slow readers?

[nev]

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Can slow readers go to med school and perform well?
Thanks
Nev

 

[Long Dong]

Sure you can I'm a slow reader. I read about 10 pages of a book in about half an hour. I didn't even finish my last passage on the verbal section. You just have to read smarter (use review books or class notes instead of reading the big text books).

 

[funshine]

Everyone's pretty slow when reading technical literature...this includes most medical textbooks 🙂

I'm worried about how my very limited capacity for memorization will affect me in med school. I can understand concepts easily, but they seem to just come and go. This does not bode well for me!

 

[samenewme]

Everyone's pretty slow when reading technical literature...this includes most medical textbooks 🙂

I'm worried about how my very limited capacity for memorization will affect me in med school. I can understand concepts easily, but they seem to just come and go. This does not bode well for me!

Maybe you can work on it. There are lots of books on memory technique. Oddly, Joyce Brothers wrote a very good one in the 1950's after the big quiz show win that made her famous. It was reprinted in the 80's and you should be able to pick it up at the public library or cheaply at Amazon. There are tricks for creating mnemonics and techniques of repetition and spacing that may help you out.

 

[nev]

wow...I'm not alone.

 

[tigress]

My husband is a slow reader and he's a second year in med school. It just means you have to be more organized about your studying, and find a way to study that fits your learning style. I read much more quickly than my husband, but I don't remember things as easily. After he reads a page of notes, he knows the info. I have to write and rewrite things on my own, with lots of repetition, to learn. So I think we probably all have our learning peculiarities. As long as you are dedicated to spending the time you need to learn the material, you'll get through fine.

 

[63768]

the more you read, the faster you read.

 

[tigress]

the more you read, the faster you read.

I don't think that's entirely true. My husband is very well-read; before med school he read for hours every day for pleasure, and now he reads all the time studying. He still reads at a snail's pace. I really think it's just inborn. I'm sure many people can increase their reading speed, but to a certain degree it's just what you have. I was reading more quickly than my mother when I was 8 (and my mother doesn't read slowly). Sure, it's a nice talent to have, but it doesn't make it intrinsically easier for me to do better in school (because, like I said, I need a lot of repetition to remember things). On the other hand, I can read 7 or more books a week during vacation, whereas my husband might finish 1 if he's lucky. Put us in the same class, and I would have to spend at least twice the amount of time studying as he does just to get the same grade.

 

[lyn2006]

I agree with you, tigress. My sister and I have always read a lot, and I've always read a lot faster than her. While I think you can improve your reading speed a little bit by reading more, a lot of it is just what you're born with.