculum, if you’re m1 a lot of stuff you learn might not be board relevant. So I recommend image occlusion.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

We need all those resources just first year? what is zanki?

I guarantee BnB almost exclusively teaches better than your school, unless you go to dr. Ryan’s school. It teaches to boards, so it’s all the high yield stuff taught better, more succinctly, etc. It will take an hour lecture and do it in 20 mins and then have questions at the end. So you can learn all the high yield stuff with BnB and Zanki or lightyear and then cram the low yield details from your lectures.

 

[WrenchesToMD]

I don't know if someone else has mentioned this yet, but make an appointment with your schools tutoring center ASAP! Nothing against the advice you're getting here as it's good, but a tutor will help you both identify problem areas in your current methods and develop study strategies that are tailored to your learning style.

 

[Osteosaur]

Do anki or find some outside resource to break it down. You're getting lost in the weeds and might be focusing on details that don't matter, and missing what does.

 

[YoungDrummer]

You could try reaching out to an upperclassman to get help or even a tutor at your school. They can all give advice on what worked for them. How to use Anki.

 

[Eye-eye]

So as an m4, another thing to consider could be an organic or psych issue. When I hear that you're having trouble concentrating/feel slow, don't have as much motivation, and perhaps are down on yourself for this, I think of depression, sleep issues, and metabolic issues (in addition to just not having an effective study strategy down yet). If you feel at all depressed, or meet the criteria even if you don't feel what you think of as depressed, get some help! Do some counseling and start an SSRI, or if you want a more stimulating antidepressant, bupropion. Are you sleeping enough? Too much? Good quality sleep? When I got a CPAP, I'll tell you, I went from not able to focus through a lecture to being able to study for 8 hours straight without issue. Do you have any signs or symptoms concerning for a metabolic or endocrine derangement like DM or hypothyroid?

These may not be playing any part, but if they are, they're quick(ish) fixes and something you should probably know about your state of health beyond just for schoolwork.

 

[taeyeonlover]

I've tried a million study strategies as an M1 and finally figured out how to cut my time so much after a lot of trial and error. I went from 12 hours a day to barely 5 a day now. Now I can use that extra time to do research, practice questions for boards or just watch Netflix/random things to entertain myself during quarantine.

first pass: boards stuff (B&B, pathoma and sketchy)

retention: zanki. Finish all the new cards a week before the test so you get a week of just reviews.

lecture specific: watch lectures at 2x as they get posted, then either make my own cards ONLY on stuff not on Zanki, or use a classmate's cards that were kindly shared with the class. I cram these after Zanki about a week before the test.

Took my last exam and scored a 92%

So is going through board materials like zanki and B and B helpful and make studying more efficient? Cause I always thought that focusing on lectures is more important for success in classes since lectures are for classes while board materials are for boards.

 

[Fatalis]

Current M1 here. I’m currently studying biochem right now and yesterday, it took me literally all day to absorb a 25 slides lecture and answer some review questions at the end of the lecture. I understand the concepts but to make the information actually stick, it takes me too long. I don’t check my phone or anything while studying. I wish I could make anki cards but it’s too time consuming. We had a quiz couple weeks ago on different material and I didn’t do to well.

Another problem I have noticed is that compared to my undergrad days, I am not as driven for some reason. I used to study like a madman and get As in everything when I was in undergrad and for some reason, now, I seem so much calmer than before. It’s been 6 years since I completed my undergrad. I didn’t take any classes during that 6 year gap

How should I overcome this? I’m just really scared that I won’t do well in the current module and beyond. I heard that anatomy, which is the next module that starts in couple months, is a lot harder at least at our school so I’m really worried.

Are you talking about active or passive learning here? Are you just re-reading the notes again and again or are you drawing out the pathways, making up silly ways to recall it, asking yourself questions [if this enzyme does not work, how will it affect the pathway] and supplementing questions?
How I did it [at first i was in your shoes and spending too much time and not being efficient] was going over the lecture [M1 going to lecture, M2 1.5 speed], taking notes on the ppt slides they gave us, then consolidating all the slides into a 1-2 sheet of paper as a concept map. For example if it was pathology and we were talking about GERD, I would have red ink for RF at the top left, green ink top right for sx, purple bottom left for tx, etc etc, for each pathology I would mix up the colors and where each detail was on my concept map so I would retain it better.

 

[bioarchaeologist]

So is going through board materials like zanki and B and B helpful? Cause I always thought that focusing on lectures is more important for success in classes since lectures are for classes while board materials are for boards.

IMO, yes. And I say this as someone who studied off the lectures for much of M1. I had the same problem you did. Going through the slides literally took forever and I ended up getting lost in the weeds not retaining much. Needless to say, it burnt me out and I abandoned that strategy in favor of Anki.

Not everything in the slides are important. You have to practice picking out what actually matters out of all the fluff they give you. Board materials will help with this and help you build your framework of knowledge. Treat what you learn there as your baseline. Everything else on the lecture is minutiae that you use to fill the gaps.

 

[teenyfish]

I've tried a million study strategies as an M1 and finally figured out how to cut my time so much after a lot of trial and error. I went from 12 hours a day to barely 5 a day now. Now I can use that extra time to do research, practice questions for boards or just watch Netflix/random things to entertain myself during quarantine.

first pass: boards stuff (B&B, pathoma and sketchy)

retention: zanki. Finish all the new cards a week before the test so you get a week of just reviews.

lecture specific: watch lectures at 2x as they get posted, then either make my own cards ONLY on stuff not on Zanki, or use a classmate's cards that were kindly shared with the class. I cram these after Zanki about a week before the test.

Took my last exam and scored a 92%

This is it right here. I'm an M2 and now that I'm prepping for boards, lectures have become waaaaaay less important. I've done this method for the past month and scored similarly on my first exam. Kicking myself for not doing it sooner in M1 - would have saved me so much time. Also, get used to not knowing or understanding everything the first time through. That's okay - you aren't expected to. It's going to take multiple passes to get things down, and you're only going to bog yourself down by trying to "master" things right away. Do you know how many times I had to see the brachial plexus & make weird arm/hand motions before I really understood it?!? Just keep plugging away and things will fall into place suddenly.

 

[deleted804295]

Current M1 here. I’m currently studying biochem right now and yesterday, it took me literally all day to absorb a 25 slides lecture and answer some review questions at the end of the lecture. I understand the concepts but to make the information actually stick, it takes me too long. I don’t check my phone or anything while studying. I wish I could make anki cards but it’s too time consuming. We had a quiz couple weeks ago on different material and I didn’t do to well.

Another problem I have noticed is that compared to my undergrad days, I am not as driven for some reason. I used to study like a madman and get As in everything when I was in undergrad and for some reason, now, I seem so much calmer than before. It’s been 6 years since I completed my undergrad. I didn’t take any classes during that 6 year gap

How should I overcome this? I’m just really scared that I won’t do well in the current module and beyond. I heard that anatomy, which is the next module that starts in couple months, is a lot harder at least at our school so I’m really worried.

Just ask some upper classmen for ANKI decks.

 

[deleted804295]

It takes me that long to study things that are high yield. My professor actually tells us what will be tested while explaining each slide. So it’s really depressing.

Your pfp is very cute btw v.v

ARMY