Medical Mnemonist (from MedSchoolCoach): Recent Episodes
Chase DiMarco
Medical education innovation for premed, medical students, physician assistants, and nursing. Mnemonics, memory palaces, speed reading, study hacks, mind maps for the MCAT, USMLE, COMLEX, PANCE, NCLEX, and all of your healthcare board exam and classroom needs!
In this final installment of the MedEdge Method mini-series, Chase DiMarco talks about self-care, rest, and growth. He dissects the benefits of self-care, why you need to stop procrastinating, and the relationship between rest and growth.
- [02:25] Rest and Recuperation
- [04:34] Self-care in Medicine
- [07:19] Why Procrastination is a Form of Self Hate
- [09:05] The Smallest of Increments are Greater than the Greatest of Intentions
Full show notes
In part five of the MedEdge Method mini-series, Chase DiMarco talks about board exam success. He dissects the test-taking technique table and breaks down several test answering strategies such as the tie-breaker technique, the post-exam autopsy, and the error monitoring chart.
- [04:35] Test-Taking Technique Table
- [04:47] Basic Technique
- [07:17] The Tie-Breaker Technique
- [09:50] Post-Exam Autopsy
- [11:22] The Error Monitoring Chart
Full show notes
In this fourth installment of the MedEdge Method mini-series, Chase DiMarco talks about self-assessment and exam growth. He talks about studying using the production effect, the benefits of physician mentorship, and post-lecture and post-exam study sessions.
- [01:40] Post Lecture and Post Exam Study Sessions
- [07:23] Studying Using the production Effect
- [09:15] Improve Academic Performance Using Deliberate Practice
- [10:33] Benefits of Physician Mentorship
- [11:28] Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance
- [13:12] The Growth Equation: Stress + Rest = Growth
Full show notes
In this third episode of the MedEdge Method mini-series, Chase DiMarco talks about preparation and studying. He dissects the actual methods and techniques you can use when creating the optimal study space, study technique, and study habits.
- [01:50] How to Ergonomically Optimize your Study Space
- [03:40] How to Focus on Studying Without Getting Distracted
- [05:12] Creating the Perfect Study Mindset
- [08:05] The Psychology of Willpower
- [09:50] The Pomodoro Technique for Medical Students
- [13:05] Using Activity-Based Costing to Improve your Study Habits
- [14:07] Achieve your Study Goals Using the WOOP Strategy
Full show notes
In this second episode of the MedEdge Method mini-series, Chase DiMarco shares study techniques that can help you learn more effectively. He discusses how including play in studying increases learning and motivation.
- [02:14] Setting Goals and Making Plans
- [05:19] Interleaving
- [06:58] Concrete Examples
- [08:31] Dual Coding
- [09:25] Spaced Repetition
- [10:01] Inquiry-Based Learning
- [11:58] Experiential Learning
- [14:04] Incorporate Play Activities
- [18:08] Key Takeaways
- [19:17] Homework Exercise
Full show notes
In this first episode of the MedEdge Method mini-series, Chase DiMarco talks about finding high yield study resources. He shares a helpful process for how medical students can choose learning materials that best suit their needs.
- [01:16] What is the Best Resource to Use?
- [03:43] Set Your Learning Goals
- [06:18] Awareness of Attention Span
- [10:16] Find Study Materials Best Suited for You
- [15:14] Homework Exercise
Full show notes
Jonathan Levi discusses productivity and learning skills development and will help you on your journey to becoming a Medical Superlearner.
On Episode 42, Jonathan Levi is a serial entrepreneur, published author, and podcaster born and raised in Silicon Valley. He has discussed productivity and learning skills development in his TedX talk, numerous courses on Udemy, and through the SuperHuman Academy Podcast. Today, Jonathan is going to help all of us in our journey to becoming a Medical Superlearner.
Introduction
3:16 What is a “Superlearner” and How Do We Become One?
6:25 Where Should Students Begin On Their Path To Becoming A Superlearner?
12:53 Systems Learning vs Methods Learning in Medicine and Memory & How Far Down the Rabbit Hole Must We Go?
21:00 Where Can Students Begin Their Path to Becoming a Medical Superlearner?
26:55 Using Spaced-Repetition and Rehearsal Practice as a Medical Superlearner.
