AndresTo

Because in medical school they had to keep up with all the random ramblings of their professors because god forbid the minute detail they didn’t write down would be on the exam (which you know it always was). And then they had to keep doing that during clinicals when they got a long list of patients to see and then had to write notes on said patients as the patient was reciting the narrative of their life and they were too worried they would miss a crucial detail so they wrote everything down so they could sort out the important stuff later instead of thinking “oh shit! What was that medication they were taking?! I wrote down what they had for lunch three years ago but I didn’t think medication was important?! Oh yeah I was hungry so of course lunch was priority. Speaking of lunch, when is that happening? Oh and speaking of happening, what was the room number for my next patient? Let me check the EMR. Wait. Why can’t I log in? Crap. I forgot my password again. I should have written it down. Oh wait. Hold on. Yes. There it is. In that little tiny corner of a piece of paper that I scribbled it on for a moment like this. Now what the hell does this say?!”…. *inhale* But I could be wrong.

If you like it, you’ll learn it; so learn to like it. 

Principles are as important as fats. If you master the principles, you an make up the facts.

You learn better when you know your goals. If you don’t know where you’re going, says the Talmud, all roads will take you there. But if you do know, you’ll get there much quicker. 

Follow your cases. I’ve learned and remembered more by follow-up than any other way. 

Like sex, learning is better if you are actively involved. When you read, talk back to the author. Be skeptical. Don’t follow authorities too closely or you may become a Brown Nose Duck, he can fly as fast as the leader, but can’t stop as quick.

Reinforcement is essential for acquiring knowledge. But don’t reinforce by simple repetition: use some other method other than the original way you learned it. See a case, look it up, read an article, ask a question.

Reward is important for learning. Show off what you know. Brag a little. Speak up in class. Tell your spouse or sweetheart, tell your colleagues, don’t bother telling your friends - you won’t have any. 

Different people learn by different methods. Figure out your own best method and cater to it, whether it be reading, listening, observing, or doing, or a combination of these. Don’t depend on great teachers. They are as rare as great students.

Quick retrieval of once acquired information is crucial. The home computer is ideal but other good retrieval methods are available. Create your own personal modification ad keep improving it. Without a recall system you are a “loser” , an old man with a stuck zipper.

Divide your study time into prime time, work time, and sleepy time. Biorhythms vary widely among students, so develop your own study schedule. Don’t watch television during prime time and don’t read medicine during sleepy time. 

You can find the text book here. It’s actually amazing for learning chest imaging. 

In related medical breakthroughs, doctors performed the first ever penis transplant in the U.S. this week. The science behind it is pretty amazing.