5.1 What are the effective study habits
You can prepare yourself to
succeed in your studies. Try to develop
and appreciate the following habits.
i. Take responsibility for yourself
As a doctor, one has to have enough
core knowledge in certain subjects. Without this, there will be a lot af gaps
and grey areas. Believe me, whatever grey areas you have as a student will
remain grey if you do not try to erase them.
As a result, the subsequent
knowledge acquisition in certain areas will be hampered. Hence, one will have
difficulty passing exams and it can lead to mismanagement of patients later. I
have seen this happening and the doctors usually feel remorse and they wish
that they had taken their studies more seriously.
Therefore, as a student you are
responsible to ensure that you have a good grasp in some core subjects. In
order to do that, you have to decide and make decisions about your priorities,
time and resources.
ii. Centre yourself around your values and
principles
Do not let friends and
acquaintances dictate what you consider important. This is very important as everyone has to have missions in life.Whatever
religion we belong to, we always strive to make this life given to us
beneficial to others as well as to ourselves.
Our values will be dictated by
our upbringing and the input we receive from our environment. Having a clear
objective in life will help us to focus, stay track, and prevent us from being
led astray by friends and acquaintances.
For example, if you choose to
master medical knowledge and be good at your work, should your friends try to
prevent you from doing so by telling you that you are young and should get the
most in your lifetime, you would not be influenced by that.
Of course the easiest thing to do
is to follow your heart and have momentary enjoyment, but suffering will come
once the exam paper is in front of you, and you are trembling before the
lecturer during oral examination due to lack of knowledge.
Note : Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge and knowing the material
studied. This is when the new knowledge is entered into memory. It is the
process of organizing the material to be learned into meaningful mental process.
(Dr
Lamon H. Small)
iii. Put first things first
Follow up on the priorities you
have set for yourself, and do not let others or other interests distract you
from your goals. Your priority as a medical student is to understand your
lectures.
In order to do this, the three
important steps – preview, concentrate and review (PCR) – are mandatory. There
is no shortcut in grasping the knowledge during lectures. The most common
mistake is to procrastinate and only try to read everything that has been
learnt over the past three months in a week before the exam.
Do not fall into a trap of
spending more time in extra curricular activities especially during the prime
time, i.e.from 9 to 11 p.m. This is the usual time most meetings are held. Try
and arrange to have extra curricular meetings during less productive times such
as on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.
Another common trap especially
for boys, is being distracted by friends who come and ask them out for ‘tea
tarikh’ or ‘burger’. If you do not practice PCR your daily schedule as your
priority then you will be easily distracted.
Note : Effective tips
Preview the lecture
Concentrate in class
Review the lecture
iv. Discover your key productivity periods and
places
Try to identify the time and
study spaces where you can be most focused and productive. Prioritise these for
your most difficult study challenges. Sleep early and rise early every day.You
should have a minimum of 5 hours of sleep every night. Morning is always the
best and most productive time, so train yourself to wake up early to make use
of this valuable time.
v. Consider yourself in a win-win situation
You win by doing your best and
contributing your best to a class, whether for yourself, your fellow student,
and even for your teachers. If you are contented with your performance, a grade
becomes an external check on your performance, which may not coincide with your
internally desired benefits.
vi. Look for better solutions to problems
For example, if you do not
understand the lectures, do not just re-read the material. Try something else!
Consult the lecturer, a tutor, an academic advisor, a classmate or those in
your study group. Look to continually challenge yourself.
Partially adapted from the audio
cassette by Steven Covey. (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People)
Note :
Daily strategies checklist :
* complete all homework / reading
assignments
*
write or recite ideas in your own words
* attend all classes
* take complete lecture notes
* schedule enough study time
* review notes using a Recall
Column
* get help if confused
(AAC
Study Tips, Ohio University
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