32:38 Are These Obstacles Getting in the Way of Your Studying?
Ian Gibbs, author of 23 Tips to Learn Stuff Better, provides a few simple study tips.
In this episode, we have Ian Gibbs, speaker on academic learning and author of multiple books including 23 Tips to Learn Stuff Better. Ian was able to 4x his learning speed when he learned how to implement a few simple study methods. Today, we will learn how to “learn stuff better” and become more productive in our academic and clinical lives.
Intro
5:15 How Learning About Learning Techniques Can Lead to 4x Faster Learning
9:10 The Benefits of Learning Out Loud & Peer Mentorship for Rehearsal Practice
13:56 How to Implement Better Learning Strategies as Medical & Healthcare Students
20:23 The Challenges With Pre-made and Self-made Flashcards
29:47 Why Making Mistakes and Mindset are So Powerful For Learning
Chase DiMarco talks to Miguel Molina, the Chief Operating Officer at Medical Joyworks, a physician-led company offering digital products and solutions to the medical sector. Miguel shares insights into the field of medical education and how he plans to improve students' clinical skills with evidence-based case studies, adventure scenarios, reference articles, and moderated discussion boards.
- [02:40] Clinical Odyssey: Learn Medicine the Fun Way
- [05:10] How Prognosis Makes Medical Education Interactive and Enjoyable
- [0 8:55] Why Medical Joyworks Decided to Build a QBank
- [15:13] The Price Issue When Signing Up to Medical Programs
- [16:20] The Benefits of Mentorship and Immediate Feedback in Medical Education
- [23:02] Customizing Medical Education to Students' Learning Styles
- [25:36] The Future of Medical Education
- [27:00] Why Medical Joyworks is Yet to Go the Augmented Reality Way
- [30:56] The Stolen App Game
Full show notes
Jake Gittleson discusses how Mindset and Learning Ecosystems play a pivotal part in our learning success.
A Learning Geek joins us to talk nerdy about learning! Jake Gittleson joins us to discuss how Mindset and Learning Ecosystems play a pivotal part in our learning success. We also cover how mental representations and making material personally relevant has a great impact on the lasting nature of what we learn. As a Learning Strategist, Jake helps organizations and individuals implement the best learning techniques into their programs for maximum efficiency. We explore some concrete examples of how to utilize these strategies in our academic and medical studies.
Intro
1:45 About the Man and the Podcast
4:28 Durable Learning Strategies
8:06 Explore Personal Relevancy in the Materials & Writing Personal Goals
11:55 Format your own Self-Directed Learning
15: Stress Mindset and Spaced-Retrieval
20: Mental Representations and Utilizing Instructor Knowledge
22: Walk Down Memory Lane
Recommendations
- A Mind For Numbers, Learning How to Learn (Dr. Barbara Oakley)
- Peak (Dr. Anders Ericsson)
- Brain Rules (John Medina)
- Barry Zimmerman Home Page
- Connect with Jake via Linkedin and check out his Blog Posts
Chase DiMarco talks to Dr. Ben White, a Neuroradiologist with three books and a long-running website (BenWhite.com.) Dr. White shares practical advice for med students gathered from spending over a decade in the MedEd space.
- [00:45] Getting to Know Dr. Ben White
- [05:50] Comparing Medical Books of Today and From 10 Years Ago
- [09:10] Online Resources for Medical Students
- [12:00] Curriculum Replacement Platforms
- [14:40] The Future of Med School is Online
- [18:30] Why Soft Skills are Essential in Med School
- [21:50] Extracurricular Activities and Med School Admissions
- [26:16] Mental Health and Attitudes in Medicine
- [28:40] Parting Thoughts
Full show notes
Dr. Michael Cosimini discusses gamification and games for clinical education. Dr. Cosimini is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, and the author of Empiric, a card game for learning guidelines-based antibiotic selection.
- [02:08] Challenges of Creating Games for a Clinical Setting
- [02:56] Gamification Versus Serious Games
- [07:22] How to Balance Between Entertainment and Education
- [08:09] Tabletop Games Versus Video Games
- [12:23] How Medical Students Can Apply Games to Their Learning
- [13:49] How Empiric Works
- [20:21] How to Find Out More About Michael & Empiric
Gamification Versus Serious Games Many medical instructors already gamify their educational content, for example, by transforming a PowerPoint slide into a game of Jeopardy, giving out stickers for accomplishments, and having a leaderboard in class. An example of gamification in the literature is when surgical residents performing laparoscopic procedures were split into competing groups. The randomly selected students who trained in this gamified setting trained longer and performed better.
