What is the best way to take notes in med school?

[Font123]

I am thinking of printing my notes and writing my own notes down on paper. Or is that an archaic way of writing down notes?

[frenchpress]

I wouldn’t call it archaic, as it’s also my preferred method. But I found that was not possible for me to do at UBC. I think I’ve only seen one person who still tries to take notes this way. The sheer number of lecture slides is too overwhelming to print and keep in binders, and they also are not always reliably posted soon enough before class that I could print them off. I switched from paper to taking notes on the slides on a tablet, and I found that to be a much more manageable and consistent approach.

Maybe it’s easier at some schools than others?

[la marzocco]

I’m still a big pen to paper kinda person   

[m_jacob_45]

I  also used to write my notes on printed out slides, but found that there are too many slides to do that in med school. Currently, I take notes on the slides on the computer, which I've found to be pretty easy with powerpoint, but more difficult with formatting for PDFs. I don't have a tablet, but that would be a good option if you want to buy one. Also, I find in med school, certain types of lectures tend to have everything you need on the slides, so for some classes, I don't take any notes and just listen. 

[ToxicMegacolon]

I take notes on a blank piece of paper. Looking back after first year, this was the best method. Although slow at first, it forces you to stay engaged and to integrate concepts as you try to shorten content into a few words, or better yet, a picture. I also started previewing notes before each class so that I had a structure for my notes in my mind. Overall, I think it gave me a big advantage over people who passively flipped through notes on their tablet/laptop)

[la marzocco]

My word of advice is try out different methods (pen-to-paper, tablet, laptop) and find one that fits you best. We all learn/study differently in undergrad, this is no different in med school. Although it is more voluminous in terms of content, I found the style of learning that I have preferred in the past hasn't really changed. 

[JohnGrisham]

Whatever works for you. Most of the time, lectures have the majority of relevant content on the slides. Few lectures in my preclinical ever truly actually required you to take notes in order to get a concept or question down. Mostly just extra information, that almost always wasnt testable nor clinically relevant.

That said, I still took detailed notes! But majority of the questions I would get wrong were because I simply hadn't memorized what was actually in the notes(too much volume) and not for a lack of good notes.