Zanki prioritization

[Espressso]

2nd year here. I was a little late to the Zanki game, but have been loving it so far. Question is directed towards those who use the deck.

I think it's pretty unrealistic to be able to get through the entire Zanki deck + Zanki Pharm by May of next year. What I've been doing is prioritizing the pathology decks and just not doing the phys/embryo ones at all. I've been managing 100 new cards a day, and keeping up with the reviews. And doing the path decks that correspond to the organ system we're in with school. Since the path decks are mostly based of Pathoma, I think it's been working well thus far. And I notice that going through the pathoma video, then lectures, then the zanki path deck has been a great method.

My question is for anyone who also feels as if it won't be likely to finish all the zanki decks before boards. How are you prioritizing it? Do any of you have any thoughts on this?

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[Spectreman]

2nd year here. I was a little late to the Zanki game, but have been loving it so far. Question is directed towards those who use the deck.

I think it's pretty unrealistic to be able to get through the entire Zanki deck + Zanki Pharm by May of next year. What I've been doing is prioritizing the pathology decks and just not doing the phys/embryo ones at all. I've been managing 100 new cards a day, and keeping up with the reviews. And doing the path decks that correspond to the organ system we're in with school. Since the path decks are mostly based of Pathoma, I think it's been working well thus far. And I notice that going through the pathoma video, then lectures, then the zanki path deck has been a great method.

My question is for anyone who also feels as if it won't be likely to finish all the zanki decks before boards. How are you prioritizing it? Do any of you have any thoughts on this?

I’m in your same boat only I have already fallen behind. This sounds like a solid plan. Maybe when you have more time during break or something you can ramp it up to 200 cards a day and cover more ground?

Would also love to hear from those who finished the deck, but started M2 year.

 

[Espressso]

I’m in your same boat only I have already fallen behind. This sounds like a solid plan. Maybe when you have more time during break or something you can ramp it up to 200 cards a day and cover more ground?

Would also love to hear from those who finished the deck, but started M2 year.

Yeah, that's my plan. My theory is that to understand and know the path as you go through the pathology decks, you have to have a solid level of understanding for the physiology. Rather than going through the phys/embryo decks and NOT the path, you'd be missing a giant chunk of the testable info. I figure I'll keep using FA for the crucial embryo/phys that I'm iffy on. Also I'm prioritizing the Zanki pharm decks too, because those hit the phys a lot (i.e., Zanki Renal Pharm is all diuretics and that's basically all phys).

 

[tealeafexplorer]

If you’re in a time crunch my man I would focus on the highest yield like every zanki path subdeck, zanki pharmacology, and lolnotacop microbiology.

This skips out on the 10,000 cards of M1 physio.

If you feel like the 5k microbio cards in lolnotacop is too much then you can opt for pepper deck which is about 1k, but not as comprehensive. Same goes for pharm.

Best of luck to you

2nd year here. I was a little late to the Zanki game, but have been loving it so far. Question is directed towards those who use the deck.

I think it's pretty unrealistic to be able to get through the entire Zanki deck + Zanki Pharm by May of next year. What I've been doing is prioritizing the pathology decks and just not doing the phys/embryo ones at all. I've been managing 100 new cards a day, and keeping up with the reviews. And doing the path decks that correspond to the organ system we're in with school. Since the path decks are mostly based of Pathoma, I think it's been working well thus far. And I notice that going through the pathoma video, then lectures, then the zanki path deck has been a great method.

My question is for anyone who also feels as if it won't be likely to finish all the zanki decks before boards. How are you prioritizing it? Do any of you have any thoughts on this?

 

[popopopop]

I know it's frowned upon, but I'm capping reviews for previous blocks. This alone has taken a lot of stress off my day. During the current block, I do all relevant cards and review according to the algorithm. I also make my own cards and I can't avoid that. I think my school's curriculum reflects board materials very well and the the 250+ scorers here at my school didn't use zanki. Their advice have been to prioritize school work and UFAPS + BnB.

With that said, I'm using zanki more as a tool to do well in class and to reinforce FA. My biggest concern is getting through as many questions in rx as I can. If you aren't getting the class grade you want or not understanding concepts, then reevaluate how you're using zanki. I know when I hit 400 or so cards in a day, I get some cognitive overload and I just can't digest any more info.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

400 new a day?!?!?!?

