Your Study Routines

[Arkangeloid]

So I was just wondering, what are some of the study routines you used in M1 and M2?

Personally, I like to spend my day watching and then reviewing the lectures. On the weekend, I'll put everything together from that week. Close to the exam, I'll do my final pass over all the material.

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[Frazier]

Read syllabus.
Podcast lectures 2-3X speed.
Make anki cards.
Days leading up to exam, do as many practice Q's as possible.

Nothing unique or novel.

I go day by day...more often than not I'm a day behind and catch up on weekends. But, so far, it works well enough to keep me on the happy side of the curve so w/e.

 

[Smokemont]

I study my notes. Then, when I'm done with that, I do it some more.

 

[ulikedaggers]

Day 1: Read relevant FA, listen to lectures.
Day 2: Read lectures from Day 1, read relevant FA for day 2, listen to day 2 lectures.
Day 3: Read lectures from day 2, read FA for day 3, listen to day 3 lectures.

Do random USMLERx blocks on light lecture days. On days leading up to the test, re-read all lectures paying special attention to minutiae. The expectation is that by this point FA + seeing all lecture notes twice has given me a good understanding of the medium to big picture and all that's left is finding minutiae that might be on the test.

etc.

 

[eefen]

So far, I've actually found going to lectures to be the most helpful and overall the best use of my time. So I usually go to lectures, make Anki cards for said lectures, and review those cards. Throughout the day, I try to review my old cards on my phone, or I'll sit down and knock them out before I start making new ones if I don't get a chance. Usually try to finish around 6-7 pm at the latest (if not much sooner...), and take the weekends off (except for reviewing Anki cards. And test weekends...). So far, so good.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Not pre-clinical anymore, but here's how I used to do it.

Take the first week off besides mandatory small groups/PBLs/etc. to recover from previous weeks
Start to think about doing work for the next week but realize I still have 2 weeks.
3rd week out of a 4 week block, Panic and crank out multiple lectures at >= 2x daily for 7 days, annotating/highlighting printed out PPT slides/notes
4th week - Review notes, watch any behavioral science videos one to two days prior to exam within the block.
Day of exam - If I got sleep the previous night (rare), day-drink and go out. If I didn't get sleep, crash post-exam and go out at night.

Rinse and repeat. Ended up at around average for most classes. Obviously not ideal, but yeah. I'm all about that procrastination.

 

[mcloaf]

Firecracker, watch lectures at 2x, read study guides made by my classmates. I've found this to be a good combination to get good grades with minimal effort on my part as far as producing my own study materials.

 

[SurgeDO]

Notes and lectures on double speed throughout the week. Supplement with FA whenever possible. Watch/read up on corresponding pathoma on the weekends as well as go over all last week's material. I took pathology during first year and have found pathoma to be extremely helpful as a supplementary.

Cram 3-4 days before the exam. Stay up all night the night before the exam. I know it is frowned upon, but I have had huge success staying up studying all night before the exam.

 

[link2swim06]

Not pre-clinical anymore either. I don't advise my study plan to anyone but it can put you around class average or slightly below average if done right.

Figure out when you have a test. Calculate the number of ppts you need to cover. And how many hours for each. Multiple that number by 1.5. Subtract from the start time of the test. Get a bunch of food and caffeine. Go to the library.

Stay up for the 20-30 hours prior to the test studying (so start around 8am the day before a 8am test). You get incredible focus when you know you only have "one shot" or you will fail.

It wasn't a really enjoyable process....but it was nice having most of my week free without anything to do.

 

[Arkangeloid]

Not pre-clinical anymore either. I don't advise my study plan to anyone but it can put you around class average or slightly below average if done right.

Figure out when you have a test. Calculate the number of ppts you need to cover. And how many hours for each. Multiple that number by 1.5. Subtract from the start time of the test. Get a bunch of food and caffeine. Go to the library.

Stay up for the 20-30 hours prior to the test studying (so start around 8am the day before a 8am test). You get incredible focus when you know you only have "one shot" or you will fail.

It wasn't a really enjoyable process....but it was nice having most of my week free without anything to do.

For our exams, we have roughly 20-30 lectures before every exam, so that would mean staying up for 30-45 hours and then taking the exam, I'm not really sure that's possible tbh.

But hey, if it works, it works.

 

[joker2400]

Watch lectures at 2-2.5x.
Watch again at 2x while taking notes
Refer to syllabus or review books as needed.
Practice problems for 2 days before exams
Review notes morning of the test <- works best with insane amounts of caffeine

 

[ulikedaggers]

Watch lectures at 2-2.5x.
Watch again at 2x while taking notes
Refer to syllabus or review books as needed.
Practice problems for 2 days before exams
Review notes morning of the test <- works best with insane amounts of caffeine

Why not just watch the lecture once at 1x speed?

