MD Will my study method work for medical school? I’m an active learner (I need to test myself to retain info) rather than a passive learner (just reading

[CuriousMDStudent]

Context for this post: I have friends who tell me that they study by just skimming powerpoints in college and that's apparently how you need to study in college. However, I'm a little worried because I'm not that kind of student.

I realized early on in college that I can't learn passively but rather actively. I was a biology major and so in college most if not all of my biology classes were based on these powerpoints the professors would make and about 99% of the exam would be based on these powerpoints.

In college, I would attend every lecture, take notes on any details that weren't mentioned in the powerpoint and then go home and literally go through every slide in these powerpoints and then making anki cards for every slide. The Anki cards would literally test every single fact that was present in the powerpoint. Pretty much if a fact on a powerpoint was: "Helicases separate double-stranded DNA". Then I would make a basic Anki flashcard with the question "What's the function of helicase?". Then the answer would be "Helicases separate double-stranded DNA". (This was just an example to explain how I make flashcards).

After memorizing all of the facts, through this method, I would then read through the powerpoints and integrate it all. And that's how I ended acing all of my biology classes.

My plan for medical school is to just use this method. My friends in medical school say that in their medical schools they just test based on the lecture powerpoints. Is this okay?

I sometimes feel that I'm not smart enough for med school because my friends would gloat that they would study for an exam within a few hours. I'm just not the kind of guy who can read something and memorize. I need it tested to me a couple of times with flashcards to make it stick. During college, I would need anywhere from 3 days to a week to make all the necessary flashcards and memorize all of the powerpoints relevant to an exam.

My question is: Is this okay to do in medical school? I worry if this study method will suffice. If not, I wonder if I need to develop a new one. I based this study method from a medical student I met during my sophomore year who gave me input on how he used Anki to study which helped me.

Tl;dr: I study by making anki flashcards on every fact in a powerpoint and then test myself until I memorize most if not all facts. Then I reread the powerpoint to connect all the concepts I learned. I want to know if this would work in medical school. I worry cuz I can't memorize after skimming powerpoints which some of my friends would claim to do.

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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

If your friends are claiming they’re just skimming the powerpoints and nothing else, and they’re getting As then they’re either lying to you or you are friends with a bunch of geniuses. That **** don’t work in med school.

As for your study method, that’s what anki and qbanks are for. This is the majority of my study time other than watching BnB, pathoma, or sketchy. But there are some amazing premade decks like zanki that will make it so you don’t really need to make a lot of your own cards, if any. Saves you time.

 

[ciestar]

You will not have the time to make cards on every little thing.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

You will not have the time to make cards on every little thing.

Depends on the school. I did it my first module. It was a PITA and I quit doing it because zanki is better and saves me a lot of time, but I was certainly able to do it.

 

[ciestar]

Depends on the school. I did it my first module. It was a PITA and I quit doing it because zanki is better and saves me a lot of time, but I was certainly able to do it.

It wouldnt have been possible at mine.
Either way, i said every little thing. There are things you should know and dont need a card.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

It wouldnt have been possible at mine.
Either way, i said every little thing. There are things you should know and dont need a card.

Yeah I literally made cards for everything on every slide. It was a total waste of time and I’m glad I caved and switched to doing zanki.

 

[CuriousMDStudent]

Thanks @Matthew9Thirtyfive and @ciestar. I’ll note that for the MCAT I never made Anki cards but rather did a ton of practice questions and took notes.

I guess, looking back, I notice I study best by testing myself as that helps things stick. I’ll look for other decks or will try my new tot make my own. If I don’t have enough time, I’ll only make cards on facts I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes.

 

[CuriousMDStudent]

Yeah I literally made cards for everything on every slide. It was a total waste of time and I’m glad I caved and switched to doing zanki.

Do you think Zanki sufficed for lecture exams. I worry about lecture and failing. I’m prob going to a P/F school but I still want to make sure I’m learning the lecture material well as I hear that’ll help with STEP 1. Note I’ve gotten so many different perspectives on how helpful Lecture is for STEP 1 but I’m going to try to learn lecture effectively when I start med school as I think it’d be a good idea to develop a good foundation from lectures.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Do you think Zanki sufficed for lecture exams. I worry about lecture and failing. I’m prob going to a P/F school but I still want to make sure I’m learning the lecture material well as I hear that’ll help with STEP 1. Note I’ve gotten so many different perspectives on how helpful Lecture is for STEP 1 but I’m going to try to learn lecture effectively when I start med school as I think it’d be a good idea to develop a good foundation from lectures.

Personally, I have found that the outside resources cover at least 90% of the lecture material and teach it better most of the time. I use a cadaver deck our school provides for anatomy, and I use pathoma and Robbins for path. We get little formative quizzes that don’t count for anything each week, so I use those to see if there are any topics the profs are going to harp on for the faculty exams and then make sure I glance at those slides before the exam.

 

[ciestar]

Thanks @Matthew9Thirtyfive and @ciestar. I’ll note that for the MCAT I never made Anki cards but rather did a ton of practice questions and took notes.

I guess, looking back, I notice I study best by testing myself as that helps things stick. I’ll look for other decks or will try my new tot make my own. If I don’t have enough time, I’ll only make cards on facts I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes.

I didnt realize the greatness of Zanki until third year. I studied for Step 2 CK using only Zanki and doing UWorld. Practice questions are great and you should be doing them.