You’re a psycho maniac!!!!

You’re a beast

I know it's frowned upon, but I'm capping reviews for previous blocks. This alone has taken a lot of stress off my day. During the current block, I do all relevant cards and review according to the algorithm. I also make my own cards and I can't avoid that. I think my school's curriculum reflects board materials very well and the the 250+ scorers here at my school didn't use zanki. Their advice have been to prioritize school work and UFAPS + BnB.

With that said, I'm using zanki more as a tool to do well in class and to reinforce FA. My biggest concern is getting through as many questions in rx as I can. If you aren't getting the class grade you want or not understanding concepts, then reevaluate how you're using zanki. I know when I hit 400 or so cards in a day, I get some cognitive overload and I just can't digest any more info.

 

[popopopop]

400 new a day?!?!?!?

You’re a psycho maniac!!!!

You’re a beast

You're thinking about new cards aren't you haha. I thought about clarifying, but surely no one would think I unlock 400 in a day. I meant combine new cards and reviews! My goal is get to review mode ASAP during the block so I can just follow the algorithm.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

You're thinking about new cards aren't you haha. I thought about clarifying, but surely no one would think I unlock 400 in a day. I meant combine new cards and reviews! My goal is get to review mode ASAP during the block so I can just follow the algorithm.

I figured, but i wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and call you names like Psycho Maniac just cause

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

I'm in the same boat OP.

I plan on keeping up with Zanki Path + Pharm through the year.

I've been doing 20 new cads/day & keeping up with reviews for Pepper micro too. I've been told since day 1 that "bugs & drugs" are key to boards.

Sometimes I'll add 20 cards from a few other different decks if I have some extra time or my brain is bored of 1 subject & I need something new to think about (works surprisingly well.) & I love immunology so if I'm in bed or driving (stopped at a stop light of course... heh) I'll do 20 or so from there or another deck I like. Anytime I do cards from decks I make sure to read the associated FA section & annotate it as well.

We got this OP. I completely agree, I think in order to understand the pathology/pharmacology you have to understand the embryo/physiology/anatomy. Review as necessary (a quick read from FA or B&B vid), but focus on the path/pharm.

 

[Spectreman]

I'm in the same boat OP.

I plan on keeping up with Zanki Path + Pharm through the year.

I've been doing 20 new micro cads/day & keeping up with review for Pepper micro too. I've been told since day 1 that "bugs & drugs" are key to boards.

Sometimes I'll add 20 cards from a few other different decks if I have some extra time or my brain is bored of 1 subject & I need something new to think about (works surprisingly well.) & I love immunology so if I'm in bed or driving (stopped at a stop light of course... heh) I'll do 20 or so from there or another deck I like. Anytime I do cards from decks I make sure to read the associated FA section & annotate it as well.

We got this OP. I completely agree, I think in order to understand the pathology/pharmacology you have to understand the embryo/physiology/anatomy. Review as necessary (a quick read from FA or B&B vid), but focus on the path/pharm.

^^^I like this one

 

[Ho0v-man]

Been in it since second semester. Been keeping up inmy blocks and this semester adding more on the side. Between new cards and reviews, it’s not uncommon to hit 1500/day.

Life is pain.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Between new cards and reviews, it’s not uncommon to hit 1500/day.

Yeah me too. Although the nice thing is once you really get in the swing of things it seems to get into a homeostasis where the number I do everyday is consistently the same.

 

[libertyyne]

Yeah me too. Although the nice thing is once you really get in the swing of things it seems to get into a homeostasis where the number I do everyday is consistently the same.

i have consistency issues, some days i straight up take a break. On others i can hit 2500. Its a mixed bag, I have however done 62K reviews in the past 3 months. that is with taking 25% of the days off.

 

[Spectreman]

i have consistency issues, some days i straight up take a break. On others i can hit 2500. Its a mixed bag, I have however done 62K reviews in the past 3 months. that is with taking 25% of the days off.

Yeah I basically fell off the bandwagon at this point. Got way behind in class after our midterms for this block and so i’ve been stuck playing catch up there and not doing Zanki. I wish i had a phone with enough storage to do cards that way, but anyway. I hope I can get back into it soon.

