The road to becoming a doctor is not easy. Before you get an M.D. degree, practice medicine, and work with patients, you have to learn intricate medical terminologies, manage rigorous content load, and score good marks on your board exams.
For many students, medical school is like running a marathon. It’s not uncommon for medical students to be afraid of the board exams they will need to take throughout their medical school journey. Learning how to study best and managing your course load is the key to deal with different types of exams you will encounter in medical school.
Remember medical schools follow a self-directed learning approach and want their students to learn and memorize medical concepts by themselves. You might not get neat and detailed notes on every topic and learn massive amounts of information in a very short period of time. By preparing in time and reviewing study material, you can prepare for your upcoming exams in medical school.
Let’s discover some easy ways to ace your medical school exam and score impressive marks.
Learn the Most Important Content
There is no denying the fact that the quantity of material medical students need to remember is much more than what they had as a premedical student. In fact, being a medical student is quite different from being a premedical student. There is a lot of study material, and it is impossible to learn every single nugget of information you will be taught in lectures. It is advised to learn the most important topics that your professors disclose during the lectures. By doing so, you can gain an in-depth understand of the most important information and perform well in the medical school exam.
Learn and Memorize Information
Note-taking is an important skill every medical student should learn during their time at medical school. Learning how to take lecture properly will help you do well in your exams. Thanks to technological advancements, taking notes has now become easier for medical students. There are note-taking apps, like Evernote, OneNote, that help students to organize their lecture notes. Try to learn and retain information by reading different study materials, such as review books, question banks, mnemonic study aid and slides.
Review the Study Material Most Often
If you want to master the study material and score impressive marks in your upcoming medical school test, it is advised to follow this smart learning strategy. Instead of spending nights before the exam, spend days and take time to review your study material regularly. It is a very good technique that will prepare you for your exams. Set aside a time to review your notes after every lecture and learn everything you need to prepare for the exam. It is a great way to memorize and understand your complex study material. To memorize the concepts, you can create charts, flashcards, make notes or take the quiz.
Revise Repeatedly
There is indeed too much content to learn in medical school and it can be a challenging task to revise each and every topic you study. Not revising a single topic means a low GPA, as medical school exams include every single topic you learn during the entire year. It is a smart strategy to learn the main concepts and revise the most important areas of each topic; it will prepare you for your medical school exams. Reviewing your study material, again and again, can help you better absorb the content.
There is no need to review every topic in detail; you can simply go through your notes to refresh the concepts. You can revise your notes while having a coffee with your friends in the cafeteria and talk concepts out with them. You can create study groups and ask your fellow members questions regarding the topic you find difficult. Whatever, revising strategy you choose, remember, you need to go over content again and again to get a better and in-depth understanding. To score impressive marks in your medical school exams, going over a topic once is not enough. You need to revise it multiple times to master it.
Try New Learning Strategies
If you want to score good marks in your exams, be willing to try new study techniques. Understanding the way you absorb information is the best strategy to succeed in your medical course. Reading information, listening to your lectures, quiz yourself, spaced repetition, interleaving practice, using mnemonics, and mind maps, are a few effective study methods that help medical students learn more efficiently and remember longer. No matter which learning strategy you choose to ace your medical school exam, the key is to organize the volume of study material per day so that you easily manage the challenging course load.
By efficiently managing your medical courses, following some new learning styles, and regularly reviewing your lectures, you can perform at your best during your medical school exams. Good luck!