Dr. Cosimini does support gamification, but he more strongly promotes “serious games” which go beyond gamifying existing educational content, to creating a game for the purpose of education, rather than pure entertainment. For example, the game GridlockED, which resembles Clue, trains players to handle emergency room throughput. Michael’s card game, Empiric for learning antibiotic selection is also a serious game.
How to Balance Entertainment and Education in Games To help find the appropriate balance between entertainment and education, Dr. Cosimini emphasizes the importance of testing the outcome of a game, to see what students have actually learnt. As a rule of thumb, be respectful of the player’s time. Do not have a game that is long, unless there is evidence that shows that this contributes to the learning process.
Tabletop Games Versus Video Games Dr. Cosimini promotes tabletop games over digital or video games for medical education. He cites a study by Mary Flanagan of Tiltfactor, a game design company. The study compared the iPad and tabletop version of Pox: Save the People, a game about disease spread. With the tabletop version, people tended to interact and work together more, which is important for the social aspect of learning.
How Medical Students Can Apply Games to Their Education Creating their own card games might be too involved, and too time-consuming for a medical student. Students can instead use off-the-shelf card games from resources such as East Midlands Emergency Medicine Educational Media, #EM3, which provides games for learning about pediatric EKGs, pediatric dermatology, and pediatric and adult orthopedics. For instructors, Michael recommends MedEd. He of course also recommends his own game Empiric, for learning about antibiotic selection, and his upcoming game about emergency medicine. These games are more helpful for clinical education i.e. for medical students on their clinical rotations, or for residents, and less helpful for first and second year medical students.
How Empiric Works Empiric is based on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Red Book, 2018-2021. Dr. Cosimini includes visual cues — such as color coding — for facts such as the mechanism of delivery and the spectrum of activity, to enable students to memorize facts more quickly. It can be difficult to keep up with the changing facts around antibiotic resistance, and other antibiotic research. Currently, Dr. Cosimini does this by updating the printable card decks online, after the research is updated.
Check out Empiric’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and website. The website includes a list of medical and non-medical card games.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School. Like our FreeMedEd Facebook page and find our Medical Micro course, blog posts, and podcasts at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to email any questions or comments.
Dr. Shae Datta is a neurologist and Director of Concussion and Neurocognition in New York. She also serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Residency Success. Dr. Datta has researched numerous subjects in the area of brain trauma, including the gut/brain link and study success through brain health.
Residency Success is a platform to help students with the application and interview processes to ensure success and build habits that will stay with you throughout your career.
Today’s episode will cover how to improve your brain health and preparatory habits to improve memory.
- 3:10 What is Residency Success and How Did it Come to Be?
- 4:10 Overview of Topics to be Covered
- 5:35 The Anatomy of the Brain in Relation to Memory
- 6:00 The Mind and Body Connection
- 6:35 The Detriments of Multi-tasking
- 7:47 Meditation to Improve Memory and Attention
- 11:40 Healthy Food Habits and Optimum Nutrition
- 14:40 Eating the Rainbow
- 16:45 Caffeine Consumption: The Benefits and Knowing When to Stop
- 19:45 Exercise and Neuroplasticity
- 23:10 The Role of Light Exposure in Chemical Balancing
- 24:15 Memory Consolidation and Sleep
- 25:00 Sleep Hygiene
- 26:30 Creating Memories: The Three Stages of Memory Formation
- 27:40 The Use of Memory Evoking Scent for Consolidation
- 30:35 Eliminating ‘Junk Light’
- 32:36 How Residency Success Can Benefit You
- 32:30 Scheduling Tips
Resources
Residency Success can be found here: Residency Success
You can also contact Dr. Datta by email here: residencysucess2000@gmail.com or by calling: (917) 524-8067
Apps for meditation: 10% Happier, Headspace
Don’t forget to sign up for our online education summit at: FreeMedEd.org/omes Tickets are free!