 

[libertyyne]

Yeah I basically fell off the bandwagon at this point. Got way behind in class after our midterms for this block and so i’ve been stuck playing catch up there and not doing Zanki. I wish i had a phone with enough storage to do cards that way, but anyway. I hope I can get back into it soon.

you could always do it online in the html version. If you phone takes memory cards pick up a cheap SD card.

 

[Scrubs101]

Been in it since second semester. Been keeping up inmy blocks and this semester adding more on the side. Between new cards and reviews, it’s not uncommon to hit 1500/day.

Life is pain.

lol same! My average for the past month is about 1k reviews/day, based on my calculations I have to do 150news everyday until dedicated to finish (with a few days of buffer if i take a holiday or two off). So these reviews just keep climbing and climbing, hoping they level off eventually

Takes up such a large chunk of my day it's getting impossible to fit in qbank questions too let alone any sketchy/FA/B&B

 

[Ho0v-man]

Glad to hear its not just me. This is crazy. Feels like it been the weekend before the test for like 2 months bc I’ve lost so much time to reviews.

 

[iforget2]

Been in it since second semester. Been keeping up inmy blocks and this semester adding more on the side. Between new cards and reviews, it’s not uncommon to hit 1500/day.

Life is pain.

i have consistency issues, some days i straight up take a break. On others i can hit 2500. Its a mixed bag, I have however done 62K reviews in the past 3 months. that is with taking 25% of the days off.

I normally do about 350 reviews and 45 new a day. Got a little behind and ended up needing to do 550 reviews which felt absolutely endless. Props to you guys for being able to do 1500+. I know I'd cry

 

[Espressso]

I took a whole weekend off a couple weeks ago after a block ended for us and I traveled home. When I cam back I was looking at around 1k reviews for Zanki alone, not including the sketchy decks I work on. I decided to just dedicate one day only for catching up on reviews and that worked well. I was able to just get through all the reviews to get "caught up" and then I was back on schedule again. Although, that was miserable and it's made me realize I never want to take a zanki break again. lol. So my plan since then has been to always wake up, gym/ then just do all my reviews. Then work on practice questions, then class work, and then at the end of the day, do my 75-100 new cards. It requires me to change my settings to set the new card limit to 0 so I can just do the reviews. This has been working great since the weekend hiatus I had. Some days I don't do any new cards though, depending on my course work load. I prioritize the reviews in the AM, followed by practice questions. With FA annotation during the two. For me, this is the only way to do it.

 

[Spectreman]

you could always do it online in the html version. If you phone takes memory cards pick up a cheap SD card.

I have an old 16gb iPhone, but I figured out how to do multiple profiles and pushed Zanki to its own thing on my phone! Already catching up! Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Spectreman]

I took a whole weekend off a couple weeks ago after a block ended for us and I traveled home. When I cam back I was looking at around 1k reviews for Zanki alone, not including the sketchy decks I work on. I decided to just dedicate one day only for catching up on reviews and that worked well. I was able to just get through all the reviews to get "caught up" and then I was back on schedule again. Although, that was miserable and it's made me realize I never want to take a zanki break again. lol. So my plan since then has been to always wake up, gym/ then just do all my reviews. Then work on practice questions, then class work, and then at the end of the day, do my 75-100 new cards. It requires me to change my settings to set the new card limit to 0 so I can just do the reviews. This has been working great since the weekend hiatus I had. Some days I don't do any new cards though, depending on my course work load. I prioritize the reviews in the AM, followed by practice questions. With FA annotation during the two. For me, this is the only way to do it.

Smart

 

[EMG123]

I started Zanki at the beginning of second year and there's no way I'm going to be able to finish by dedicated. My plan is to keep unlocking our current systems and keep up with the reviews from those, and not focus so much on Zanki for MSI systems. This way when I get to dedicated I'll (hopefully) still have a pretty good grasp on info from MSII and I'll know that I have to put the most energy into the MSI systems (MSK, etc.).

