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How Social Media is Changing the Way Medical Students Study

social-media-studying

Just a few short decades ago, medical students had only a handful of ways to study their materials. They sat in classroom lectures, went to the library, studied on their own at home, or met up in a coffee shop to discuss the topics at hand. In today’s world, there are dozens of options out there – and social media is a key player. Here’s how social media is changing the way medical students around the world are studying.

Integration into Online Courses

Students choose to take their courses online for a variety of reasons. Some need the flexibility that online courses can provide, especially if they have families or their jobs make it difficult to attend lectures in real time. With the COVID-19 pandemic, some universities are closed for in-person instruction and are instead reliant on virtual learning. In many cases – and in many courses – professors rely on social media as a tool to keep their classes connected. In fact, many create Facebook groups designed for a specific course and then use them to start discussions. It’s a wonderful tool that helps medical students study more effectively.

Virtual Study Groups

Another way in which social media is changing the way medical students prepare for their exams has to do with study groups. Despite social distancing guidelines and restrictions around the world, students are utilizing social media platforms to group virtually for meaningful and helpful discussions. Facebook Rooms, which is available through the social media giant’s Messenger app, is a popular hub for these groups. It allows students to see one another in real time, which is the next best thing to an actual group.

Round-the-Clock Access to Help

Study groups are important because each member of the group has a specific set of topics they understand well – and perhaps even a topic or two that they don’t. When all of these students get together in one virtual place, they can draw on one another’s knowledge to learn in a way that lectures and reading simply can’t provide. Social media platforms give groups of students the ability to form personalized chat groups so that they can ask questions around the clock and receive answers as the other members have time.

Recommendations & More

If you’re looking for a new restaurant to try, there’s a good chance you’ll use one of several social media sites to ask your friends what they would recommend, then simply wait for some enticing answers. This works the same way when it comes to studying for medical exams. Via social media, medical students can ask questions of specific groups of friends and receive numerous answers. These questions might include, “What time is the virtual lecture?” or even, “Where can I find a specific textbook?”

Simply put, social media is a wonderful resource for not only staying in touch with friends, families, and colleagues, but also for studying and getting the most out of your medical school experience. Whether it’s a specific group put together for an online course or a place to ask your fellow students which resource or text they would recommend, every student can benefit from social media as long as they use it responsibly.

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Digital vs. Handwritten Notes: Which Works Best?

digital-vs-handwritten

As a medical student, you’re more than likely aware of the importance of taking notes during lectures and as you read your course texts. Deciding whether to take digital notes or handwritten ones is personal, and each can be equally effective depending on your individual needs. Below, you can learn more about the pros and cons of digital versus handwritten notes so that you can use the system that best helps you succeed.

Handwritten Notes

Writing out notes by hand is still the most popular system among students. It requires only a pen or pencil and paper, which are easily obtainable – even at a corner convenience store. In some cases, you may choose to annotate your textbooks, which is a secondary means of writing notes. It involves listening to the lecturer speak or reading a paragraph in your text, then making a note of the most important concepts that you will need to know for your clinicals or your exams.

The downfalls associated with handwritten notes are very few. For some students, though, these downfalls make handwritten notes impractical. They include:

  • The need to store piles and piles of notebooks. When you’re studying for your licensing or placement exam, you will need every single note you take to serve as a study tool. If you’re taking good notes, then they are also thorough and cover a variety of topics and information. Unfortunately, in order to continue to study these notes, you’ll need to keep them – and that means piles of notebooks in your dorm, apartment, or room.
  • Inability to write fast enough. Many students who take handwritten notes attest that learning basic shorthand is essential, especially in medical school since there are so many facts and figures to remember. Those who don’t know shorthand often struggle to write fast enough to keep up with lecturers.
  • Illegibility or disorganization. If your handwriting isn’t the greatest, then there’s always the concern that you’ll pull one of your notebooks out of the pile only to discover that you can’t make out what you wrote. Along those same lines, if you failed to organize your notes in a cohesive way, you might have to spend hours digging through pages and pages of terms to find the topic you need to study.

