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- How I Studied During Clinicals In Medical School
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Have you just entered university? Perhaps you’ve just begun your journey as a medical student?
Well, congratulations!
I hope this is a journey you’ve chosen to embark upon having given much thought and consideration.
It is not going to be an easy one. However, it will be fulfilling.
Despite getting accepted into medical school whereby the application in itself is meticulous before finally getting accepted.
However, the journey has just begun and you have a long way ahead.
Now, you are piled with mountains of topics to cover in a short duration of time.
Is it even possible?
If you thought high school was difficult as we had various topics to cover, and medicine is only well… Biology?
This is worse.
However, it is common to panic (or maybe that’s just me, I have anxiety issues), but you’ll be alright.
Hence, here are 6 Studying Tips For First Year Medical Students.
1. List Down All The Topics You Need To Cover
You’ve just started a new block or maybe you’re already in the middle of it.
Fret not. Usually in the beginning of every block, you will be provided with a timetable for the whole block with the topics listed according to their subjects.
Hence, the first thing that I would do would be to list them all out according to the subjects.
Here is an example of what I used to do:
This paper was 5 years ago at the time of writing this post. Time flew by so fast.
Somehow, after writing them out and listing down the topics I have to cover, I became more motivated to complete them as I am able to monitor my progression.
Hopefully this will benefit you as well.
2. READ MORE & Read From The Textbooks
I used to google about a topic and just read online. That’s good too provided you read the information from a trusted source.
Otherwise, it’s always a good idea to come back to the textbooks. There are multiple sites offering downloadable textbooks nowadays or perhaps you are able to acquire a PDF copy from your peers or lecturers as I know there are multiple good books on a subject and sometimes one just may not be enough. However, it would not be practical to carry the, around all the time.
Read more on how I studied during medical school.
3. Read On The TOPIC Only NOT The Whole Textbook
Unless you have ample of time of course.
It can be easy to get carried away and assume that there is a lot to read up on when in actual fact, a topic is rather short and if you’re like me, one source of textbook is not enough.
Hence, study smart. However, studying smart does not mean being laid back and only studying what is necessary, hard work and dedication is required but ensure that it is focused towards the right thing.
4. Complete ALL Your “Homework”
Assignments. Questions. Problem-based learning. Formative assessments.
Just do them and do them first. The moment you are given. Do not delay it.
Most of the time, the questions given in the exam would be recycled from the questions given by the lecturers in class.
Sometimes, delaying it or procrastinating to do it so you could focus on studying first may seem good but if you remember to get it done.
Besides that, it gives you an overview on what you need to focus on while studying.
5. Draw Mind-Maps Or Write Notes
During my Pre-Clinical Years (Year 1 & 2), I used to draw mind maps, one paper for each topic.
Here is an example of how I used to do it.
However, as I progressed into my Clinical Years (Year 3, 4 & 5), it was more difficult for me to do for every topic and my studying style changed. Hence, I switched to Notion and instead of writing out my notes, I used to formulate questions along the way as I read up and after that answer them.
This aids my revision as I could access it on all my devices, allowing me to just simply question myself and answering them on my own and checking them afterwards.
I call it “Revision On-The-Go”.
6. Make The Most Of Your Weekdays & Weekends
We each have 24 hours in a day.
Granted one’s usage of 24 hours is not the same for everyone due to various commitments and sometimes work, outside of our study life.
Schedule what is important first, such as classes, work, important events and schedule your studying around it.
Always ensure that you aim to finish as early as you can on what you have listed out for that block. Hence, never go a day without studying, even if it is just for 30 minutes or an hour per day, whichever is more convenient for you of course.
Here are just a few studying tips that got me through my first two years in medical school and I hope this will benefit you in return too.
All the very best!~
Related Posts:
- How I Studied During Clinicals In Medical School
- 5 Benefits Of A Study Group In University – Medical School Edition
- 6 Strategies For Studying 2 Weeks Before Finals
The Theoretical Doctor 
is pre med harder than mbbs?
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Nope, it’s about the same actually. It depends on the individual, the subjects I took before entering medical school were mostly repeated in my first two years, so it was easier for me after that but since it was purely theoretical knowledge and no hospital exposure, it was a challenge for me because I’m more of a hands-on person 😆
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Awesome ! What were your subjects Dr ?
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Hello Man Kun, you can just call me Jewel 😀
I only had to take four subjects because I took Form 6 (Similar to A-Levels), so I took General Studies, Chemistry, Biology and Maths.
In Biology, we studied Biological Molecules & Metabolism during our first semester where a lot of topics from Biochemistry were covered. In the second semester, Physiology on various human systems as well as some Pathology, Immunity and Infectious Disease. In the third semester, Ecology and Genetics. A lot of Parasitology and Genetics xD
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Interesting to know that ! Thx for telling : )
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