7 learning tips for studying from a medical student
When studying medicine you are often faced with a huge mountain of material, which you can learn most of in a short time should know. Often this is extremely discouraging and a single question comes before all the others: “How am I supposed to get this all into my head?”
I have definitely found myself several times in this situation and knows how overwhelmed and demotivated you can feel in such moments. That's why I'm happy to share a few tips with you here that have helped me toconquer huge amounts of material and still take care of my mental health; if you neglect this, you often lose energy and energy very quickly lost the stamina for learning. Studying is a marathon, not a sprint!
Tip #1 Divide the amount of material into small parts
It's best to start with this , to roughly skim through all of your materials in order to estimate how many topics you can divide the material into and approximately how extensive each topic is. In this way you can divide the big picture into smaller chunks that are much easier to conquer and that you can work on little by little.
If you still don't know where to start: most textbooks have already thought about the order of the topics, so: usually just start with the first topic, the rest builds like that good as always on that too.
Tip #2 Make a learning plan
For me personally, nothing works without a learning plan. It brings structure to everyday life and gives you the feeling that you have your success in your hands and know exactly: If I follow the plan, I will definitely finish by the deadline.
If possible: build in a few buffer days and a few repetition days before the final date, this will give you extra security if something comes up or something just doesn't work out for you on one day runs with concentration. The learning plan is also not a rigid structure. It can be changed at will during execution. However, it is important that you keep the rough framework so that you can deal with the material safely.
Tip #3 Ask each other questions
Learning together with fellow students is much more fun and it doesn't feel so annoying anymore than sitting alone in front of the book. Agree with 2-3 friends when you will learn something, so after a day of learning you can talk through topics, explain any ambiguities to each other and, above all, communicate with each other.
So you can see where your strengths and weaknesses lie and can therefore, firstly, change your learning plan again and repeat the topics that didn't go so well and secondly, take a little breather when you see that learning has actually made a difference in some places. In addition, answering questions and discussing solidifies knowledge immensely!
Tip #4 Visualize progress
You so often have the feeling that you haven't accomplished anything yet and the mountain just isn't getting any smaller. That's why it's important to visualize your progress and keep it in front of you. For example, it worked well for me with the learning plan because I always checked off the topics that I had worked on.
Every time I was able to tick a box, it was a kind of mini-triumph and I knew that I had already taken a small step in the right direction. After a few days, you'll see how many topics you've already ticked off and you'll realize that all the work is actually achieving something.
Tip #5 Set study-free times
Extremely important! Nobody can sustain 24/7 learning in the long term. Set a time at which you will stop studying at the latest, take some time out in the evening and do something that you enjoy and offer balance: work out in the gym, go out for something nice to eat with friends or throw yourself on the couch with your friends and your favorite series.
Sometimes take an afternoon off to do something pleasant. You don't have to feel guilty about doing anything other than eating, sleeping and studying. You might be able to do the latter for a few days, but in the long run it will drain you extremely and the learning time will be used much less efficiently, which in turn drains you even more and you end up in a nasty vicious circle. After all, we are still humans and not machines and humans cannot work around the clock.
Tip #6 Don't lose sight of the big goal
Especially in the preclinical phase, it often happens that you... After memorizing out loud, at some point you think: “Why am I doing this to myself?” You rarely get the feeling that you can actually use all the knowledge you have stuffed into your head in your medical profession.
Unfortunately, I cannot currently assess whether the knowledge will be needed later. But what I can say is: no course of study is easy and, especially when studying medicine, there is always a certain amount of ambition involved, as it feels like obstacles are constantly being put in your way. So if you're in a phase where you think to yourself: What's the point of all this? Think about the final goal you want to achieve: becoming a doctor.
On the way there you often have to bite the bullet, but in the end it's worth it because you can do the job you really want to do. Specifically, the colored boxes in the textbooks that make the clinical references always help me. This can also help you become a little more fascinated by the topic. And if all of that doesn't help at all, here's the clinician's favorite saying: Everything gets better after the physics exam anyway!
Tip #7 Enjoy the time
Even if sometimes should be stressful and you have to learn a lot. You should try to enjoy every single second. Have fun with fellow students, go out, or just do fun things that you've always wanted to do.
You have more freedom during your studies than anywhere else. Enjoy the time when you are so young and full of energy and don't take your studies too seriously.
What did you think of the article? Were you able to take some things away for yourself? Feel free to write it in the comments.
Kind regards,
Your medical student
@studymedizin_