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Dr. Nayana Somaratna is CEO and Co-Founder of Medical Joyworks and creator of the Prognosis app series and the Clinical Sense app. As well as holding a medical degree, Dr. Somaratna also holds an IT degree and just this year completed a law degree. Today’s episode sees him discuss his background and inspiration for his company as well as how to apply the learning from his app series.
- 02:17 The Creation of Medical Joyworks
- 04:15 The Experience of Medical School in Sri Lanka
- 06:15 How and Why Prognosis was Conceived
- 09:15 Obtaining Clinical Insight via Prognosis
- 11:11 Basing Algorithms and Processes on Clinical Workflow
- 13:01 The Differences Between Prognosis and Clinical Sense
- 14:22 Which App to Use for Exam Preparation and Why
- 15:32 Who is the Audience: Students Practitioners
- 16:37 Available Research into Gamification for Medical Study
- 19:00 Expanding Online Curriculums and Telemedicine Post Covid-19
- 21:34 The Future of Joyworks
- 23:50 What Would You Change if You Could Go Back in Time?
- 26:54 Medicine is an Odyssey
ResourcesMedical Joyworks
Clinical Sense
Prognosis
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Karl Kapp is a Professor at Bloomberg University and author of several books about gamification and game thinking. Karl received a Doctorate of Education in the Instructional Design program at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also a frequent speaker and business consultant, helping organizations to implement learning strategies through technology.
Today’s episode continues conversations about gaming in medical education and how to use creative and interactive modalities to benefit education.
0:52 What Gamification Means to Karl
3:19 The Main Approaches to Gamification Design: Structural and Content
4:50 Learning Objections: Retaining Information by Creating Engaging Challenges
5:30 Gamification as a Design Affordance
7:00 Confidence Builds Competence: Implementing Gamification Before Residency
9:50 Overcoming the Stigma of Fun Learning Approaches
11:35 Creating Desirable Difficulty
12:20 How Society Impacts Gamification
14:29 Leveraging Analog Formats to Overcome Funding Restrictions
17:40 The Importance of Collaboration for Creativity
19:00 The Scalability of Gamification for Other Disciplines
20:04 Resources for Creating Your Own Learning Game
23:00 The Retention Benefits of Creating Your Own Game
24:04 Using Game Creation as a Self-Assessment Tool.
Resources
Information about Karl Kapp can be found here:
http://karlkapp.com
https://twitter.com/kkapp
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlkapp
Books
The Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
Websites
Quizlet
Print and Play
The Game Crafter
Gamestructor
Construct
The Game Agency
Enspire
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Discover test-taking tips, test-prep strategies, how to increase motivation, and more!
Chase DiMarco finishes up this 7-part mini-series with test-taking tips, test-prep strategies, how to increase motivation, and much more. We all struggle with these topics at some point in our academic careers. However, knowing how to notice when things are going astray and how to correct your actions is a skill we were often never taught. Keep motivated, organized, and keep self-assessing and you WILL reach your goals!
Key Episode Points!
0:41 Study Buddies & How to Select the Right One for You
5:18 Making Learning more Durable and Finding Personal Relevance
14:50 Developing Practical Knowledge & Improving Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation for Medical Students
22:08 Failing Upwards: How a Supportive Environment Encourages Positive Mistakes
Proper exam materials and techniques
27:34 Test-prep Skills, Materials, Organization, & Pitfalls
32:18 Using Analysis of Board Exams to Qualify Our Testing Strategies
Dr. Eric Gantwerker is the medical director of Level Ex games which include CardioEx, PulmEx, AirwayEx, and GastroEx. Gaming is a great way to inspire attention and active learning in medicine but also one we rarely use in education. Today’s episode will cover some of the psychology and research behind game design in medical learning.
- Intro
- 2:55 Gaming as an Active Learning Strategy for Medical Students
- 11:39 Why Students (and Teachers) Should Consider Adding Gamified Curriculum in Medicine
- 15:48 Game Design for Education & for FUN!
- 22:00 Games and Apps for Medical Student Education
Resources
Chase DiMarco at the Florida Mensa Regional Gathering
Twine
Polycraft
EcoMUVE
Fold.it
Microbe Invader
Habatica
Prognosis
The Body VR
Touch Surgery
Plague Inc, Bio Inc
Unity
Chase DiMarco shares his presentation about FindARotation at InnovatorMD’s World Congress 2021. This annual convention is the largest conference where physicians and entrepreneurs connect and offer their ideas on how to change healthcare for the better. Chase talks about why he built FindARotation and how it will change medical education for both students and preceptors.
