Should Anki be organized by Class Exams, or should everything into a deck for Step 1?

[DJay4534533]

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MS1 here, trying to figure out my study schedule. I usually do well with flash cards, and I think Anki will be really helpful for me.

I was watching a video trying to familiarize myself with Anki, and one of the tips he gave is to not make too many decks, and instead of organizing by Exam (which I was planning to do), he suggests organizing by Step 1. The only problem with that is that I'm not sure if all of my class exam content is going to be necessary for Step 1, so I imagine I might potentially memorizing a bunch of unnecessary facts. Also, I know Anki is for longterm retention, but it just REALLY seems like during my MS1 year, it would serve me better to focus on an exam at a time, especially on weeks were I just want to study for that exam and only that exam. Any tips?

 

[famguy225]

This is a matter of personal preference and you may have to try a few things out. I would download a premade Anki step 1 deck (Zanki, Lightyear). Watch the Anking's youtube videos for how to suspend and unsuspend cards. This basically allows you to activate the premade cards that correspond to what you are doing in class.

I then make my own cards based on class material that I don't feel was in the premade decks or that I'm struggling to get. I organize these cards by exam.

When the test is over, I put the unsuspended (activated) premade cards into a Overall Review folder, and do my reviews every day. It's a pain but this is how you keep the stuff relevant for step 1.

I personally haven't been reviewing my old class cards yet but may add them in if my reviews don't get too large.

This is just one idea - check out reddit medical school or reddit Anki medical school for others. Ultimately, it's gonna be whatever you are most comfortable with. I know upperclassmen who had great step scores using just their own cards based on lectures and upperclassmen who didn't use Anki at all. Totally depends on your style.

 

[Chelsea FC]

r/medical school anki should be your new friend

 

[Sterling_Archer]

FWIW, I made my own cards from lecture and didn't use any premade decks. Did fine. Up to personal preference though.

 

[DJay4534533]

FWIW, I made my own cards from lecture and didn't use any premade decks. Did fine. Up to personal preference though.

Did you make a deck for each exam, or did you have a big deck for Step 1 review?

 

[Sterling_Archer]

Did you make a deck for each exam, or did you have a big deck for Step 1 review?

Pre-clinicals:
-Didn't go to lecture.
-Read lecture power points and made flashcards from them.
-Organized by exam. For example: I would have a GI deck with sub-decks titled exam 1, exam 2, exam 3.
-Kept up with reviews everyday (edit: for the current exam sub-deck only)
-Time consuming but usually >1 SD above average on exams.

Step 1:
-Essentially memorized Firstaid using self-made Anki cards during dedicated. Then did ~2/3rds of Uworld before taking step 1. These cards were on a completely different user than my original lecture cards.
-Cons: Very time consuming. Soul crushing.
-Pros: 250+
-Explanation: I don't like using pre-made cards. I liked making cards out of what I didn't know, not what other people think I may or may not know.
-Would strongly consider using pre-made cards if I did it again though. Or start earlier. Took to long to make the cards.

 

[Terror Billy]

I made decks and sometimes tags/subdecks of the primary exam deck. I would make a new deck for each new exam and stop doing the old ones.

I personally would not recommend jumping into Zanki or LY decks until you first feel comfortable with Anki, and more importantly, have a good grasp of your courses. When you start feeling good jump into Zanki.