 

[joker2400]

Why not just watch the lecture once at 1x speed?

I like to pick up big concepts first then go back and pick up the smaller details. I also like the repetition. This method does work better for classes like physio than for anatomy or biochem, though

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Watch lecture. Nap. Read notes. Nap. Lunch. Nap. Nap. Nap. Funny internet videos. Open textbook. Nap with head on textbook. Gym. Eat. Bed.

 

[DrMannyDLR2016]

This semester of MS2, we only take systemic pathology and introduction to clinical medicine every day. I stopped attending systemic path lectures because I found that independent learning is most efficient and effective for that class.

Before ICM lecture:
Pathoma for the day's systemic pathology lecture
Read one topic in First Aid

After lecture:
Read the day's systemic pathology lecture, annotate from Big Robbins, write Anki cards
Go over the current ICM lecture- make Anki cards for important facts
Step 1 review/QBank
Go to the gym

Weekends:
Review systemic path/ICM topics from the week

1 week before an exam:
Review Anki cards for the exam
If a systemic pathology exam is coming up, I'll re-watch Pathoma, quickly read the corresponding sections of Goljan Rapid Review, and then I'll do Robbins Review of Pathology questions along with reviewing the material.
I also like to write condensed notes as I review, so that I can refer to them the morning of an exam instead of having to go through all of the notes.

 

[GangaMaster]

Week 1: Tell myself it won't be like last term/exam, I'll study sooner, after watching 10mins of lecture, watch TV.
Week 2: Tell myself I only have 3 weeks left I should get on it, but I'm sure I could do everything in 2 weeks like before so instead I watch TV.
Week 3: Worry that now I have 2 weeks left I need to cover material, but only watch 2 lectures and binge on more TV.
Week 4: Realize the test is Next monday so I have to finish all the material otherwise I will fail and remediate or kicked out of school and worry about my student loans with no residency to pay for them in the future. Watch 4 lectures a day but still watch more TV.
Weekend before exam or 2 days if its on any other day than Monday: Realize how much of an ass I am pump out 10-12 lectures a day and stay up 30 hours before the exam and try to cry but the tears won't come out while covering as many lectures as I can and throwing out lectures here and there and take my losses then take the exam and after the exam can't fall asleep because of adrenaline for 2-3more hours then fall asleep and wait for the grades to be posted and realize that I got a B/B+ or even an A somehow and maniacally laugh while thinking I'm a genius or something.

 

[collegestud2013]

So I was just wondering, what are some of the study routines you used in M1 and M2?

Personally, I like to spend my day watching and then reviewing the lectures. On the weekend, I'll put everything together from that week. Close to the exam, I'll do my final pass over all the material.

Don't go to class (even it's a mandatory lecture), don't bother watching the lectures or reading the textbook, get drunk with EtOH every other night until you alcohol-induced nystagmus, and just cram like crazy the night before an exam by going through the PowerPoints and hope you have good enough of a memory in your hippocampus so you don't barely fail anatomy or just barely pass microbio again. Also, take some Adderall while you're at it to increase those dopamine levels from the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area....

 

[Arkangeloid]

Don't go to class (even it's a mandatory lecture), don't bother watching the lectures or reading the textbook, get drunk with EtOH every other night until you alcohol-induced nystagmus, and just cram like crazy the night before an exam by going through the PowerPoints and hope you have good enough of a memory in your hippocampus so you don't barely fail anatomy or just barely pass microbio again. Also, take some Adderall while you're at it to increase those dopamine levels from the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area....

I was approached by a student from my med school who knows who I am IRL. Are you him?

 

[collegestud2013]

I was approached by a student from my med school who knows who I am IRL. Are you him?

Yep, glad you picked up on the hints.

 

[loltopsy]

I cram like mad. I do well, but my long term retention is bad without review. I generally have lots of days off between exams/quizzes.

For quizzes, depending on how much material it covers, I'll cram for 1-2 days. I read all the lecture notes while writing down anything that I didn't already know or think that I couldn't remember easily. I usually have half a page of notes for each lecture hour, but it varies by topic. I keep a separate page for any equations or if it's physio for GI/renal, then a page of nothing but transporters in every part of the system. That's the most time consuming part, but I can usually get through a lecture in 45-60 min depending on how 'in the zone' I am. For exams, it varies by class. I can do microanatomy exams in 1.5 days, nutrition exams in a day, biochem exams in 2 days, etc. If I feel like I need to bring up grades in a class, I'll give it one more day than I normally would.

