How do you organize your study notes?

[Classic]

Any med students out there willing to reflect upon and share their experiences about information management during med school?

 

With the tonne of info you that are required to learn, how do you keep track of everything? Do you create and maintain notes that you plan to keep for further reference for clerkship and MCCQE, etc?

 

Please share!

[Lactic Folly]

I've kept all my notes in binders organized by block, as that was the way our medical curriculum was delivered. Looking back, there has been a wealth of good info provided by our lecturers that I'm reluctant to throw out, hence I've shipped them with me for residency.. they do make good background reading when I find the time, although at work it's more convenient to look things up online.

[Dr.Cave]

I don't take notes; Toronto notes works well for review. Listening in class is more effective for me than taking notes and reviewing later.

[D-Rock]

I also don't take notes. Most lecturers provide print-outs of their notes, so I read those before the lecture and annotate with useful bits that they say. Pre-reading helps me to pay attention. Then I read one or two texts that cover the topics so that I've seen it a few times and from different perspectives. I rarely take notes on my readings, and when I do it's one sentence that sums up each paragraph in a topic (like TO notes). Then I organize everything in binders based on the system or rotation that I'm doing, with special binders for anatomy and pathology (since the rest is pretty much all physiology). If I'm feeling super keen and have some time, I alphabetize the topics.

[Classic]

^^

 

That's sweet. Thanks D-Rock.

[1234]

Many professors at UofT Med have emphasized the importance of developing the ability to learn the material effectively when it is presented to you the first time. As to how this is accomplished is very much dependent on the student.