Study Method

-Study Method Part I: What it takes to be an Excellent Student:

In a very basic sense, we all learn the same. We must understand the material and then see it over and over again. In undergraduate, because of the low volume of learning, a person can get away with all sorts of weaknesses. However, the best students will often not have to alter their study methods at all for medical school.

To be a good student, the intangibles are required: work-ethic, dedication, and self-confidence. However, in medical school, you will discover that almost everyone has that. The filtering process of undergraduate has removed most of those that lacked these intangibles.

At this point it comes down to study method. The students who have the best methods are called geniuses. The students who have the worst methods flunk out or barely pass.

Get this in your mind and keep it there: It is the study method that makes the good student!!!

Now, one last important point, it is most important that one realizes that every good study method comes down to just a few things. You must understand the material by translating it in your own language. You must then review the material over and over again. You need to see the material at least 4 times with an optimum of at least 6 times. And finally, you need to review over several days. That is the best way to do it. When methods have these simple points in them, they are good methods.


-Study Method Part II: 3 Most Common Mistakes by Medical Students:

Please note: premed students make many of the same mistakes..

1st NO NO: Don’t oversimplify the material..

I’ve now had the chance to watch many students flunk out. Every single one of them gave the same response. “Well, the material was easy to understand. It’s just the volume of information.” Wrong, Wrong, Wrong… The few times that I spoke to a student about this, I would ask them questions about the material that they understood. Again and again, I would notice a superficial memorization process in their answers. This is why they were overwhelmed on the questions. Medical school and USMLE test questions are conceptual. You don’t get that many memorization gimmies. You need to understand the material and manipulate it in your mind. Understanding the material is not easy. It takes effort, but it is a rewarding endeavor.

2nd NO NO: Don‘t just read and reread the material. You must take your own notes..

I’ve seen this countless times. In almost every case the student who did this was failing. A good student takes their own notes and transcribes things into their own words. This is critical because you are translating the notes into a language that you understand. Students who don’t do this will end up failing. This is basic study strategy and it must be done.

3rd NO NO: Don’t start to review the material on the day before the test.

Student who are doing bad are often as tired as they can be. They stay up all night before the test slaving. They put in incredible 18 and 19 hour study days on the day before a test.. Yet they still do bad. You have to understand that the mind is a muscle in many ways. You can’t work it for 18 hours straight. Review needs to start well-before the day before the test. Give those concepts time to become entrenched within your mind. In undergraduate, you can get away with not doing this. In medical school, it’s a very bad idea. Remember, medical school is like the pros. You need to be better. A good method has review built into it, such as the method that I will present.


-How to Preview a Method:
Finally, here is an overview of one study method that will work in medical school. Enjoy. Let’s begin. This method will address every defiency that medical students make.

1st: You must preview a lecture. You can count this as the first time that you seen the material. Go here for how to preview a lecture:

Before every lecture, I preview the material. Now, I should explain where most medical students go wrong -- where I went wrong. Previewing the material SHOULD not involve reading it for 2 hours! That is LEARNING the material.

Previewing involves creating a roadmap in your head. You need to develop a feel for where the lecture is going. This will remarkably increase comprehension. There are two methods for doing this:

Method 1: 8 Sentence Process-Oriented Method

Look over the lecture. Write 8 general sentences explaining the lecture. The 8 sentences need to relate as a process. Make sure that you leave plenty of space between each point. The goal is to come back and fill in the details under those 8 points. Always be aware that the main point of this is to create a roadmap in your head. You need to have a feel for where the lecture is going. Within time, you will be able to do this in a few minutes. Please remember that you don’t need to learn the lecture during the preview phase! You just need to develop a feel for where it is going.

Method 2: 8 Sentence Question-Oriented Method

Look over the lecture. Write 8 general questions that you have about the lecture. The 8 questions need to cover multiple aspects of the lecture. Make sure that you leave plenty of space between each question. The goal is to come back and fill in the answers under those questions. Again, be aware that the main point of this is to create a roadmap in your head. You need to have a feel for where the lecture is going. Within time, you will be able to preview within a few minutes. Please remember that you don’t need to learn the lecture during the preview phase! You just need to develop a feel for where it is going.

Now, let’s do a brief tab. So far, you have seen the material one time for preview. You only went over it for a few minutes, but those were an essential few minutes as you will now come to see.


-Getting Something Out of Lecture: the Actual Lecture Itself:

This part is relatively simple if you engaged in the previewing method.

You need to bring your 8 or 10 sentence list to class. As the professor lectures, check each point that you feel the professor has covered as the professor lectures over it. You may still take notes on another sheet of paper. But use the "checklist." It takes two seconds to check a sentence. Whenever the professor has not touched something, put a question mark by it.

