Study Tips for Medical Students Part 1

Study Tips for Medical Students Part 1

As a medical student, it is true that you have so much to learn that you spend most of your time studying. You also have to memorize many topics for your examinations and practical sessions! Also, the enormous syllabuses with their vast contents for every medical subject are tedious and challenging to manage. So, what can you do to organize your studies in a way that you grasp all the necessary information while having time to take care of yourself? Take a look at these efficient study tips that will make you spend stress-free medical years below!

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Keep up with your classes.

In college, you had to study for a few exams per class, whereas in medical school, exams are set every 3 or 4 weeks because of loads of subjects. Therefore, it is crucial for you to avoid procrastination and to keep up with your classes. An essential tip for you is to read your medical notes from each lecture at least 3 times before every examination. For instance, you can read your notes once after your lecture, a second time on the following weekend, and a third time during the exam preparation. Also, with consistency, this method guarantees you success in all your examinations.

Use practice questions

Another helpful way to master the materials of your lecture notes is to test yourself frequently. For example, you can attempt practice questions one week prior to taking your examination. Doing so will enable you to grasp complex concepts and discover your limitations. Moreover, you will know to which chapters you need to give more time during your revision. Also, previous exam papers are a good bank of practice questions for you! An awesome bonus tip is to make practice questions an integral part of your usual study routine. It is beneficial for you as it prepares for tough exam papers. ‍

Choose your resources wisely.

As a medical student, you have access to unlimited additional resources from libraries and the internet apart from your lecture notes. Therefore, you can often feel confused about which resources to consider in your exam preparation! A solution for this problem is to focus on your class notes and question sets, hence consulting other resources when you need further clarifications. Furthermore, ask your teachers to guide you with external resources.

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Make study groups for motivation.

Unlike study groups in college that were great for dealing with difficult concepts, study groups in medical school are more useful for social support! This is simply because medical studies require more memorization than discussions. Thus, studying on your own is the best solution for you unless you need to seek clarification from your friends. However, studying in the same room with your friends might boost you to learn more efficiently.‍

Embrace imperfection

Do you agree that perfect practice makes you perfect? It is obviously impossible to memorize everything for a medical exam. Therefore, you need to accept that you will improve with consistency in your learning and practice. However, make sure to master the concepts that you frequently see during your training as you might be assessed on them.

Remember to relax

Finding time to unwind from a busy schedule of theory classes, practical sessions, and regular revisions is very challenging indeed! However, taking full advantage of your medical student years is also necessary. Therefore, another tip to help you in your studies is to take some time for yourself. For example, you can take a break from learning every Sunday afternoon and go out with your friends. This technique will allow you to recover from a whole week’s stressful routine and prepare for the coming week with a fresh mind. It is also an excellent way to protect your mental health from the negative effects of study pressure.‍

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Do not skip sleep.

Sleep is a condition during which your brain rests and regenerates. Also, all your assimilated information is processed and stored for later retrieval. Hence, proper sleeping and resting are vital for your brain’s good performance. Moreover, a minimum of 8 hours of sleep sharpens your memory. Thus, a complete sleep cycle ensures your highest performance at medical school. In addition, sleeping also gives your body time to repair itself from fatigue, preventing the risk of burnout.

To summarize, ‍regular revisions, practice questions, motivation, and enough relaxing time are essential study tips for you during your medical training. It would be best if you also had a positive mindset to be able to embrace imperfection. Furthermore, consistent practising allows you to succeed with flying colors. I want to share more study tips with you to ease your medical student years later. Please share your comments below!