How to study in Medical School!

How to Study in Medical School

By: #LifeofaMedStudent

How to study in medical school? How is it different than undergrad? What do you recommend? Are practice questions that important? Is there a “right” method?! How DO YOU study in medical school?These are common questions that come across #LifeofaMedStudent, and often one of the biggest concerns and difficulties of medical students. This post is how I recommend setting up your study plans based on advice I received when I was a medical student and have seen successfully used in myself and many others over the years.

First, it’s important to comment on the transition from undergrad to medical school. For many of us, undergrad was frequently a matter of showing up, doing a little studying here or there, and knocking out test after test with success. As such, many of us, haven’t truly developed strong study techniques by the time we start medical training.

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I used to joke that there is more material covered in a week of medical school than a semester of college. Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I’m not so sure each block of medical school exams isn’t at least the equivalent of a “mid-term” or “final” in undergrad. The load of material can be simple over-whelming! This is why a proper study plan becomes so important, it is very easy to get helplessly behind. And nearly everyone in medical school was successful in college – truly you are now competing with the best of the best. Your study techniques need to match this new challenge!

I didn’t know or listen to this advice when I started out. As such, the first semester I nearly failed anatomy and didn’t do any better than just “pass” every other class. Came within a handful percentage of failing and didn’t know I had passed for sure until I got a very happy email on Christmas day stating I had hit the mark I needed on the anatomy shelf exam. The reason I was able to recover that exam/semester and go on to continually improving my grades until I was routinely an “Honor” student was that my anatomy professor pulled me into his office and drilled into my head the secret to success in medical school:

Practice Questions!!!

That’s right!! I feel how to study in medical school and planning to score well on everything from routine exams to shelf exams to the USMLE is SIMPLY PRACTICE QUESTIONS. And not just practice questions.. but hundreds, even thousands of them! As so simply put to me: “There are only so many ways you can make a question about anatomy – it won’t matter if you eventually are just memorizing the question or the answer – as long as you’ve seen every way to put the two together.”

This simple advice I’ve always found to be profoundly true. Even if I’m studying and memorizing the “question” as much as the “answer” both are very useful on test day, even if it’s picking out a different question’s “wrong” answers. The more practice questions I’d do before an exam, almost always the better I would score.

So here is how I generally recommend a study period. Spend the first half of the “block” studying the subject in whatever way works for you – reading, lectures taking notes, podcasts, review books – whatever you feel is your best study habit. Then spend the second half of the period doing as many practice questions as you can possibly do. Circle back and re-do ones that you missed. Take notes on the answers – both right and wrong. Then lastly, on the 24-48 hours, review those notes and make sure you can now answer correctly those answers you previously had gotten wrong. Simple, but extremely efficient studying.

Here is a little more detailed version of a general study plan I typically used. To make this applicable to clinical rotations as well, we’ll assume a 1-month block in OB/GYN.

First two weeks:

Read and take hand-written notes in Blueprints-Obstetrics & Gynecology. About 2-3 chapters/night is enough to get through the book in about two weeks.

I found reading a single resource book and taking handwritten notes to be my best study technique. Blueprints was my favorite. Yours may involve listening/podcasts, lectures, or anything else you’ve found success with. But I suggest to find one good resource and stick with it. If you want, take a look my recommended books for basic sciences and also a similar resource for clinical rotations.

Second two weeks:

Start on the practice questions! I liked to begin with the Pretest series and then moved on to USMLEWorld specific questions for the subject after that. Pretest for OB/GYN is another great book in their series and like most has about 4-500 questions. I then added notes from the answer explanations (even if I got the question right, but learned something new from the explanations) to my other handwritten notes from the resource book of the first two weeks.

Lastly, in the last 48-hours before the exam, I would completely review all my notes at least once, and specifically focus on the notes from practice questions a few times. This way everything was reviewed and still fresh in my mind the last day or two before the exam.

I have been using this simple study method for every test since that first year in medical school, including residency and specialty board licensing exams as well. Thankfully, I have never again had that terrible gut feeling of wondering if I passed. Spend half the time with one good resource, and take notes. Spend the second half of the time doing as many practice questions as you can, reviewing all the notes in the last 48 hours before an exam. SIMPLE, but effective!

You may have had success with your own technique. There may be more detailed and more successful techniques out there. BUT, if you are struggling in medical school or haven’t found a rhythm with your own plans, or even if you are starting medical school and looking for an outline – THIS has worked for me and many other students.

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