Ten tips for medical students
Prof. Dr. Monem Makki Abdel-Reda Hammoud Al-Shouk
Head of the Medicine Branch
Prof. Dr. Monem Makki Abdel-Reda Hammoud Al-Shouk
Head of the Medicine Branch
Tip 1 - Be familiar with the terms and nomenclature
Generally this can be accomplished by paying attention to the stem of the word. Majority of medical terms are based in Greek or Latin. Most terms can be broken down into two or more word portions. Take pathogenic for example, which means 'capable of causing disease'. The root term patho- refers to disease and -genic refers to producing or causing. Similarly it is easy to understand different other words made by joining any meaningful word to the root term patho-
Tip 2 - Be structured
Medical study is comparatively a massive course of study that proceeds and builds on complicated concepts. It is the best practice to take one general topic and list all its related topics beneath it. Keep diagrams compact, concise and short so that you would be able to review them easily and quickly for comparison and quick reference.
Tip 3 - Go from whole to part Read carefully
Comb roughly through the assigned unit or chapter at the beginning of your studies so that you get a rough idea of what you will be going to cover. This will keep you enlightened that what you have to study and you will have a clear picture in your mind about what you have to study in that specific chapter.
Tip 4 - Study every single day
Regardless of the exams or tests, to be a good student it needs to develop good study habits. It is really really important as a medical student. Despite different modern digital study tools (PowerPoint slides, video lectures) book reading has its own importance. Still if you can't study properly every single day, try to study at least a little bit whenever you can
Tip 5 - Relate and distinct
Whenever you are studying something, try to focus that “How is this similar to . . . and how this is different from . . .” Medicine is full of duality and has many disease processes which easily overlap with each other, thus very easy to confuse them with each other. Thus relating different terms to any natural and more memorable thing is a very easy way to eliminate this complication
Tip 6 - Discuss and study in a group
The key here is to choose your friends sensibly and to strictly limit how much time you study with them. Preferably you should do all your study by yourself, and use group studying time as a discussion to review or to clarify unclear points
Tip 7 - Always clear your doubts: Don't Forget to Ask Why
We all hate to ask questions due to fear of looking dumb. However, we should not feel any embarrassment in asking any confusing question to our friends and mates. Asking questions, clearing confusion is not a crime or embarrassment but the real embarrassment, when you don't know something especially when you are interrogated about that in interviews or exams
Tip 8 - Customize the notes into your own summarized, easy to go through version
This will help you to deal with the knowledge in an efficient way that you can access the knowledge easily and quickly. If you are unable to customize and summarize the notes then it is a clear sign that either the information is not presented in an organized way or you are not understanding it well
Tip 9 - Enjoy what you are doing
If you find yourself getting bored of studying, stopover and take a break. Find a way that creates interest in your study, in case that can be by turning study into a game, making study interactive, more visual or even studying interesting case reports online
Tip 10 – Avoid taking ridiculous amounts of tea/coffee/caffeine based: Despite the fact some people find it a good idea to get themselves awake and active by taking strange amounts of coffee or tea etc. In fact it is not always a good deed especially on the day before an exam because it will cuff you ultimately and will end you up with muzzy feelingDespite the fact some people find it a good idea to get themselves awake and active by taking strange amounts of coffee or tea etc. In fact it is not always a good deed especially on the day before an exam because it will ultimately cuff you and will end you up with a muzzy feeling.
Tip 2 - Be structured
Medical study is comparatively a massive course of study that proceeds and builds on complicated concepts. It is the best practice to take one general topic and list all its related topics beneath it. Keep diagrams compact, concise and short so that you would be able to review them easily and quickly for comparison and quick reference.
Tip 3 - Go from whole to part Read carefully
Comb roughly through the assigned unit or chapter at the beginning of your studies so that you get a rough idea of what you will be going to cover. This will keep you enlightened that what you have to study and you will have a clear picture in your mind about what you have to study in that specific chapter.
Tip 4 - Study every single day
Regardless of the exams or tests, to be a good student it needs to develop good study habits. It is really really important as a medical student. Despite different modern digital study tools (PowerPoint slides, video lectures) book reading has its own importance. Still if you can't study properly every single day, try to study at least a little bit whenever you can
Tip 5 - Relate and distinct
Whenever you are studying something, try to focus that “How is this similar to . . . and how this is different from . . .” Medicine is full of duality and has many disease processes which easily overlap with each other, thus very easy to confuse them with each other. Thus relating different terms to any natural and more memorable thing is a very easy way to eliminate this complication
Tip 6 - Discuss and study in a group
The key here is to choose your friends sensibly and to strictly limit how much time you study with them. Preferably you should do all your study by yourself, and use group studying time as a discussion to review or to clarify unclear points
Tip 7 - Always clear your doubts: Don't Forget to Ask Why
We all hate to ask questions due to fear of looking dumb. However, we should not feel any embarrassment in asking any confusing question to our friends and mates. Asking questions, clearing confusion is not a crime or embarrassment but the real embarrassment, when you don't know something especially when you are interrogated about that in interviews or exams
Tip 8 - Customize the notes into your own summarized, easy to go through version
This will help you to deal with the knowledge in an efficient way that you can access the knowledge easily and quickly. If you are unable to customize and summarize the notes then it is a clear sign that either the information is not presented in an organized way or you are not understanding it well
Tip 9 - Enjoy what you are doing
If you find yourself getting bored of studying, stopover and take a break. Find a way that creates interest in your study, in case that can be by turning study into a game, making study interactive, more visual or even studying interesting case reports online
Tip 10 – Avoid taking ridiculous amounts of tea/coffee/caffeine based: Despite the fact some people find it a good idea to get themselves awake and active by taking strange amounts of coffee or tea etc. In fact it is not always a good deed especially on the day before an exam because it will cuff you ultimately and will end you up with muzzy feelingDespite the fact some people find it a good idea to get themselves awake and active by taking strange amounts of coffee or tea etc. In fact it is not always a good deed especially on the day before an exam because it will ultimately cuff you and will end you up with a muzzy feeling.