Then I watch lectures at 2.0 speed, which forces me to pay attention nearly 100%. Anything slower makes me zone out. I also do all practice problems posted. Anything I get wrong, I write that down too. I make sure I understand everything in the lectures and wrong practice problems.

I sometimes make up my own mnemonic for charts I need to memorize (ie tables of diseases). I avoid them at all costs since I know my long term with that will be awful, but I do sometimes rely on them.

The morning of the exam, I reread all my notes starting with my missed question notes. This usually takes 30 minutes (I do it on the bus ride to school and right before the exam starts).

Gross anatomy is an exception. It's nearly 100% memorization, so I actually binge it for 4-5 days for exams. Literally all day anatomy. I go through all lectures, practice problems, as well as a 3d atlas, and Acland's Anatomy at 2.5 speed. Then I spend at least 5 hours in anatomy lab digging through every body I can with a friend. We teach each other and make sure we aren't making mistakes.

I also make sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

 

[bulldogmed]

Small disclaimer before I begin, I make below average grades, though I feel like I have a good big picture idea of everything. My grades on shelf exams/mini-boards is usually above average for what ever that's worth.

I also make sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

I absolutely recommend this. Anyone that suggests all nighters before exams, IMO, has a short-sighted view of your first two years of med school.

I go to class every day and review that days ppts when I get home. I try to read the recommended textbooks and corresponding review articles that my school links too. We're systems based and they've dropped out a good bit of material that traditional curricula might have had. I try to review everything from that week on the weekend. Before an exam (every 2-3 weeks) I go back through everything. Sometimes I'm average grades and sometimes below average. I attribute that to the fact that I don't have a photographic memory like some of my classmates.

My view is that the first two years of med school are about learning the basic sciences of medicine. The dedicated study time is about doing well on boards. If you only focus on Step 1 during M1&M2, you are selling yourself short in your medical education.

 

[Porfirio]

My view is that the first two years of med school are about learning the basic sciences of medicine. The dedicated study time is about doing well on boards. If you only focus on Step 1 during M1&M2, you are selling yourself short in your medical education.

Haha, I needed a good laugh as I sit here and study Renal for Step 1 - thanks.

 

[bulldogmed]

Haha, I needed a good laugh as I sit here and study Renal for Step 1 - thanks.

Seriously, med school is really expensive and time intensive. Do you really want to look back on your time as an M1/M2 and say that you only studied for step 1? I'd much rather say that I learned the basic sciences well, and have a good understanding of how the body works. Now I'm not saying to get bogged down in the phd level details of classes, but there is more to medicine than Step 1, and if you learn things well during your first two years, 5 weeks is all you need to do well for the boards.

 

[Porfirio]

Seriously, med school is really expensive and time intensive. Do you really want to look back on your time as an M1/M2 and say that you only studied for step 1? I'd much rather say that I learned the basic sciences well, and have a good understanding of how the body works. Now I'm not saying to get bogged down in the phd level details of classes, but there is more to medicine than Step 1, and if you learn things well during your first two years, 5 weeks is all you need to do well for the boards.

I have found M1/M2 to be nothing but jumping through a series of hula-hoops in practice for the final day of jumping through a flaming hula-hoop (Step 1).

At this point for me, it is hard to pull apart the "learning the basic sciences well, and having a good understanding of how the body works" from the Step 1 Studying.

I think when you get to Step 1, you will push all that "learning the basic sciences well, and having a good understanding of how the body works" out of your brain and shove little details sprinkled with esoteric associations in its place.

 

[bulldogmed]

I have found M1/M2 to be nothing but jumping through a series of hula-hoops in practice for the final day of jumping through a flaming hula-hoop (Step 1).

At this point for me, it is hard to pull apart the "learning the basic sciences well, and having a good understanding of how the body works" from the Step 1 Studying.

I think when you get to Step 1, you will push all that "learning the basic sciences well, and having a good understanding of how the body works" out of your brain and shove little details sprinkled with esoteric associations in its place.

I'm sorry you've found that your school is not more than jumping through hoops. When I get to Step 1 (I'm an M2, so this May/June), yes, I will push the basic sciences to the back and focus on the step 1 esoteric associations. But what do you do after Step 1? You still have two more years of school.

All I'm saying is that you don't go to Step 1 school (to the consternation of some on SDN). You go to medical school. The fact that you have to pass your board exams is just a part of the process, not an end in and of itself. I understand that the boards are extremely important for your residency applications and the match. I also understand that medicine involves real people, not multiple choice questions, which is why I focus on learning the material well during school and (will) focus on the boards during dedicated study time.