- [01:40] Why Chase started FindARotation
- [04:06] FindARotation’s Mission
- [05:35] How FindARotation benefits students and preceptors
- [08:21] Remote Rotations during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- [09:53] How to Use FindARotation
- [11:32] Q&A Portion
Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks to Camille Roney, an academic coach and teacher at Non-Trad Accelerator for non-traditional students. Camille shares how she raised her GPA from 2.3 to 4.10, practical study tips to increase your productivity, and the power of positive thinking.
- [01:01] What is a Non-Traditional Student
- [02:40] How to Raise your GPA from 2.3 to 4.10
- [05:50] Study Tips to Increase Your Productivity
- [10:02] Effective Speed Reading Tools and Strategies
- [15:20] Testing and Improving your Memory Skills
- [16:50] Memory and Mnemonic Techniques
- [19:10] The Power of Positive Thinking
Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks to Sam Kavanaugh, winner of the 29th Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. They discuss memory techniques, the similarities between preparing for Jeopardy! and studying medicine, and effective flashcard learning strategies.
- [01:28] Getting to Know Sam Kavanaugh
- [04:40] Bulking up for Jeopardy!
- [08:20] Weaving Together Common Threads in Memory Building
- [13:50] Developing Memory Techniques
- [17:18] Adding Environmental Stimulus and Difficulty to Study Routines
- [18:20] How to Learn Faster and Retain More
- [20:58] Top Tips for Studying and Memory
- [25:00] Effective Flashcard Learning Strategies
Full show notes
ATOM BOMB: The Memory Palace is the sixth episode in a miniseries on medical mnemonics. In this episode, Chase DiMarco talks about mind palaces and how to create one for your medical studies. By combining all of the previously learned mnemonics into a memory palace, you can recall dense chunks of information with more ease.
- [01:27] What is a memory palace?
- [04:02] Creating a memory palace
- [09:46] Adding visual markers to your mind palace
- [16:03] Homework Exercise
Full show notes
The Story Method is the fifth episode in a miniseries on medical mnemonics. In this episode, Chase DiMarco talks about the journey method's basic structure and the different applications of the technique. The story method ties in all the previously learned mnemonics into a memorable sequence.
- [02:28] The Journey Method
- [05:24] Using the Story Method for Medical Topics
- [08:43] Example of the Journey Method
- [12:08] Homework Exercise
Full show notes
Advanced Mnemonics Creation is the fourth episode in a miniseries on medical mnemonics. In this episode, Chase DiMarco talks about the PAO method and the use of anchor and linking visual markers. These memory devices can be used on their own; but when used together, the combined techniques provide the best results.
- [02:02] The PAO Method
- [08:05] Homework Exercise 1
- [09:27] Anchor and Linking Markers
- [13:37] Homework Exercise 2
Full show notes
Creative Study Tactics with Mind Maps is the third episode in a miniseries on medical mnemonics. In this episode, Chase DiMarco talks about mind maps and how its structure and visual elements improve long term retention.
- [01:13] What is a mind map?
- [03:47] Example of a mind map
- [06:18] Color-coded categories
- [09:49] Visual markers for improved recall
- [12:22] Homework Exercise
Full show notes
Chase DiMarco explores the Peg Memory System for medical education and discusses how to use visual markers to memorize important numbers.
- [01:37] The origins of the Peg Memory System
- [02:18] Why you should use the Peg Memory System
- [03:33] Creating your own Peg System
- [04:57] How to create visual associations with numbers
- [07:02] Homework exercise
- [08:59] Creating a theme for numbers over 10
Full show notes
Start Creating Your Own Visual Mnemonics is the first episode in a miniseries on medical mnemonics. In this episode, Chase DiMarco covers the value of visual markers in mnemonics and memory tactics in general.
- [01:06] What are visual markers?
- [02:25] Why you should use visual markers
- [05:50] How to use visual markers
- [07:09] What not to do
- [08:38] Homework exercise
Full show notes
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Chase DiMarco talks about one of the most ignored yet crucial topics in medicine: mental health. He explains why physicians and medical students struggle with mental health, the rise in suicide rates in medicine, and the benefits of having a social network.
