In undergrad, we had no snow days. Ever. Sometimes professors would cancel their own classes because of the snow, but the University of Michigan never has a snow day. There was no sleeping with a plastic spoon under our pillows because it was pointless…
But thank you, med school, for bringing back snow days! I was ecstatic. Until I realized they’re most likely going to post the recorded lectures from last year (all 5 of them today) and there will be no postponement of exams. We’ll just lose a study day.
In the news of studying, other things have happened. I changed my study methods for this exam. Honestly, I’m just trying to gauge the best way for me to study before 2nd year when the shit really hits the fan. This unit, I made flashcards. Not handwritten with photos taped onto one side like I used to in undergrad (hello, straight A’s in art history- thank you flashcards!). But on Mental Case, the app on my computer. That stupid little macbook air that TWO WEEKS INTO THIS UNIT decided to up and die. Well, not completely. The screen started flickering and no amount of restarting the computer would fix it. At the Apple store, things escalated quickly as the keypad stopped working when we were trying to rescue all of my flashcards. This is the only time I’ve found myself at the mall, completely and utterly pissed off that I’d wasted three hours. And didn’t actually buy anything.
All I could think about was… is this my little air’s metaphorical hemorrhage? One system shutting down after another, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone running wild, desperately trying to salvage blood volume… Yes. My last physiology exam is coming up within the next two weeks.
The boyfriend has been repeating the same advice since classes started in August: Read. Read. Read. Just keep reading the material. I haven’t actually done this- simply read, and read, and read- because I’m afraid it’s too easy. That I won’t be putting in enough work. That I must, in some way shape or form, have to rewrite it, or write the questions to “quiz” myself so that I actually remember the material.
But I’m so tired of writing flashcards that I’m just reading. She said, with knuckles white and worry lines around her eyes. I’m not comfortable with this but my flashcards are gone and there’s little I can do at this point. Except read. On my snow day that is not actually a snow day. (Med school, THROW ME A BONE HERE!)
That sucks! For the record though, I think both methods work, as I too have taken the massive-read approach when sick of making flashcards. Don’t sweat it!
Does the massive-read approach help? How many times do you find you need to read it?
I usually read all of the material twice. During one of the read-throughs (usually the second; the first is for highlighting) I make tables of the stuff that I think is important. The tables are a great way to reference material when you start doing practice questions. The only real downside to doing it this way is that it takes FOREVER.
Should have backed up to Dropbox?
YES. The irony is, everything else is backed up to Dropbox. But I couldn’t figure out how to export the files from Mental Case.
I used to re-write the notes in my own “style” last semester, but gave up because it was much too time-consuming. I know I’m not one of those people who instinctively remember things by reading, but with Anatomy and Physiology, I’m hoping sheer repetition will be enough. Good luck!
You too!! There’s just too much to rewrite…
When you say that reading seems “too easy”, I agree with you completely. There are some subjects I can read over once or twice and I can remember everything but if something is a bit more complex, I have to read, take notes, draw it out from memory, review it (re-read notes or flashcards), and all these other hard work/time-consuming procedures just to remember things. Only to get between 78-85% of the material correct. -____-
Please let us know how it worked out for you because I am trying to change my study procedures myself.
Absolutely! I’m hoping to get my study techniques down before 2nd year when we get even more material- which is why I think I’m going to have to make reading work out. A 4th year has been telling me that that is how she honored her M2 year- prereading, watching the lecture, and postreading for everything. But I’ll keep you posted