Since I’m starting my study period for the dreaded STEP 1, it got me thinking about ways people study. Unfortunately, I tend to have a relatively short attention span, and I can only really focus for an hour at a time. So my method for studying tends to be an hour of studying, twenty minutes of break (browsing the web, playing video games, listening to music, etc.), another hour of studying, so on and so forth. In addition to this, I absolutely cannot study in public. I cannot understand for the life of me how people study in coffee shops. There’s too much going on and I get distracted by every little sound and noise or even by a casual passerby.
I’ve met people in medical school who have interesting study habits as well. Some people are just like me. Others study for hours at a time and leave a block of the afternoon where they do nothing for the rest of the day. Some people absolutely have to study in the library because seeing other motivated people motivates them to pursue their own work. And of course there are people who study in coffee shops for hours. More power to them!
One thing you learn pretty quickly in medical school is how you study. While this process starts in undergrad, it’s really cultivated and perfected in medical school. There’s just so much to learn in a very short period of time. Learning how to study efficiently becomes a top priority!
