Survival
Strategies for Medical School
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Strategy
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Explanation
|
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Attend every
class
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You should
hear lectures and presentations first hand to receive full
benefit. Don’t
depend on other student’s notes because each student writes down
and organizes concepts according to what’s important to them.
Tutorial
attendance is required, come prepared!
|
|
Keep up with
the work… but pace yourself
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Study a modest
number of hours most days; avoid extremely long stretches of study
because memory and retention diminish.
Develop a
regular review schedule; 1 day, 7 days, then 28 days.
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Clarify when
you have questions
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Most
instructors prefer students to clarify points in class, this gives
the instructor a chance to elaborate on unclear points while the
class is in session. Students
should regularly use office hours and/or make appointments to meet
personally with the instructor.
Faculty are
generally very responsive to e-mailed questions.
|
|
Get organized
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This skill is
related to your personality and learning style. Learn to make the
most of your individuality, and particular study habits.
|
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Manage your
time
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Medical school
requires excellent time management skills because of the volume of
work, and necessity to balance reading and research with clinical
duties. Build in time for personal pursuits and family.
(See Sample
Time Management Plan, next page)
|
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Establish a
study routine
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Some
experimentation with study space, time, and environment is
productive, but as soon as possible you should establish a
routine. The study environment has important psychological
triggers for learning.
This must
include a schedule for reviewing.
|
|
See your
faculty advisor
|
Get to know
your faculty advisor, and other medical school faculty and staff.
Know who the advisors are and how to contact them.
|
|
Find a mentor
|
Choose a
mentor, someone who you relate to that can validate your medical
school experience. A compatible faculty member, senior medical
student, or staff member.
|
|
Ask questions
|
Don’t be
afraid to ask questions. The medical school is full of
professionals willing, ready, and able to help you succeed.
|
|
Professional
Development
|
Once your
academic performance is secure, consider joining a student
organization. Participate in event planning as an officer.
Leadership development leads to professional development.
|
Sample
Time Management
Plan
- Look at your usual work patterns and identify high, medium, and
low; concentration periods
- Create a semester calendar.
Include exact due dates, type of assignment or exam;
clinical schedule; also write in extra curricular activities, meetings,
exercise, personal time.
- Make an outline of priorities for the whole semester.
- Identify your most difficult work tasks and match them to your high; concentration periods.
For example:
High concentration= writing, statistical analysis,
research
Moderate concentration= computations, memorization,
assigned readings, editing and proofreading papers
Low concentration= rest, relaxation, and recreation
A
word about "strategies"
Once you believe you
are the agent of your success, you begin to behave in ways that will
produce that success.
Learning
strategies, study strategies, test taking strategies……you have
successfully negotiated the vagaries of academic strategies in order to
get where you are today. Medical school is in some ways different and
unique, but not so unique that you can't build on past successes to
achieve your goals in medical school.
As an adult learner, you'll notice a shift of responsibility from
instructor-centered to student-centered.
Research and practice has
shown that adults learn best when instruction is student-centered.
Adult learners tend to exhibit the following characteristics:
(Imel, 1995)
-
adults tend to be
self-directing
-
adults bring many and
various academic, work, and practical experiences to the learning
situation; these experiences can serve as a rich source of learning