Digital Notes

Digital notetaking makes up for many of the downfalls associated with writing them by hand. You can save all your data in the cloud, which means all you really need is a tablet or laptop – or maybe even your phone. Most people can type much faster than they can write, too, which means any device with a keyboard will allow you to get your thoughts down quickly. Finally, you can arrange your notes into folders by date, topic, or any other criteria, and you can search every single document for specific terms, too.

For most medical students, as long as they have the laptop or tablet that allows for digital notetaking, there are no real pitfalls – especially if they back up their notes to the cloud regularly. However, studies have found that students who handwrite their notes tend to recall more information than students who type them, so keep this in mind. A way to circumvent this involves using one of numerous handwriting apps on your iPad or convertible laptop so that you can get the best of both worlds.

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5 Tips for Practicing Social Distancing while Studying for Medical Exams

medical-students-studying

If the social distancing guidelines for COVID-19 prevention from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as from the World Health Organization (WHO) have left you scrambling for new ways to study for your medical exams, you are certainly not alone. Even with these measures in place, though, it is possible to continue your studies uninterrupted. Here are five tips for practicing social distancing without sacrificing your study time.

#1 – Study Alone

Most students benefit a great deal from scheduling solo study time into their daily calendars, but as with all things, moderation is key. Studies have suggested that group study is the best way to reinforce previously learned material, so when it comes to review sessions, visiting a fellow student’s dorm or meeting up at the library is ideal. However, with COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions in place, this is simply not possible. To make the most out of your solo study time, try saying things out loud – even if there’s no one there. This simulates a group setting and may help you recall more of your studies later.

#2 – Make Use of Online Groups & Rooms

Now that social distancing is occurring on an almost-global scale, numerous companies have provided access to online meeting rooms and chatrooms that provide a simulated group meet experience. Some of the best options include Zoom, a popular video conferencing platform, as well as Facebook, which has recently implemented its “Rooms” feature, available via Facebook Messenger.

#3 – Use a Question Bank Frequently

One of the best and most underrated ways to study involves utilizing question banks that mimic the questions that you will be asked on your placement or licensing exam. However, not all question bank platforms are created equally, which means you’ll need to be sure that you know what to look for in a quality platform. Similarly, the platform you choose should come with numerous customization options – and perhaps even room to compare your mock exam scores to others to see if you’re on the right track.

#4 – Visit Online Libraries

Libraries – and especially reference libraries – often become second homes for medical students. They spend countless hours poring through piles of medical journals and texts to understand the most complicated parts of human anatomy, physiology, and psychology. Though students cannot simply go to the library every day like they did before the pandemic, they certainly can explore most (if not all) of what the library has to offer online. What’s more, some libraries even offer prerecorded lectures that you can access if you feel like you need a little extra help.

#5 – Ask Your School’s Faculty

Finally, if you are unsure of which resources are available to you in your local area or through your school, the best way to discover them involves simply asking the faculty. Contact the school’s library or perhaps even your professors to ask them about digital study materials that may be available to you, any Zoom study groups that may be taking place, or even opportunities for phone or video tutoring for students who need some extra help.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed the way most of us go about our daily lives, it doesn’t have to put a complete damper on your studies. You can study alone with a question bank or through an online library, or you can study with groups through video conferencing apps like Zoom or social apps like Facebook. The possibilities are limitless – just like your potential. All you have to do is embrace them.

 

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How to Train Your Brain to Make Study Time More Effective

train-brain

Studying is at the core of a medical students everyday life, but staying focused and motivated can be difficult, especially now that so many students are learning with online courses from their dorms or homes. Learning how to focus on the task at hand and avoid distractions is by far one of the best things a medical student can do, and the techniques below can help.

How Your Brain Works

The human brain can focus on any given topic during a study session for about 25 minutes before it starts to find ways to distract itself. Though there are some exceptions – such as when the content you are studying is interesting to you, personally – 25 minutes is a solid average. For the most part, forcing yourself to continue studying when your mind simply cannot focus isn’t productive at all. You aren’t likely to retain more information, and you’re probably just wasting your time. However, thanks to something called brain plasticity, you can train your brain to stay focused for longer periods of time and really make the most out of the time you have to study.

