The demanding nature of the curriculum and the pressure to balance studies, clinical rotations and personal life make medical school challenging. Completing a lot of assignments, memorizing hundreds of medical terminologies, and choosing the right medical specialty are no easy feat. This is the reason why many medical students fail to secure a good GPA in medical school.
Learning time management strategies for medical students can help you revise your lectures, keep up to date with the extracurricular activities and maintain a perfect balance between your academic and social life. In fact, time management in medical school is the key to improving your academic performance and becoming a great physician.
Check out some effective time management strategies for medical students to ensure a smooth MD journey and success in your medical career.
Let’s explore.
Create a Plan
When it comes to studying in medical school and completing an MD program, you are supposed to absorb complex theoretical concepts and memorize a lot of medical terminologies. You need to review lectures, take notes, and prepare for board exams.
Planning your daily activities is a sensible idea to prepare yourself for completing all these tasks. Set aside time for your academic activities, such as preparing for tests, revising lectures and memorizing definitions. Keep a daily planner with you and plan your day in a way that you find some time for non-academic activities such as your personal hobbies and interests.
Whether you want to go to gym, watch your favorite tv show, hang out with friends, or perform extracurricular activities, creating a daily schedule can help you stay on top of your academic and nonacademic activities.
Stick to Your Schedule
If you want to succeed in medical school, you need to stay consistent. It’s no wonder that medical school is packed with a lot of academic activities, following a fixed schedule can help you stay on the right track. Figure out the best time to absorb important concepts, for instance, if you are a morning person, wake up early in the morning to take notes and revise lectures.
Similarly, you can improve your mental and physical health by allocating time for exercise, yoga or any other activity that increases your focus. Keep in mind, following a consistent routine can help you complete all your tasks and help you maximize your academic performance in medical school.
Use Efficient Study Methods
In order to absorb the complex topics and stay on top of your studies, it is important to use efficient learning strategies for better retention. For instance, using active recall and spaced repetition techniques can help you memorize important information. Adding these techniques to your study sessions can help you review your concepts easily.
You can use flashcards to memorize the important concepts, review notes and even listen to podcasts related to medicine to strengthen your knowledge. Whether you are preparing for upcoming exams, performing clinical rotations or researching medical conditions, using effective study methods can help you perform well in medical school.
Stay Focused during Lectures
Many medical students don’t regularly attend classes, as they think they can watch online lectures to understand the concepts. Watching video tutorials and lectures is a good learning strategy, but attending lectures has its own importance. A study suggests that the grasping power and information retention capability of students who attend lectures is higher than those who skip their classes.
When you study in a medical school, make sure to regularly attend classes to absorb the knowledge and memorize it for board exams. Furthermore, this strategy will help you keep up with your course and improve your academic performance during your medical school journey.
Take Practice Tests
When it comes to studying in medical school, you are required to understand multiple concepts and memorize different terminologies. One of the best things to memorize these concepts and mechanisms is to take practice tests as much as possible.
Practice tests prepare you for standardized tests such as USMLE Step 1, 2 and 3 that you need to pass to become a licensed practitioner. It is the best self-testing strategy for medical students that allow them to sharpen their concepts, hone their clinical skills and prepare them for board exams.
Prioritize Important Tasks
When you are planning a daily schedule, it is advised to fix dedicated time slots for subjects or topics that need your immediate attention. For instance, if learning mechanism of drugs’ actions is a challenge, or memorizing anatomical structure makes you confused. You need to spend enough time on these subjects to master the course content.
It is impossible for medical students to learn and memorize every single piece of information during medical school. However, allocating study slots for each subject can help you absorb the important information that you need to become a great student and eventually a competent doctor.
Take Breaks to Replenish Your Energy
In order to study effectively and memorize massive course material, you need to set aside time to refresh your mind and body. Keep in mind, a fresh mind and healthy body can perform at their best and give better results. When you are studying in the best medical school, you have to attend lectures regularly, perform laboratory work and study day and night to ensure stellar academic performance.
In order to deal with a rigorous course load, you need to take a break to keep your mind fresh. By taking some time off from your studies, you will feel more energized and refreshed. For instance, you can take some time for watching your favorite tv show, going out at your favorite place with your best friend or arrange a zoom meeting with your family members. Make sure to perform some physical activities to keep your mind and body fresh.
Final Thoughts
Managing time in medical school is a challenge for students. By paying attention to lectures, preparing for exams early, setting aside time for your mental health and following a consistent routine can help you succeed in medical school.