- [00:50] Mental Health in the Medical World
- [02:50] The Neuroscience Aspect of Mental Health
- [04:24] Chronic Stress and the Recency Bias
- [07:17] The Importance of Having Social Networks
- [10:40] Positive Effects of Mindful Self-Compassion
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Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks about The Power of Atomic Habits, a concept borrowed from two best-selling books, The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits. He dissects how mentality affects habits, the importance of rewarding successful habit adoption, and developing habit-creating skills.
- [01:50] The Power of Atomic Habits
- [06:37] Willpower and Keystone Habits
- [10:45] Habit Creating Skills
- [11:55] Habit Stacking and Temptation Bundling
- [14:10] Rewards and Habit Tracking
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Full show notes
Chase DiMarco shares tips for practicing an evidence-based study technique called interleaving, which can be difficult to apply.
- 01:28] Interleaving Topics
- [03:36] Interleaving Materials
- [04:33] Choosing Study Resources
- [06:52] Filtering Question Banks
- [08:19] Stress + Rest = Growth
- [10:57] Recency Bias
- [12:14] Repeating the Same Question Bank
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Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks about the science of successful learning and debunks the most common myths we have around it. He shares better learning strategies and insights from “Make It Stick”.
- [01:48] The Illusion of Knowing
- [03:09] Interleaving Practice
- [04:53] Easier isn’t Better
- [08:13] The Dunning-Kruger Effect
- [11:58] Apply Different Learning Styles
- [14:03] Have a Growth Mindset
Full show notes
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Chase DiMarco talks about how you can use deliberate practice to become an expert. This time around, he delves deeper into studies and examples from “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Dr. K. Anders Ericsson (RIP).
- [02:02] Improvement Comes from Practice
- [04:07] Steps of Deliberate Practice
- [07:33] Inefficiencies in Medical Education & Practice
- [12:42] Adaptive Thinking
- [13:42] There is No Natural Ability
- [14:28] Identifying Your Weak Points
Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks about flow, the mental state of immersive focus. He draws insights and tips from Mikaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book called “Finding Flow”. Unsurprisingly, attention and curiosity are necessary to get into that zone of concentration.
- [00:58] Defining Flow
- [01:38] How to Reach Flow State
- [08:06] Learning Requires Undivided Attention
- [09:33] Develop Curiosity for Greater Enjoyment
- [13:31] Flow VS Happiness
Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks about task management and prioritization. He shares insights and tips from Brian Tracy’s book called “Eat That Frog”. Learn how to organize your to-do list effectively using these 5 principles.
- [01:26] Planning Saves Time
- [03:30] The Law of Three
- [05:24] The 80/20 Rule
- [07:53] The ABCDE Method
- [11:37] How to Tackle Big Tasks
- [14:30] The Law of Forced Efficiency
- [16:45] Summary of Key Points
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Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks about how medical students can increase their motivation level. He cites several studies that delve into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the factors that can influence both.
- [03:29] Theories of Motivation
- [05:58] Intrinsic Motivation vs Extrinsic Motivation
- [09:48] How to Affect Motivation
- [11:37] The Role of Self-Concept in Academic Success
- [12:48] Make the Change You Need
Full show notes
Dr. Joel Ramirez talks about how tutoring can be a valuable resource for medical students studying for the USMLE exams. As someone who personally benefited from tutoring, Dr. Ramirez has a passion for educating and tutoring. MedSchoolCoach provides tutoring for both USMLE board exams (shelf and step), as well as the MCAT.
- [02:38] Tutoring for the MCATs Versus Board Exams
- [04:06] How to Determine if You Need a Tutor
- [06:37] Pinpointing Weaknesses in a Medical Student
- [10:00] What to Expect from a Medical School Tutor
- [13:37] Weighing the Financial Costs of Tutoring
- [16:46] The Focus of a MedSchoolCoach Tutoring Session
- [20:54] How Much Tutoring It Takes for a Student to Get a Passing Score
Full show notes
Chase DiMarco talks about 7 habits of highly successful medical students, a concept borrowed from Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He tries to dissect how the book's strategies can be applied to the medical world and explain why habits can make or break your medical journey.
