how do you handle details

[Guest zebra]

I am a more math / physics oriented type of student, meaning I am good with courses that require mainly problem-solving skills.

 

So I have problems with biology courses because one has to learn vast amount of details quickly to do well. It's probably worse in Med school.

 

So how do you do it? do you guys, especially medical students, have sort of system so that you can systematically learn all those information quickly?

 

Zebra

[Guest rhino]

My advice (worked great for me) is to read the material, read it again, and again and again, and maybe again. No joke. After reading a chapter five times you can literally visualize the pages in your mind including the tiniest of deatils.

[Guest YongQ]

The most challenging thing about biology is finding patterns, but they are there. Like how all life is made of 4 types of monomers. Or how bacterial respiratory systems are analogous to mitochondria. True, to get decent marks you have to read it again and again. But make sure to take away from each course an outline of knowledge as well - I recommend taking courses that overlap with each other so you can pick out the motifs.

[Guest strider2004]

I came from a biophysics background so I was used to applying formulas. Med schoo lwasa big change because of the sheer volume of material. Just like what everyone else said, plow through it over and over again. We had tables to memorize drugs and stuff and there is a little bit of a pattern but some things are confusing because similar names don't necessarily mean similar action(like Gentamycin vs Vancomycin).

Memorizing takes time so you have to start early. By the 4th or 5th read, you can pretty much recite things. It sometimes sucks in exams when they ask a question and you can tell them exactly what page it's on and the topic and the sentences before it but you forget that little word that they're looking for.

[Guest zebra]

thanks for the reply

 

a friend of mine suggested making cards with question on one side and the detailed answers on the other.

 

Has any of tried this before? What's your experience with cards?

[Guest Ian Wong]

Flashcards can work, but they take a lot of time to set up. Of course, writing out the cards is basically the same as studying them through once already.

 

Other people make up stupid mnemonics. eg. for the carpal bones of the hand.

Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle

 

Scaphoid

Lunate

Triquetrum

Pisiform

Trapezoid

Trapezium

Capitate

Hamate

(hope I got the order right!)

 

Some people are visual learners, and diagram everything out on a piece of paper or a chalkboard.

 

Some other people try to understand the concept, and then explain it using their own words, by re-summarising everything. A good way to check if you understand is by trying to explain it to one of your friends using different words than the ones that you read about.

 

One interesting way of learning is doing something called "mind mapping". Maybe searching that on a search engine will yield some hits, but basically it's a method of linking information together on paper to try to reinforce it in your working memory.

 

Most everyone else just memorizes whatever it is that they are trying to learn. If you write stuff out enough times, and try really hard to remember different ways to remember the information (eg. are two concepts related, is there any way to group these facts together, can I make a dumb mnemonic out of it, can I put this information together in a picture or diagram, can I resummarise this using other words while keeping the same meaning, etc).

 

Good luck, and keep trying. It gets easier the more you practice, just like everything else.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest strider2004]

I think the trapezium is before trapezoid but I really should check before saying these things.

[Guest Ian Wong]

The trapeziUM is for the thUMb, I think, or something like that...

 

I guess I'll need to look that up before I start Ortho in Sept!

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest Guy]

S2 S3 S4 keeps the penis off the floor (Pudendal nerve)

C3 C4 C5 keeps the diaphragm alive (Phrenic)

T1-T11 Rib Heaven (Intercostal Nerves)

[Guest Tal]

That was great guys (those little phrase/word tricks)! Got any more?

[Guest Ian Wong]

Here's where you want to go for your medical mnemonic needs! Are you a med student by chance?

 

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Medical Mnemonics<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

www.medicalmnemonics.com/

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3