Medical When should I start using Anki and which deck(s) should I start with? (Incoming MS1)

[tunaktunak]

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I will be starting medical school in August 2021, and I want to do whatever I can to start medical school on a good note. Ideally, when should I start using Anki? Should I make cards from my lectures or should I use pre-made decks from the start? If the latter, are there any recommended decks for MS1's?

 

[RapidEyeMovementLearning]

Depends how your classes are setup. If your professors test minutiae then you may have to create some of your own cards. I had to do this for immunology because my professor made sure we couldn't use FA or other board prep resources for his class. The best thing to do is probably only use pre-made decks then fill in the gaps with your class content by making a few of your own cards, then suspending your own cards after each block but keeping the pre-made cards in rotation. It just takes way too much time to only create your own cards and it's hard to actually create good cards. Anking deck is probably what most would recommend. The FA annotations and other resources it includes in the "extra" fields makes it a priceless study resource. I ignored all lecture material completely after Fall of M1 and was able to stay ahead of the curve with only Anking cards.

I would try to get proficient at searching large decks before M1. Clickable tags and hierarchal tags addon are essential for this.

 

[Elite Medical Prep]

Hey! Check out the Anki and Study tips stickied thread. It's got some great tips.

Also, Anki Palace (formerly MedSchoolAnki) is a great starting place.

I always recommend that Anki newbies refrain from reinventing the wheel and stick with the pre-made decks. AnKing is the most comprehensive right now as far as I know.

Check out resources on making your own cards. Don't spend too much time on this unless your clerkship curriculum is truly lecture-heavy. My school said the lectures would be the primary source for exams, but once I stopped going to lecture and just studied Anki, my scores drastically increased, so be sure they are actually "lecture-heavy" before you commit to making all your cards only from lecture.

Happy to help answer any other questions you have!

- Eric, Elite Medical Prep Tutor

 

[Cheezin]

I will be starting medical school in August 2021, and I want to do whatever I can to start medical school on a good note. Ideally, when should I start using Anki? Should I make cards from my lectures or should I use pre-made decks from the start? If the latter, are there any recommended decks for MS1's?

Hey I'm also an incoming M1 and I am just trying to familiarize myself with anki and anatomy (last class I took for it was hs) with the Anatoking deck and suspending all the advanced cards and only doing intro ones (first 90 or so)

 

[djiboutiman]

I think it’s personal preference whether you decide to use a premade deck vs using your own deck. I’d start with using a pre-made deck and filling in the gaps with your own cards. That will probably give you the most bang for your buck with time. In addition to the links from above posters, The Reddit medicalschoolanki page, is a good place to find pre-made decks. If you discover the premade decks don’t work for you, then you can try making your own decks from scratch. It will take you a lot longer, but making your own cards will probably help you learn the material better.

 

[Musclem4n]

I am also starting matriculating in August 2021. I heard Anking (as mentioned earlier) is a great source during the year.

I do want to get familiar with anatomy source. Maybe something to just get a good overview before classes start.

Any recommendations? (Sketchy, HUD med etc) Has anyone studied before M1?

 

[Cheezin]

I am also starting matriculating in August 2021. I heard Anking (as mentioned earlier) is a great source during the year.

Is AnKing too much with p/f step 1?

I just wanted to get some opinions, I am an incoming M1 student at a research-heavy program and am currently exploring all of the popular pre-made anki decks in preparation for beginning medical school. From what I have read online, AnKing is pretty much the most comprehensive deck available...

forums.studentdoctor.net

this thread discusses adjustments to anking usage due to step 1 being PF

 

[mikeLG]

I am also starting matriculating in August 2021. I heard Anking (as mentioned earlier) is a great source during the year.

I do want to get familiar with anatomy source. Maybe something to just get a good overview before classes start.

Any recommendations? (Sketchy, HUD med etc) Has anyone studied before M1?

Congrats on getting accepted! Anking is a great resource, my only regret was not starting it earlier. I was able to finish the deck in about 5 months but I was flying through it. I did well on Step 1 but it really took a toll on me studying at that pace.

As for studying before M1, I personally wouldn't recommend it. Given the crazy amount of information you are going to learn that first year, it is unlikely you will make a meaningful dent in the material (or retain it for that matter). You are going to do more than enough work during medical school, I'd enjoy your last few months of no responsibilities.

However, and this is something I'd recommend taking to heart early on in your tenure as a med student, everyone studies differently and you should never compare yourself to your peers (seems easy but is incredibly hard). That is to say, take everything I wrote with a grain of salt. Do you and know that you got in for a reason.

Best wishes and feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.

 

[Billiam95]

I am also starting matriculating in August 2021. I heard Anking (as mentioned earlier) is a great source during the year.

I do want to get familiar with anatomy source. Maybe something to just get a good overview before classes start.

Any recommendations? (Sketchy, HUD med etc) Has anyone studied before M1?

As above, probably wouldn't recommend pre-studying. If you still really want to study over the summer, I'd recommend watching Boards and Beyond, then completing the accompanying AnKing tags.
Be aware - some schools do pay for BnB, so it may be a waste of $.

 

[Elite Medical Prep]

I am also starting matriculating in August 2021. I heard Anking (as mentioned earlier) is a great source during the year.

I do want to get familiar with anatomy source. Maybe something to just get a good overview before classes start.

Any recommendations? (Sketchy, HUD med etc) Has anyone studied before M1?

To echo the other posters, don't worry about pre-studying. Trust me. I know some people who tried to do it and a) it didn't help them at all (if anything it hurt them) and b) enjoy your time off before you start school. It's about to get really intense! GL