 

[statlin98]

As a complete Zanki novice, can someone explain to me how I should begin to use it? I'm an MS-1, finishing first semester up in a few weeks. Haven't started systems yet. How do I go about using it alongside class work? It seems insanely time consuming to parse through thousands of Zanki cards to figure out what's relevant to what I'm learning in class. Maybe there's an efficient way to accomplish this that I'm missing because I'm not great at using the software yet.

 

[Espressso]

As a complete Zanki novice, can someone explain to me how I should begin to use it? I'm an MS-1, finishing first semester up in a few weeks. Haven't started systems yet. How do I go about using it alongside class work? It seems insanely time consuming to parse through thousands of Zanki cards to figure out what's relevant to what I'm learning in class. Maybe there's an efficient way to accomplish this that I'm missing because I'm not great at using the software yet.

If your school is organ/system-based, I would work on the decks for the organ system you're in. For first year, do the Physiology decks. For example, if you're in Respiratory course... work on the respiratory physiology subdeck. Pick a number of new cards you want to complete every day (50 is a solid amount to start with, 100/day when you start getting the hang of it), and do the cards each day. And keep up with the reviews from previous days. Come second year, start the path decks and you'll get the majority of them all done before step.

 

[Espressso]

I typically set aside 2-3 hours a day to just do my anki cards (reviews in the AM before class, new cards in the evening after coursework). But that seems to be person-dependent. It's really up to how you'd like to fit it in your day.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

If your school is organ/system-based, I would work on the decks for the organ system you're in. For first year, do the Physiology decks. For example, if you're in Respiratory course... work on the respiratory physiology subdeck. Pick a number of new cards you want to complete every day (50 is a solid amount to start with, 100/day when you start getting the hang of it), and do the cards each day. And keep up with the reviews from previous days. Come second year, start the path decks and you'll get the majority of them all done before step.

This is what I do. Always start my day with my reviews, then if I still have time until the lectures post (I don't go to class) I'll do my new cards, if not I do them at the middle or end of the day, whenever I feel like I want a change in what I'm doing. Working through the physio decks for the corresponding system that we're in.

 

[futuredoctor1995]

This is what I do. Always start my day with my reviews, then if I still have time until the lectures post (I don't go to class) I'll do my new cards, if not I do them at the middle or end of the day, whenever I feel like I want a change in what I'm doing. Working through the physio decks for the corresponding system that we're in.

For once, our school aligns with the Zanki cards!

 

[fldoctorgirl]

For once, our school aligns with the Zanki cards!

The physio cards line up pretty well, it's just that doing Zanki isn't enough to do super well on exams during M1 for us (in my opinion). Our professors like to throw in a lot of minute details.

 

[Espressso]

The physio cards line up pretty well, it's just that doing Zanki isn't enough to do super well on exams during M1 for us (in my opinion). Our professors like to throw in a lot of minute details.

99% of schools are like this, you're not alone!

 

[futuredoctor1995]

The physio cards line up pretty well, it's just that doing Zanki isn't enough to do super well on exams during M1 for us (in my opinion). Our professors like to throw in a lot of minute details.

I agree. I think the EKGs are the only thing that is different that I have noticed but the other cards all go with the class. Correct me if im wrong!

 

[fldoctorgirl]

I agree. I think the EKGs are the only thing that is different that I have noticed but the other cards all go with the class. Correct me if im wrong!

I agree, they definitely go along really well! I just don't feel comfortable 100% using them to study. For example, we got a lot more info about autonomics that wasn't in Zanki. That's why I use Zanki + my own cards.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

For example, we got a lot more info about autonomics that wasn't in Zanki.

It's there, but it isn't something you can search for. There is a lot of autonomics in the Zanki neuro deck.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

It's there, but it isn't something you can search for. There is a lot of autonomics in the Zanki neuro deck.

Oh I bet, I just don't have time to sort through all of the cards. So I just Zanki whatever deck corresponds with the unit we're in and supplement with my own stuff.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Oh I bet, I just don't have time to sort through all of the cards. So I just Zanki whatever deck corresponds with the unit we're in and supplement with my own stuff.

Oh absolutely. My point is don't worry about stuff like that for boards because it is in fact in there somewhere, just buried.