Use the question mark if you don't understand something also. Write it down and then put a question mark by it.

IMPORTANT: it is extremely important that you put a question mark by anything that you don't understand and IMMEDIATELY see the professor about it!

Now, after class is over or during class, ask questions about everything that you don't understand. Don't be embarassed. Just tell the professor that you didn't understand it.

Derivation 2: Write down each point that you don’t understand on a separate sheet of paper. Go see the Professor about it.

Now, there is a Part II to getting something out of lecture. If the professor initally explains something and you still don't understand it go to the professor‘s office hours. Ask the professor to explain it again while politely telling him or her that you didn't get it. If you still don't understand it, ask the professor again -- but this time try to be more specific in determining what aspect of the professors explanation is causing problems.

If you don't understand it for a third time, go home.. pull out a book. Read it. Come back the next day and ask the professor to explain it again. You will most likely get it.

It is important to understand that you can still do well in medical school without going to lecture. It’s just that you will have to study a lot longer and harder than if you learn how to retain information from lecture. It’s advantageous to use a proven method, such as this one, that will help you utilize things like lectures.

IMPORTANT OPTIONAL DERIVATION: Many learning psyschologist maintain that you should do an additional step. You should take 10-15 minutes immediately after the lecture to re-read the material. I will personally do this, but it is optional. Supposedly, studies have shown that it greatly increases comprehension.

Time for a Tally. You have seen the material one time for Preview. You have also seen the information 1 time in lecture. That is two times. If you do the Optional Derivation, then you have seen the material 3 times! But lets assume that you don’t do the optional derivation. You’re at two times right now. It’s time to learn how to cover a lecture..


-Covering the Material:

Now, we enter the next stage of learning.

This should be the third time that you see the material within 24 hours (possibly fourth)! When you finish covering the lecture, you should have everything entered into memory, save a concept or two that you will need to ask the professor about for clarification.

You must learn to become a transcriber. This means that you must get used to transcribing the notes or books that you have been reading into your own, concise words.

This needs to be in an organized format. Something that naturally flows within your own mental construct. What’s important is that you learn to word your notes in a clear, concise fashion.

Second, and this is extremely, extremely, extremely important. You must diagram. Now, you might find yourself copying diagrams and pathways. That’s okay. You need to do that. But challenge yourself to try and create your own diagrams and drawings also.

The process of learning and memory works like this. Learning something is a skill.. That is, you understand something as a process and you are able to master the process within your mind. Afterwards, you form logical representations within your mind of various relationships. This is what enters the information into long-term memory.
You’re a thinker suddenly. Your thinking through your information as you study it. You’re finding relationships, and it enters memory. That is the whole key to learning! You have to form relationships.

Think about this.. What is a mnemonic.. A mnemonic is simply a relationship that links words to a simple concept. In essence, you are forming a primitive relationship of the scientific material so that it enters memory. Now, imagine the power of forming your own relationships. You will remember things longer and faster.

Train yourself how to think through material. Many medical students never master that and they pass. But they never become excellent at mastering the scientific material. You can, but you have to work hard to learn how to do this..

Now, I can explain why the diagram and drawing is so important. The diagram that you make represents interconnecting relationships that you have made yourself. At least that is the case when you make your own diagrams. Use drawings, use boxes, use learning trees ect.. Try to understand the process.

Challenge yourself to make at least 5 diagrams per a lecture at the beginning. After that, you will naturally find how many you need for the information to enter memory.

Finally, make sure that you understand everything. If there is word that you don’t know know, look it up! If there is something that you don’t understand, ask for help. You need to understand these concepts to form relationships.

IMPORTANT!!! There is a common question that should be addressed. People often ask how to diagram and how they should ask their questions. That is a very good question, and it is easy to answer. The best way to learn how to word your own notes is to look at the professor’s lectures. Take a look. You will notice plenty of diagrams along with concise, interconnecting points.

When you get done with covering the material, your information should look like a lecture that you prepared. Imagine yourself getting ready to present it in front of the class. Imagine having to answer questions about the material. That’s the key to covering this stuff.

After you finish going through all the trouble to make your own notes, make sure that you organize them in a folder. You will use these for the review process.

It is time to take a Tally. You have now seen the material 3 times (4 times if you do the optional way). You know it (mostly).

Now, it is essential that you review like a madman or manwoman. This is where the difference between a high-pass and honors student takes place.


-The Review Phase:

If you don’t remember anything else, remember this: The Review Phase Must Happen Over Time!!!!!!!!!! Let me say it again. The Review Phase Must Happen Over Time!!!!! The best method of review is to do it over time, not all in one day.