The Pomodoro Method

The world-famous Pomodoro Method for studying has been around for quite some time, and it’s based solely on the notion that most people can only stay truly focused on a task for roughly 25 minutes. The method, which applies not only to studying, but also to other tasks, involves setting a timer for 25 minutes, focusing intently during that time, then setting another timer for a five minute break during which you remove yourself from your desk or study area to stretch, drink water, or listen to a song.

This complete 30-minute interval comprised of 25 minutes of work and five minutes of play is referred to as a “Pomodoro”, and you can use numerous Pomodoros to accomplish the task at hand. You may need four or five of them to finish studying your microbiology chapter, but you may only need one clean your apartment. It can be used for virtually anything.

Extending Your Pomodoros

Once you’ve gotten the knack of using Pomodoros to get through your study sessions, your brain’s ability to adapt (brain plasticity) will allow you make each cycle longer and longer, all without losing focus. After a week of 30-minute Pomodoros, try extending it to 45 minutes with a seven-minute break. If you can stay focused for the full 45 minutes, move to an hour with a ten-minute break. Over time, your brain will learn how to stay focused for longer periods, and you’ll get much more out of your study sessions.

With so many medical students now taking online courses, distractions are everywhere, but there are things you can do to stay focused, and over time, you’ll even learn how to block out those distractions. Aside from using the Pomodoro method, you can also try some exercises recommended by Harvard University to keep your mind fit throughout your med school years and beyond.

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How Med Students Around the World Avoid Studying Burnout

medical-student-burnout

Medical students work and study hard for years to become doctors and surgeons, and as a result, almost everyone will face some sort of studying burnout at some point. Fortunately, there are things students can do to avoid the “stuck in a rut” feeling, and even the American Medical Association (AMA) is on board.

Why Burnout Occurs

Medical students typically enter the field because they want to work with patients to save their lives or at least provide them with a better quality of life. Before that can occur, there are many years of study that must take place, and the difficulty of the study – the sheer time spent staring at textbooks or listening to lectures – is daunting, at best. The overwhelming amount of information and study leads to burnout in about 45% of medical students according to a study conducted by the AMA and Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

What Doctors (Former Medical Students) Recommend

Burnout is definitely real, and it can take a toll on a student’s ability to succeed in their studies, and in some cases, it can be detrimental to their careers, too. Fortunately, there are things that students can do to avoid burnout altogether, and many of these same things will go a long way toward resolving burnout once it occurs.

  • Take care of your body and mind. The four facets include eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and meditating. It may seem simple but failing to cover even one of these tenets of keeping yourself healthy will have a serious impact on your wellbeing and can quickly cause burnout.
  • Seek support from other medical students. There’s a reason why there’s a support group for everything, and when it comes to medical school, your peers are often as effective as therapy when it comes to avoiding burnout. Talk to them about your struggles and be there to help support them, too.
  • Ask your school counselors about support programs. Today’s world is much different than it was even a few decades ago. Medical professionals understand that the rigors of getting an education can be exhausting and overwhelming, so many universities have numerous wellness programs in place that you can take advantage of. Aside from simply learning how to be a doctor, it’s important to learn how to deal with stress and pressure that comes along with not only your education, but also your choice of career.

Mental Healthcare is Important

Finally, it’s important to note that serious burnout can be the result (or even the cause) of anxiety disorders and significant depression. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention notes that between 300 and 400 doctors die by suicide each year, yet very few physicians actually seek mental healthcare due to confidentiality concerns. Today, the AMA in partnership with other organizations works to provide confidential, affordable, and accessible mental healthcare for medical students and physicians alike.

Burnout is indeed real, and it’s actually quite prevalent among medical students. To avoid it, or to overcome it, make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Nourish your body and mind and seek the support of your peers and your university whenever you can. Finally, make sure you access mental healthcare as needed to keep yourself healthy.

