Study tips anyone?

[chewtoy1984]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all, am currently a Australian psych trainee and was just curious if anyone has any good study tips out there? Am currently reading Kaplan and Saddock plus a bit of neuroanatomy/biochem, but finding am getting bogged down in typing and typing notes - doesn't help that I'm probably a bit OCD (yes we all are) so I feel like I need to have all my notes in one place, even though writing may work better for actual retention.

Anyone have any tips on how to organise their study, esp in a vague field as psych? As an fellow OCD'er maybe you can help me shed some light on what I'm doing wrong!

Al

 

[nitemagi]

Hi all, am currently a Australian psych trainee and was just curious if anyone has any good study tips out there? Am currently reading Kaplan and Saddock plus a bit of neuroanatomy/biochem, but finding am getting bogged down in typing and typing notes - doesn't help that I'm probably a bit OCD (yes we all are) so I feel like I need to have all my notes in one place, even though writing may work better for actual retention.

Anyone have any tips on how to organise their study, esp in a vague field as psych? As an fellow OCD'er maybe you can help me shed some light on what I'm doing wrong!

Al

Chewtoy, what year are you in your training.

I've noticed a couple of things some other trainees use is a binder that's subdivided that they can keep all their tips, shortcuts, and useful bits of info. I myself do regular lit searches and often archive the good pdf's on my computer. After that it all comes down to where you are in your training and what skills you want to work on...

 

[whopper]

K&S is not the best book for study for an exam. It's written in a flowery manner. I'd recommend against using the K&S board prep question book because it's loaded with questions written in a style you'll never see on the actual written board exam.

The pocket edition is more direct and to the point but IMHO the MGH board prep book is superior.

 

[nitemagi]

I'd also maximize other learning resources besides reading.. I'm a big fan of podcasts now. Filtering out that a lot are very biased, there's some excellent free psychiatric podcasts covering a wide range of issues.

Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, is one of my fave's.

Stahl's NEI has them as well, though they're in 20 minute bursts, 5 of which are disclosures over conflict of interest.

MGH, psychcast (NY/Mt. Sinai), and multiple other universities have them as well.

I like to listen during random downtime such as time at the gym or when walking my dog.

 

[chewtoy1984]

K&S is not the best book for study for an exam. It's written in a flowery manner. I'd recommend against using the K&S board prep question book because it's loaded with questions written in a style you'll never see on the actual written board exam.

The pocket edition is more direct and to the point but IMHO the MGH board prep book is superior.

You know i have noticed that it can be a bit hit and miss....is there anything youd recommend as a starter for a starter trainee?

 

[chewtoy1984]

K&S is not the best book for study for an exam. It's written in a flowery manner. I'd recommend against using the K&S board prep question book because it's loaded with questions written in a style you'll never see on the actual written board exam.

The pocket edition is more direct and to the point but IMHO the MGH board prep book is superior.

You know i have noticed that it can be a bit hit and miss....is there anything youd recommend as a starter for a starter trainee?

 

[ELOVL4]

I found these two books very useful during my externship:

1. Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs by Lawrance J. Albers
2. Psychiatry 2010 edition by Rhoda K Hahn

very concise and easy reading.

 

[whopper]

If you're starting psychiatry as a medstudent or resident, Psychiatry On-Call is a good book. If you want to learn psychiatry in a quick but noncomprehensive manner (e.g. a medstudent), Blueprints for Psychiatry or the First Aid for Psychiatry aren't bad, but they're featherweights for residents.

If you're studying to practice, reading on the American Journal of Psychiatry's manuals they insert with the green journal (the nickname for their journal) on occasion is a very good source.

K&S is good for reference or reading for the fun of it, that's pretty much it. IF you're studying for the exam, the pocket book's not enough, the bigger books are too much.

In my opinon, the MGH board review book is the best one all around short of buying one of the set of notes from those companies that provide board prep services such as Beat the Boards or Kaufman.

Mind you my answers are written from a possibly American-centric viewpoint. If your plan is to stay in Australia, the board exams they use there may differ highly vs. in the states.

 

[NJWxMan]

I just received the APA's Psychiatry Essentials. It is about 800 pages of good information. It's basically a Cliff's Notes version of the big APA Psychiatry textbook.