Review 1: This occurs the day after lecture. Spend no more than 10-15 minutes reviewing a particular subject each day. But there is an art to reviewing also. Most students make the often repeated mistake that I used to make. They simply scan over the material and call it review.. Hell NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is how you review. Read over your previous notes – the ones you made the day before. You’ll be able to do this in about 5 to 10 minutes after you get a little bit of practice.

However, while doing this, you will need to do something else. You will need to do something that I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere else on the web. You need to challenge yourself to add at least 5 sentences to your notes.

Now, in these 5 sentences, you should be able to link concepts to something else. Write down the relationship in a brief sentence. You will become so good at this that you will be able to do this in 10 minutes.. It is essential that you link your notes to existing concepts within your mind. This is how things stay in long-term memory.

It’s time for the second review.

2nd Review.. Now, you need to see the material a 5th time. This time spend 5 minutes skimming over the lecture – mainly looking at the major points of your concise, diagrammed, lecture notes. Try to add at least 2 sentences to it. It should take no more than 5 minutes.

At this point, you are done with the material for one day.. So, let’s recap really quickly.

In review, you spent 10-15 minutes going over the previous days lecture. You added 5 sentences to your previous notes linking them to existing concepts within your mind. During the other 5 minutes (you need to spend 20 minutes reviewing), you went over the material that you reviewed before – adding 2 sentences to it. Once again, you are linking it to an existing concept within your mind. Concept building is the key to learning.

Okay, so by now.. You’ve seen the material 5 times in 72 hours!! You’re probably saying enough already.. But it is not over yet.

6th.. During the weekend, you must do a master review. You need to re-read over all the material that you were given. You can skim through it, but you need to go over it for around 2 and a half hours. And guess what.. You need to add more sentences. Try to add 5 to 10 sentences over the entire week of information. This will be the 6th time that you see the information.

In fact, spend every weekend reviewing the material for that entire unit!! So, that you never forget it.

7th.. Finally, let’s fastfoward. The day before the test. Spend 4 or 5 hours reading through all of your concise notes and sentences that you added. You’re ready to make close to a 100% on the test. Reread through the original lecture notes also.

One special note.. You will realize that you will see the material multiple, multiple, multiple times. But each time that you see it, you add something to it. In essence, you never get behind.

Now, I once had a question that you may have right now. I realized that you would see the material several times for older information. But what about the new information. Remember, that by the third time that you see the material, you should know everything. So, it will be fresh in your mind by test time. Plus, you do a master review on the day before the test. So, you will see everything at least 4 times. Most things, however, you will see at least 7 times!

Think about it.. By 7 times, you will probably be sick of the material!!!


-In Summary:

Oh, what I would have given for someone to have given this to me before medical school. Please remember that there are a variety of different methods that will work in medical school, but the best methods are the same. They all involve understanding the material and reviewing it like crazy. Seeing the information multiple times is the key.

As an afternote, I am including two other methods that I have seen successful students use. I want to emphasize that the method that I gave is very good. It’s turned many poor students into top students. It’s turned good students into better students. But, it’s good to see other methods. Notice one common thing. All of the good methods involve the same basic principle. You must understand the material and then see it over and over again.


Here is a footnote that allows you to examine two additional methods. I wrote these on my blogs. I'm copying and pasting them as the final part of the guide. Examine these methods and notice what they have in common. This will help you greatly.

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Now, I wanted to talk about the top student in our class. He scored close to 100% in both Anatomy and Biochemistry. I've discussed the situation with failing students enough. It's important to see what students do who are on the other side -- the side that everyone wants to be on.

He never did brag. He's actually a very nice guy. His methods were almost perfect when it came to studying.

Within time, other students realized that he really knew what he was doing. Soon, they began to follow him. When he changed study places, they changed to where he was studying. While he was studying, they sat next to him. They followed him like chickens attached to a rooster. You'll notice that humans exhibit a remarkable herd instinct. Medical school is no different. When the true alpha-student emerges, many students will follow that student in an amazingly subservient way.

My purpose in discussing the top student is to tell what made him the top student in the class and how he became that way..

Students called him a genius. They were amazed. But I noticed more within time.. He had perfectionate study methods with only a couple of weaknesses that I could see.

Here is what he did.

Preview: He read the chapter before every lecture or unit, taking notes and diagramming things.

Lecture: He then went to lecture making sure to take perfect notes.

Study Session: Afterwards, he reviewed the lecture for that night. Within the next two days, he would go see the professor about anything that he was unclear on. He would see the professors at least 3 times a week in both Anatomy and Biochemistry. Also, he made his own notes being careful to draw out and diagram everything. He also wrote down any questions that he had on a seperate sheet of paper. He would then go into the professor's office with those questions.