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Want to Really Remember That Lecture? Here are 5 Ways to Absorb More Info in the Classroom

medical-student-classroom

Medical students spend years of their lives devouring and digesting information coming at them from numerous sources. Of all these sources, most students agree that lectures present the most problems. Below are five helpful ways to really get the most out of your lectures and absorb more information from them, thereby improving your studies and your ability to succeed.

#1 – Read to Prepare for the Lecture

One of the absolute best things you can do to prepare for a lecture involves reading the material assigned to you prior to entering the classroom, even if the reading is technically assigned after the lecture. There are a few reasons for this, but for some students, the simple act of quickly reading over the topic that will be covered is enough to help them better comprehend what their professor is saying during the lecture. You don’t have to read every page but do take the time to skim the headings and get a feel for what the talk will be about.

#2 – Take the Correct Notes

Taking notes during a lecture is critical, but in medical school with professors providing new information with every sentence, it can be difficult to know what to write and what to let go. If you’ve prepared for your lecture in step 1, then you should already know a little about the discussion. When you write things down, write quickly and use abbreviations that you can understand. Write only the concepts that are new to you to save time and space in your notes, and if at all possible, make a note of the corresponding textbook section to go along with it for better studying later. This method is excellent for kinesthetic learners.

#3 – Record the Lecture

Sometimes no matter what you do, your professor will throw so much information at you so quickly that you simply cannot write it all down. This is not a new phenomenon, and it is exactly why most university bookstores sell handheld audio recorders – so you can record your lectures and listen to them again later. A good rule of thumb involves stocking up on storage space so that you can keep your lectures for the entirety of each course and use them as review material for midterms and finals as needed. If you’re an auditory learner, this is one of the best things you can do.

#4 – Practice the Topic on Your Time

When the lecture is over and you are about to start your study session, pull up your online question bank and filter the topics until you have only the topics you learned in your lecture selected. Go through these practice questions several times; then, go back through the questions you missed and utilize all the resources available to you – your textbook, your lecture recording, the notes you took, YouTube, and even your study group – to revise and learn. This by far one of the best things you can do for yourself.

 #5 – Study with the Forgetting Curve in Mind

The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve is a mathematical formula developed in 1885 that describes the rate at which we forget newly-learned information if we don’t actively try to retain it. Unless you take the time to review material regularly, it will be lost in a matter of days, and there are studies suggesting that we forget about 50% of what we learn in the first hour after learning it – and that climbs to 70% in the first day. Fortunately, with so many excellent study tools on your hands and the ability to customize your mock tests, it’s possible to stay ahead of the forgetting curve and retain far, far more.

 

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Timed vs. Tutor Mode: Which Option is Best for You?

medical student tutor

CanadaQBank’s amazing platform gives medical and engineering students access to thousands of expertly-written questions for numerous exams, allowing them the opportunity to study at their own pace and on their own time any way they choose. The software also offers both timed and tutor modes, both of which offer unique benefits. Learn more about each one below so you can determine which mode is right for you.

Timed Mode

With timed mode, you are given a very specific amount of time to answer various questions from the topics you choose. This can really put the pressure on and make it feel as if you are taking the real exam. If you want to see how you can perform under pressure, then timed mode is the best choice. Just select it from the “Create Test” tab of the software and get started. When you finish, you can not only see the number of questions you answered correctly, but you can also compare your performance with the performance of others using the same question banks.

Tutor Mode

You can also choose tutor mode for a more laid-back study session that gives you ample opportunity to think about questions, look up information, or simply take a break if you need to do so. Tutor mode is ideal for taking notes as you go through the topics you choose, and if you miss a question, the tutor mode will show you the correct answer and explain to you why that answer is the right one. It is truly the only software of its kind, and it provides students with one of the most valuable study tools in their arsenal.

Master One Topic at a Time

Medical licensing and placement exams are packed with questions and topics that often leave students feeling incredibly overwhelmed. Only CanadaQBank offers the Study Topic feature, which allows you to choose a topic within your examination to focus on for as long as you would like. For the MCCEE, for example, you can first choose a broader subject, such as medicine, and then choose a narrow topic, such as alcohol abuse indicators or acute angle closure glaucoma. This allows you to reinforce topics you have already learned, but it gives you an even better opportunity to study topics that you may be struggling with.

