Medical schools are not for faint-hearted students. Some of the country’s smartest minds enroll in a medical degree and yet find it challenging. The course involves a fair amount of memorization right from the first year to graduation. Whether you are handling a complicated case or preparing for the national board examination, you need to memorize and recall.
Medical school students are familiar with self-doubt regarding their preparation. There is a lot of information to cover, memorize, and recall under pressure. While understanding concepts is one aspect, most parts require old school mugging up. Here are some tools and techniques for medical school students (or anyone wishing to boost their memory) can implement in their methodology –
1. Words and Imagery
Visualization is recommended over reading to retain information better. It is easier to remember a sequence of pictures than a paragraph. Words and phrases can also help keep knowledge. Students have used the legs of a “spider” to learn the branches of Willis’s circle, for instance. Students can adapt their images and associate relevant information with them. Depending entirely on preference, you can also use negative images or patterns attached to the data. Absurd ideas or mixing up pictures with words can create an enticing story in your mind. It makes retention and recalling more convenient during an exam.
2. Connecting the Dots
People have commonly used lengthy lists of neutral information like phone book names or playing cards to improve memory capacity. The concept uses a mind palace. You attach images to things you want to remember and place those items in a familiar place, like your house or garden. You can walk through the area, and as you find these items, you can recall the information. The same concept can apply to colors as if water could be blood without oxygen, while red wine is oxygenated blood. You can remember diseases by their organs and the components of physiology or pathology.
3. Spaced Revisions
The preparation during your USMLE or any board examination is long term. You have a goal, and you need focus and determination. However, most importantly, you require a strategy. Cramming notes and books into memory cannot help with the magnitude of the test. Hence, self-test after you have completed a topic. If you feel it needs more work, revisit it, otherwise park it for later. You can come back after a few months to test yourself again. Utilize flashcards, online mock tests for practice, and self-evaluation. This technique can help you beyond the board examinations while you are completing graduation.
4. Interleaving
Subjects are more often than not, interrelated. You may find common topics between pharmacology and physiology. For instance, you want to remember the physiological processes making positive drug actions and the ones that are creating side effects. Instead of completing one first and then picking up the second, you can do both simultaneously within a schedule. It helps you correlate the learnings and reduces the monotony. Interleaving is a more advanced learning technique. However, studies show it helps improve understanding once you start getting the hang of it.
5. Self-Evaluation
The epitome of learning and preparation is understanding your shortcomings and analyzing your status. Your strategy must be adaptive to your requirements. Self-testing products available for board examination and USMLE preparation helps you with evaluation. You can find repositories full of relevant questions and information. Mock tests also give a simulation of a real test environment, where knowledge is tested against time. Learning becomes enriching with practice. It also helps build confidence and lessens examination anxiety.
The secret behind a successful examination is the robust and dynamic preparation strategy. Create your methods and abide by them religiously. While the memory-boosting techniques can immensely help you, it is up to you to play with them and customize your needs. You start small, sticking to one or two-hour preparations. Then you stretch yourself for full duration tests.
Taking a gradual approach can remove the fatigue and keep you engaged. Test multiple methods, like interleave and revise at the same time, and find out what works for you. Finally, you can pick up your favorites and find an emotional grasp with them. Experimenting will help you create the perfect strategy needed to ace the examination and pursue your medical dream.
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