Self-Directed Learning
Advices from existing students: Their struggles and what they've tried
Self-directed learning can be daunting and time-consuming. I recommend setting manageable time limits for yourself to avoid burning out. For most lectures, I tried to read the material beforehand in one or two hour chunks while also answering learning objectives. Reading assignments, however, often took more than two hours (especially for path) so I had to split it up over a few days. Once class was over and I had the powerpoint, I limited myself to one hour to finish up learning objectives. As for IQ, I tried to split up research over two days as it tends to be overwhelming. I mostly used the resources provided along with access medicine.
If you like learning objectives, I would recommend approaching them on a daily basis. They add up quickly and become unmanageable once the exam approaches. I tried to finish a week's LOs by Friday so that I could free up Saturdays for non-school activites. I found answering LOs to be much easier on the computer rather than hand-writing them because I could easily paste in diagrams from lectures. Once exam week came, I printed off the pages of weekly LOs and used them as study guides. I also recommend doing MCQs on a weekly basis as it's more manageable than doing them all in one sitting.
Here's my advice (for what it's worth).The key is figuring out what works for you. Different things work for different people, so listen to people's advice, but ultimately decide what is best for you and do it. Lots of people have lots of different studying styles. Don't feel like you have to do something because everyone else is, and also don't feel like you're doing something wrong if you're the only one doing it.
That being said the best approach is to be open to finding your ideal way to learn. Be willing to try what works for other people, but ultimately just do what you do.
One last bit of advice: how you studied in college will probably be how you study in med school (except you'll be doing a lot more of it).
If you're curious, here's what worked for me:
I have to study in dead quiet places: NOT at my desk, instead in a small group room or in the library.
I almost always study by myself I find that the most effective. That's what I did in undergrad. However, I did study some in small groups (2-3 people) and found it to be very useful (contrary to my experiences in undergrad). (So I guess be willing to try something new.) But the most important part of the curriculum is figuring out what resources to use. So much of your learning will be from your resources that it is important to pick them carefully. I'd recommend talking to different second years for questions about specific books etc. I'll just give you some general advice that worked for me:
I prefer using the "required resources" usually they are pretty good, and using them gives you a good idea of the depth they expect you to know. I tend to stay away from review type books (BRS or Lippincott) as a main source of information because things tend not to be explained in adequate depth, and sometimes they have info that conflicts with the required resources. I also like using additional resurces online - particularly accessmedicine.com which has Harrisons (Internal Medicine) for background info.
I began medical school with the attitude that I had never had any trouble learning things in the past so why should this be any different? A year later, I still feel confident in my ability to learn new material but the methods I use have changed over the course of the year. Because Block 1 is so different from all of the other blocks, I think that my strategy of reading the resources they provided and using Google with a bit of discretion for IQ research worked out pretty well for me. I started Block 2 by reading the study guides that were provided by the faculty, furiously underlining and taking notes. I used textbooks to supplement the study guides and relied on them to clarify concepts from the study guides. At the end of the block I had a strong understanding of everything in the study guides but realized that they left out a whole lot of detail I wish I had taken the time to learn. Since Block 2 my study focus has shifted from study guides to textbooks. I have also devoted the time I was putting into underlining and highlighting towards thinking critically about what I am reading. I no longer take notes when I read but instead, really think about the information. This has served me well in IQ group in that I now feel that I can have a discussion about medical information without having to be reliant on my notes. I also have better retention. When faced with a completely new subject I like to read about the topic from a variety of perspectives. I usually start with the chapter in the Ross Histology book to get a general understanding, then read a physiology book before approaching pathology. I also like to read the same material from multiple sources. For this reason, I usually buy the recommended textbooks (but I usually buy old editions because they're much cheaper and not very much has changed) but also read AccessMedicine (A fabulous free online source of tons of medical textbooks).
A few of the key things I learned much too late in the process include: the resources given with the IQ cases are usually pretty good and will let you know what you are supposed to take away from the case (whether or not your group was able to come up with these ideas on Monday); if you want a quick explanation of something..anything..read Wikipedia, the website is awesome and also has some great references; Google is also a great resource, especially if you have a specific question; Be confident in how you study and what has worked for you in the past, other people can be overwhelming if you let them.
4. Before starting med school, I performed basic science research that prepared me well for directing my own research and studying. The problem I had when I started at Case was forcing myself to study when I wasn't at school. I was spending too much time doing things besides studying for IQ and reading the material for lecture, and then would end up having to stay up far too late making up for the time I had wasted during the day in my "self-directed" learning time.
The best thing that I have done to help change this behavior are spending time with people that are more dedicated to studying than I am. If your friends or room mates are studying, then it becomes much easier. I also have worked to make studying more entertaining for myself by trying to find information in resources other than those given to us for the cases on eCurriculum. I've found this to be entertaining for my studies and beneficial to my IQ group to have another perspective on a topic rather than having everyone with knowledge from the same exact sources. I especially enjoyed searching for review articles on PubMed to get the most recent information in a fairly understandable way without having to read papers that are full of "methods" and such boring things. Its also helpful for me to remember that I am not learning this just to take a test anymore, I am learning about these topics so that I can help out my patients in the future. That makes studying a little more important to me. In the end, studying on your own time is going to be determined by what works for you, and thats different for everyone but if any of this sounds good to you, feel free to give it a shot.