Available by Subscription

If you are interested in trying CanadaQBank’s software for your medical or engineering exam, you won’t have to pay an exorbitant upfront fee to get started. In fact, you can pay a low monthly subscription fee specifically designed to meet the average student’s budget, and there are no long-term contracts. Just create your account by entering your email, name, location, and level of training, then follow the directions on the screen.

Licensing and placement tests are undeniably tough, and studying for them may leave you feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information presented to you. CanadaQBank allows you to slow things down to your own pace with its timed and tutor modes, and you can even master one topic at a time as you see fit.

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Study Skills for Med Students: The Benefits of Annotating Your Textbook

annotating text book

By now, you’ve probably heard enough about study skills to make your head spin but depending on where you are in your medical school career, you may still be searching for the best techniques for you. One such technique – and one that surprisingly few medical students utilize – involves annotating your textbook. Here’s what you need to know about incorporating annotation into your next study session.

What is Annotation?

Annotation is the act of highlighting important terms and sentences and taking notes as you read through your textbook. Some students highlight and write directly in the physical textbook, but others, hoping to resell the textbook later, choose to use a piece of paper or sticky notes inside the book, instead. Annotation is a great way for you to combine information from lectures and other sources with the information in your textbook to provide a well-rounded and thorough study guide.

How Should You Annotate?

It’s easy to get carried away when you annotate because everything in a medical textbook seems incredibly important. Fortunately, there are a few simple tips you can follow to help you start annotating like a pro:

  • Skim the reading assignment in its entirety first. Don’t touch the pen, pencil, or highlighter yet. Just skim the text, paying special attention to subheadings, diagrams, and summaries.
  • Pick up a highlighter and find the main point of the first paragraph. You don’t have to read it word-for-word; a quick skim will do. Highlight the paragraph’s main topic (or, if you don’t want to write in your book, use a sticky flag with a number on it, then on a separate piece of paper, write the corresponding number and the passage that constitutes the paragraph’s main topic.
  • Look for important supporting details. Now that you have the main topic, look for any supporting details. For instance, if you’re learning about diabetes, and that is the main topic of the paragraph, you may need to know that insulin is a common treatment. Using the same highlighter, underline only important information that supports the main topic of the paragraph.
  • Highlight key words in a separate color. If you come across important terms or vocabulary words that are unfamiliar to you, highlight these in another color. Then, to help you remember them, write the terms and their definitions on a separate sheet of paper – or, better still, put each one on an index card with the term on the front and its definition on the back.

How to Use Your Annotated Textbook

By the time you’ve annotated all your reading assignments, you should be able to open your textbook to a specific chapter and point out every single main topic, which is ultimately the perfect study guide for that chapter. To study it, if your textbook has review questions at the end of each topic or chapter, try your best to answer them and refer to your highlights as needed to help. Make a note of the topics you struggle with, then pull those topics up in your question bank to continue to actively challenge yourself. This mix of active and passive learning is ideal for most students.

Annotating your textbook is a quick way to get the most out of your reading assignments without having to read and re-read every word of every chapter. Not only can it help you commit things to memory when it is done correctly, but it can also serve as a very good study guide for quizzes and exams.

 

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How to Get the Most out of Online Medical School Courses

Online Medical Course

Medical school is a hands-on learning experience, but in today’s busy world, many schools make some courses available to you 100% online. Below, you can learn more about this online coursework and whether or not it is right for you, and you can even discover some helpful tips on getting the most out of it, too. You’ll also learn you can prepare for your medical exams with online courses.

What Kinds of Courses Can You Take Online?

If your course requires hands-on participation, then you probably won’t find an online version. However, for certain others – things like psychology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and others – you may be given the option to study at home. Not every medical school has this option, and this option isn’t right for every single student. These are tough courses, and many students find that they’re even tougher when they do not have access to live lectures and other activities that reinforce the topics.

