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A significant number of people already know about these techniques, but I believe this will be helpful for those that don't yet know. Aside from adding pictures, I believe that modifying cards by adding things to make the answer more memorable will really help with accuracy and long term retention.
I found that even if I've seen certain cards 6+ times, I will still get it wrong. This is the nature of using premade decks. The cards are lacking that personal touch that creating a card will do, making them significantly less memorable. One can partially overcome this by using a few techniques.
1. Adding numbers where they don't belong
Ex: B1 deficiency in Wernicke-Korsakoff
Wern1cke-Korsakoff
I will never forget this...like ever, lol.
2. Changing colors of letters/numbers. This goes hand in hand with 1. The 1 in Wern1cke-Korsakoff is red on my card.
3. Abbreviating easily forgettable drug names
Ex: Mebendazole
Abbreviation: MBNDZL
4. Making an acronym of multiple words
Ex: Median cubital nerve
Acronym: MCN
I have a field day with this in anatomy, especially hand, but I've found that it even works for biochem. Like I always always forget that biotin is a cofactor for a certain enzyme involved in fatty acid synthesis. It's acetyl-CoA carboxylase. It simply becomes ACC.
5. Simple mnemonics
Ex: Diphyllobothrium latum
Mnemonic: I'll die for the both of them later
6. A combination of two or more of these techniques.
For the previous example, I would use that mnemonic and add DL to the extra section.
You can use these techniques either on the card itself, in the extra section, or both, depending on how easy/hard you want to make it.
I have to say that doing these things will slow you down to an extent, but it will save you time in the immediate and long term future because you will not be reviewing the same flunked cards over and over again.
I found that even if I've seen certain cards 6+ times, I will still get it wrong. This is the nature of using premade decks. The cards are lacking that personal touch that creating a card will do, making them significantly less memorable. One can partially overcome this by using a few techniques.
1. Adding numbers where they don't belong
Ex: B1 deficiency in Wernicke-Korsakoff
Wern1cke-Korsakoff
I will never forget this...like ever, lol.
2. Changing colors of letters/numbers. This goes hand in hand with 1. The 1 in Wern1cke-Korsakoff is red on my card.
3. Abbreviating easily forgettable drug names
Ex: Mebendazole
Abbreviation: MBNDZL
4. Making an acronym of multiple words
Ex: Median cubital nerve
Acronym: MCN
I have a field day with this in anatomy, especially hand, but I've found that it even works for biochem. Like I always always forget that biotin is a cofactor for a certain enzyme involved in fatty acid synthesis. It's acetyl-CoA carboxylase. It simply becomes ACC.
5. Simple mnemonics
Ex: Diphyllobothrium latum
Mnemonic: I'll die for the both of them later
6. A combination of two or more of these techniques.
For the previous example, I would use that mnemonic and add DL to the extra section.
You can use these techniques either on the card itself, in the extra section, or both, depending on how easy/hard you want to make it.
I have to say that doing these things will slow you down to an extent, but it will save you time in the immediate and long term future because you will not be reviewing the same flunked cards over and over again.
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