 

[futuredoctor1995]

I agree, they definitely go along really well! I just don't feel comfortable 100% using them to study. For example, we got a lot more info about autonomics that wasn't in Zanki. That's why I use Zanki + my own cards.

Ok! I just wanted to be on the same page and not do the wrong thing. I usually do Anki and then read the lectures just in case I miss something but I think autonomics and the EKG are the only different things I would say!

 

[studentdr12]

Hey guys, in terms of keeping up, how may reviews do you peeps do for previous blocks? I’ve got like 600 reviews between immunology and respiratory that I need to do. Would going through around a 100 old reviews a day for these be a good plan?

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Hey guys, in terms of keeping up, how may reviews do you peeps do for previous blocks? I’ve got like 600 reviews between immunology and respiratory that I need to do. Would going through around a 100 old reviews a day for these be a good plan?

The whole point of anki is to do ALL your reviews EVERY day. The cards will keep coming back and you keep doing them. If I were you I would knock out all 600 of those review in 1-2 days because you best believe more reviews will be coming.

 

[Espressso]

Hey guys, in terms of keeping up, how may reviews do you peeps do for previous blocks? I’ve got like 600 reviews between immunology and respiratory that I need to do. Would going through around a 100 old reviews a day for these be a good plan?

The whole point of anki is to do ALL your reviews EVERY day. The cards will keep coming back and you keep doing them. If I were you I would knock out all 600 of those review in 1-2 days because you best believe more reviews will be coming.

Yeah the reviews will only grow. You don't want that. Anki's spaced repetition only works if you're doing it every day.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Hey guys, in terms of keeping up, how may reviews do you peeps do for previous blocks? I’ve got like 600 reviews between immunology and respiratory that I need to do. Would going through around a 100 old reviews a day for these be a good plan?

Start your day (or end it depending on when you get up) by doing all of your reviews. Even if you don't make it to doing your new cards for the day, having your review cards done is more important.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

You're thinking about new cards aren't you haha. I thought about clarifying, but surely no one would think I unlock 400 in a day. I meant combine new cards and reviews! My goal is get to review mode ASAP during the block so I can just follow the algorithm.

Lol I do the same thing. Its amazing how doing 25 30 new cards a day can quickly pile up into 400 reviews.

 

[medicineman1234]

Any of you guys reviews pile up? I don't know if my intervals are bad but I constantly have like 800+ per day and I only am like 14000 cards in.

 

[Espressso]

Any of you guys reviews pile up? I don't know if my intervals are bad but I constantly have like 800+ per day and I only am like 14000 cards in.

That sounds about right. Are you getting all your reviews in each day? If you don't just one day the next day will be heavy. Personally, I haven't changed any of the default settings so I'm using the original intervals.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Any of you guys reviews pile up? I don't know if my intervals are bad but I constantly have like 800+ per day and I only am like 14000 cards in.

I have this happen much more than I like. I try to beat them down, but they always come back.

 

[Spectreman]

Yeah I’m in finals from my 2nd block and my reviews have piled up pretty bad, just gonna have to take another day to catch up after finals though.

 

[studentdr12]

Is there a benefit/loss to changing the default intervals in anki?

 

[medicineman1234]

That sounds about right. Are you getting all your reviews in each day? If you don't just one day the next day will be heavy. Personally, I haven't changed any of the default settings so I'm using the original intervals.

Yea I do get them in pretty darn consistently. I switched intervals to decrease them don't know if I should switch back to default. Did you set a max interval?

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Is there a benefit/loss to changing the default intervals in anki?

I changed the default intervals to Shamim's recommendations. Not sure if it really makes a difference but it's been working so far.

Shamim's Guide to Medical School Using Anki (USMLE Step 1 and Class)

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

You guys need to get the load balancer add on. It helps so reviews don't pile up.

 

[fourandtwo]

I agree, they definitely go along really well! I just don't feel comfortable 100% using them to study. For example, we got a lot more info about autonomics that wasn't in Zanki. That's why I use Zanki + my own cards.

Correct me if I'm wrong but all the things we need to know about autonomics is in the pharm deck

 

[futuredoctor1995]

Correct me if I'm wrong but all the things we need to know about autonomics is in the pharm deck

I only use the physio deck but there are only 5 receptors we have to know so just memorize it!