Important Pros and Cons

Online courses are beneficial for busy students who need the flexibility to learn at their own pace. Most schools offer access to lectures – both live via video and prerecorded – as well as the same assignments as your on-campus peers. However, there are some disadvantages, too. You won’t be near your peers for your classes, and you’ll need to be able to motivate yourself to not only study, but actually teach yourself the concepts. Online courses may not be the best idea for students who tend to procrastinate or who have trouble motivating themselves.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Online Courses

If you determine that online courses are best for your busy life, there are a few things you can do to maximize your learning potential.

  • Attend live lectures whenever you can. If the professor streams his or her lecture, try to be there to watch. Sometimes, a teacher’s aid will moderate comments from distance learners, which gives you the opportunity to ask questions like you would if you were actually seated in the classroom.
  • Use discussion boards. Discussion boards are fantastic for interacting with your peers, getting help with tough topics, asking tough questions, and perhaps even putting together study groups for particular topics. In fact, in many online courses, discussion board participation is a graded requirement.
  • Use the Pomodoro method. Pomodoro means tomato in Italian, and that’s because it’s a study method that was originally adapted from a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. Simply put, study for 20 minutes, then take a five-minute break. Then study for 25 minutes and take a five-minute break. Gradually increase the length of time you study with each session, and for every 30 minutes you add to your sessions, add another five minutes to your break.
  • Take it seriously. If there’s one piece of advice that really matters, it’s the fact that you should take your online courses just as seriously as the rest. Just because you aren’t traveling to campus, that doesn’t mean you should put in less effort. Watch the lecture videos and take notes as if you were there. Make flash cards, find a study group, and use your question bank software to help you learn the tougher topics, too.

Online courses for medical students can be a blessing or a curse, but this depends primarily on the student. As long as you are motivated and willing to go the extra mile, you can use online courses to your advantage and gain the same amount of knowledge as you would in the classroom.

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How Many Times Should You Take a Mock Licensing Exam Before the Real Thing?

mock medical exam

Preparing for a medical licensing exam can be grueling, and it might seem like no matter what you do, there are some topics that you just can’t seem to commit to memory. Active learning is by far the best way to overcome the challenges associated with tricky topics, and that’s exactly where question banks and mock exams come in. How many times should you take a mock licensing exam for the MCCQE or other test before you take the real thing? The answer may surprise you!

What is Active Learning?

There are two types of learning: active and passive. Active learning involves actively recalling information whereas passive learning involves something like reading or highlighting – passive steps you take to attempt to commit the information to memory. When you take mock exams, these are a form of active learning. Rather than having the answers right in front of you to read, you must actively use your brain to come up with the answer. Numerous studies have shown that active learning is far superior to passive learning when it comes to both memorization and overall comprehension.

Getting the Most out of Mock Exams

Before sitting down to spend hours answering questions, make sure that you’re using the right tools for your mock exams. Not all question banks are the same, and some afford you very little in the way of actual help. Look for a variety of features, which include things like different modes that you can use to help you learn the material. You should also have the ability to separate questions that you struggle with so that you can easily find them later and practice them until they are second nature. Ideally, you should be able to make your own notes for individual questions, and if you miss a question, you should be able to see some feedback and an explanation.

How Many Times Should You Take a Mock Exam?

The number of times that you will need to take a mock exam before you take the real licensing exam will vary, but the absolute best advice is to continue to take the practice tests until you are 100% confident that you have mastered the material. With CanadaQBank, it’s easy to do. You can build your mock exams around the topics you’ve learned by simply choosing which topics the software will pull questions from. Each time a new topic is introduced, add it to your list, and go through the questions a couple times a week. This way, you can be sure that you are constantly reviewing old material even as you are introducing the new.

There’s no one right way to take a mock exam, and there’s no one strategy that serves as a cookie-cutter solution for all medical students. Nevertheless, by following the advice here and doing your very best to review things you’ve learned in the past and things you’ve learned more frequently – and doing so at least twice a week – you will have a much better chance to retain more information that will benefit you when you take your real licensing exam.