Review1: He always reviewed what he covered the previous day.

Review2: He always reviewed what he covered for the week on that weekend..

Review 3: He always did a master review on the day before the test.

Overall, he made sure that he seen the material at least 4 or 5 times before the test. Some material he seen 7 or 8 times.

The method worked amazingly. He was the top student in the class overall for the first semester. The students who attempted to sponge off him never tried to figure out what he was doing. They simply thought that by staying around him they would become a top student also.

He had not taken the subjects previously also. He just had very good methods. Overall, I did wonder how he developed these methods on his own. There was a part of me that wondered how he learned this on his own. I had to be taught how to study.

But I noticed something else. He did the same thing that all honor's students do. The difference between an honor's student and a high passing student is how many times a person sees the material.

First, you have to understand the material. Many medical students never get past this. It takes effort to truly understand this stuff. Once you understand it, you have to see it over and over again. That's the secret with high volume learning.
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Okay, I want to give you one more method, so that you can see the similarities. I've told you that all the honors students use very similar methods. When you look at them, they are all the same.. 1. Understand the material 2. See it over and over again.. Everything should be seen at least 4 times. Okay, here is another method demonstrated by a 5th semester honor's student here. Actually, she was one of the top students in the class and was kicking tail all over the practice USMLE's on the Kaplan review test.

1. Preview: She looked over every lecture for a few minutes before going to class.

2. Lecture: She came to every lecture, taking notes on things that she didn't understand.

3. Study Session: He made her own notes and diagrammed everything. She went to the professors and asked for help on things that she did not understand. But there was an interesting derivation on her end. She made sure that she covered all of the material at least 3 days before the test. So, she was actually ahead of the pace of the lecture.

Review1: with 3 days before test, she would spend the study session reviewing all of the material. She had seen it all in one session. She would also make sure that she understood everything.

Review 2: with 2 days before the test, she would do another master review. Again, she would review all of the material.

Review 3: On the day before the test, she did her final master review.

Test: She nearly aced every one of them.

Under her method, all material was seen at least 6 times. 1 time for preview, 1 time for lecture, 1 time for study session, and 3 times for review!

What's important is that you again notice that the top students have remarkably similar study methods. They all see the material over and over again.

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Now, there is one exception. The students who have already taken the material can avoid this. But still, even they are not really exception. They also have seen the material many, many times. They just saw it in a previous lecture. Many of those students do very bad when they reach courses that they haven't taken.

So, what was my reason for writing this post.. Well, I've talked in depth about what the students did who failed. It's also important to see what the students did who honored their classes. You need to learn how to review quickly and efficiently to be good at medical school. You need to strive to see the material at least 4 times with an average of 6 times for a lecture being ideal. And you need to seek help on anything that you don't understand. That's the key to it all.


Question: So as I'm transcribing the notes, should I be trying to do it from memory after I've read a section? Or just re-organizing it as I read along (i.e. not from memory). This is where I'm confused. Am I memorizing along the way or not?

I used to study with notecards, but it didn't stick long term. Are you saying that the act of transcribing and reviewing over time is what gets it stuck in the mind? And that you don't actually memorize the info per se? I really want to get this. Forgive me if I'm a little slow!

Answer: To answer the questions:

Chmd2b asked a wonderful question. Transcribe as you go along. Don't try to transcribe from memory. Transcribe as if you are preparing to give a presentation. Imagine that someone will be looking at your notes and asking you questions. This is where your speed will develop.. Transcribe to understand not memorize.

Now, a funny thing will open. After you finish transcribing, you will notice that you are able to recall a certain percentage of your notes. It will amaze you because it will seem like you weren't even trying to memorize. During the next day, you will review over the notes that you made. You will be able to recall even more of the lecture. During the next day, you will review over those notes that you made again. This time, you will feel like you know nearly everything if not everything.

The review is where everything enters into memory. Likewise, this is where speed develops. If you transcribe your notes as if you are trying to memorize them, it will be slow. It will take lots of time. If you transcribe your notes to understand them -- as in presentation form -- you will begin to memorize naturally.

We all memorize the same way -- by seeing things over and over again. If you do this over time, you will see the best results.

Now, today or tomorrow, I will start writing in the diaries. I'm hoping to make my first entry tonight. Just wait till I discuss the difference this semester from my earlier plights. Aslo, I've had the chance to watch first semesters make so many mistakes -- mistakes that have them staying up all night, making poor grades, and doing the other bad things because of weak study methods. I'll discuss that all over time.

You may notice something. Eventually, you will get so fast with transcribing that things will seem easy. It will happen over time. Just realize that you are transcribing to understand. Let your notes capture all of the important points, and make sure that you throw some diagrams in there.

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