Before medical school started, I had no idea how to study. I relied solely on reasoning and analysis to solve problems, and it always worked out enough for me not to have to change my habits. The start of medical school, as one can imagine, was especially difficult for me because of that. I was suddenly thrown into unchartered territory – what do you mean I can’t prioritize sleep, extracurriculars, and my social life and still do well? Since then, I’ve improved on my study skills tremendously, although every day is still a matter of breaking 22 years of habit.
Here I will detail my personal method of studying. I hope you find it useful!
1) When I study, I don’t try to memorize things – I try to UNDERSTAND. The first time I run through the information, I make sure that I understand every single detail – the who, what, when, and WHY – and I do not skip over something until I understand at least vaguely what it means. Then I go through the information a second or third time to solidify the information and commit it to memory. Education is about LEARNING, not about memorizing. Try your best to go through school with the intention to expand your knowledge rather than merely doing well on the exam.
2) I’m a visual learner, so when I have the time, I will draw things out. This is also a huge reason why I love learning mechanisms as opposed to learning information that requires brute memorization. Drawing things out helps me visualize the concepts/mechanisms in my mind when it’s crunch time.
2.5) Sketchy Medical has been a huge help for this same reason, and I’m sure many medical students can attest to the success of this specific memory tool.
3) I limit my resources. I absolutely hate using a ton of resources. I just don’t have the time to look through a bunch of different resources and be able to commit it all to memory. Get some advice from people that have taken the class before you, try out a few of the resources that are recommended, choose 2-3 that work best for you, and focus on those 2-3 resources alone!
4) Collaborate. I cannot stress this enough. I personally study much better alone, but collaborating with a few of my friends on note-taking, chart-making, etc. has saved my behind on numerous occasions! Find a study group that genuinely wants to see you do well and help them do well in return. Especially if you’re in the medical field, I believe helping each other while we’re in school is going to ultimately be better for the populations we will be serving in the future. The end goal is to be a good physician and if you truly care about our future patients, you will help your peers become better doctors so that they can provide the best care as well.
5) Participate in active learning – flashcards, pictures, practice questions, etc. This is the best way to solidify information. Simply reading a book or a powerpoint isn’t going to do much to help you recall information, but when you apply that information in an active learning technique, it will stick much better!
6) REPETITION. Once you’ve understood all of the information, go back over it as many times as you can. This is how to commit the information to memory!
7) Do what works for YOU. This is the MOST important piece of advice. Different things work for different people; there is no single method of studying that is “best” for everyone. My study style, for instance, is completely different from my peers’. It used to stress me out when I saw that I wasn’t going over the course material the way my peers were, but I realized that what worked for other people didn’t necessarily work for me. You need to study in a way that is conducive to your own learning. Identify how you learn best and adapt/expand on that. You’ll figure it out, I know it! 🙂
What are some study techniques that weren’t mentioned but work for you? Please share so that we can all help each other out!
As always, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help or clarify. This post was a highly requested topic. Feel free to keep requesting specific content from me. I’m here to help you guys! ♡
xo, Mad
Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
Hi Madalyn!
Got a bit of a random question, but speaking of school, have you ever slow danced with someone at a school dance (or anywhere else)?
Hope it’s not too weird to ask; I’m just reminiscing about my HS years!
Hi!
This might be kind of weird, but I had no other way to contact you know because I don’t have social media… I’m not cool enough for that haha! I can’t even remember the last time I posted a comment on the internet. But I’m happy that you have a blog so I can let you know that there is a yet another admirer who is deeply grateful for your insightful and inspiring videos and suggestions on all sorts of things. I’ve wanted to tell you for the longest time that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful person inside and out than anyone I’ve ever met. Well, I guess I haven’t actually met you. (I haven’t been that lucky!) Anyway, you probably get this a lot, and you should. You are beautiful and absolutely radiate with light! And I don’t mean it in a creepy way😅 I mean it in a sincere and heartfelt way and wanted to let you know that when us guys talk about the ‘girl of our dreams’ we talk about amazing women like you. And even though I don’t know a whole lot about you, to me you seem to be one of the girls that is considered one of the epitomes of serenity. So, after all these somewhat cheesy (and some more-than-cheesy-comments), I hope you feel my sincerity.
Keep sharing your light with the world!
You are too kind to me! Thank you for your kindness <3
Hello!!
I discovered your account and blog just recently. I’m a new college student concentrating in Pre-Med so I came upon your account! You are so inspiring to me, because I am also Vietnamese with immigrant parents and I just don’t have a role model to look up to. This post in particular was so helpful! I’ve been struggling to find better ways to study efficiently and I believe this aided me. Thank you so much! Best wishes to you, doctor! 🙂
Aww I’m so glad! Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
Hi! my Name is Katerina Im from Argentina, I just discover your Youtube Channel and I love it! you are so sweet and this blog its great!! xoxo and stay safe!
Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment! You are so sweet <3 Sending hugs from NYC!
These tips were so helpful! I’m glad that I’m not the only one that gets stressed at how other people study vs me! Hehe. I love your style & makeup. Even a skincare routine would be helpful!
Maybe write a blog post about that sort of stuff?
Hi Ally,
Thanks for stopping by! Yesss girl, it’s a natural feeling to have. I will definitely do a blog post about my skincare routine – it’s on the list ;). Please be patient with me as I’m trying to balance an incredibly hectic 2nd year of medical school, but I promise it’ll be up!
Hi!
I’m a student perusing medicine in the UK and although our education systems are worlds apart, I must say that studying for any exam is the same!
Thank you for the extremely useful study tips and stay inspirational.
Lots of love from London 🙂
Woohoo!! All the way from London!? Thanks for stopping by, love <3
It’s a nice post. Nowadays I’m struggling to concentrate on studies. I’ll follow the same things as you mentioned.
I use a ‘Pomodoro’ app while studying which seems to be very efficient & effective, study with full concentration for 25 minutes & a 5 minutes break & the loop continues.
A while ago a tried to study in squatting position but it’s way far from me.
Keep posting…. Thanks 🙂
Hi Koko!
Different things work for different people, so I’m glad you’re trying different things to find what’s right for you!
Hi, you don’t know me, but as a current pre-med longhorn student, I just want to let you know that your instragram posts and blog is very inspirational. There are so many people out there, but your story touched my heart the most. I love your passion for traveling (something I want to do but can’t), your desire in life, and your happiness in medicine. I hope the chance to meet you someday. You’re inspirational. Btw, I think I’ve seen you around campus! Also, did you go to Lavang Church?
Aww, your kind words made my week, Tina! I started this whole process to inspire and encourage others, so I’m glad you find my posts helpful. I did go to LaVang from elementary through middle school! Haha it’s such a small world. HOOK ‘EM! \m/
Hello!! You’re study techniques were very helpful. just wanted you to know that.
Hi Monica!
Thank you so much, your feedback means a lot 🙂 I’m glad you found this post useful!
Where did you get your study desk from?? Thanks for all of the study tips!
Hi Cristal!
I believe I ordered the desk from Overstock.com
And of course; I hope you found them helpful! 🙂