- [03:29] Be proactive
- [04:57] Begin with The End in Mind
- [06:23] Putting First Things First
- [07:34] The Win-Win Situation
- [08:53] Understand Before Understanding
- [10:30] Synergy
- [11:57] Sharpening Your Saw
Full show notes
Dr. Paulius Mui, a family medicine resident, discusses Table Rounds, the medical card game he co-created to help medical students learn medical terms and topics.
- [02:25] Understanding Table Rounds and How You Can Benefit From it
- [06:31] Active Learning Through Gamification
- [11:07] Why Most Games Require Some Foundational Knowledge
- [12:58] The Future of Games in Medical Education
- [19:48] How Games Help in Group Study Settings
- [24:40] The Things Dr. Mui Could Change if He Could Go Back in Time
Full show notes
Gabe Wyner, author of Fluent Forever, is fluent in 8 languages and has developed multiple strategies for mnemonics-based learning. Today’s episode will cover how to apply those strategies to the medical field.
- [2:20] Developing Initial Learning Strategies.
- [7:10] Implementing Memory Skills: Pre-packaged vs. Personalized Options
- [10:08] Levels of Processing
- [16:10] The Importance of the Personal Level of Processing
- [27:00] Topic Management
- [37:40] Repetition and Retention
Dr. Amreet Sidhu is a Toronto-born Internal Medicine Resident based in Detroit. He is the creator of Brosencephalon, a comprehensive set of pre-clinical flashcards created for self-study that spread worldwide. Amreet’s cards have evolved into a community-driven project by medical students for medical students. Today’s episode will cover the inspiration behind the creation of Brosencephalon, the most useful aspects of Anki and how to create your own effective flashcards for retention.
- [3:20] The Inspiration Behind the Creation of Brosencephalon
- [7:42] Evidence Based Cognitive Learning for Effective Retention
- [9:59] How COVID-19 is Facilitating Change for Brosencephalon and Learning Programs
- [13:59] Curricular Design and Application
- [15:31] Creating Effective and Efficient Flashcards
- [19:58] The Benefits of Cognitive Effort When Creating Flashcards
- [23:30] Digital Cards vs. Physical
- [25:50] Elaborative Interrogation and its Relevance to Flashcards.
- [30:45] How to Integrate Multiple Learning Strategies
- [34:19] Using Flashcards for Self-Assessment
- [37:53] The Need to Update Standard Western Learning Conventions
- [40:00] Amreet’s Favourite Anki Plugins
- [41:50] The Use of Mnemonics and Images in Flashcards
- [43:43] What Would Amreet Change if He Could go Back in Time?
Resources
Information about Amreet and Brosencephalon can be found here:
https://www.brosencephalon.com
https://twitter.com/brosencephalon
https://www.reddit.com/r/Brosencephalon
Anki Plugins
Hierarchical Tags
Frozen Fields
Load Balancer
Heat Mapper
Websites
https://apps.ankiweb.net
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Dr. Anthony Metivier is a prolific speaker, bestselling author, and creator of the Magnetic Memory Method. This is his third time guesting on the podcast and joins us today to discuss the Magnetic Memory Method, overcoming obstacles to retention and common memory misconceptions.
- [2:15] About Anthony’s TEDx Talk and New Book ‘The Victorious Mind’
- [4:13] Memory Palaces: Spatial Mnemonics to Promote Retention
- [6:45] Overcoming Excuses to Create Memory Technique
- [7:29] The Magnetic Method: Creating Reliable Retention and Repelling the Unnecessary
- [11:03] The ‘Bad Memory’ Misconception and How to Conquer it
- [12:15] The Benefits of Utilizing Memory Techniques Beyond Learning
- [13:00] Understanding That Fun Should not be a Requirement for Learning
- [16:08] Building Systems That Require Participation to Reach Your Goals
- [19:09] Creating Your Goals: Doing Due Diligence to Understand Your Path
- [22:20] Pre-Planning: Decreasing Cognitive Load by Creating Visual Dictionaries
- [24:35] Multi-Sensory Dictionary Creation
- [30:25] Re-visitation Pattern Retention
- [33:25] Space Repetition vs. Memory Palace Techniques: There is No Universal Tool
- [36:30] Meditations: Reducing the Self-Referential Inner Narrative
Dr. Ali Abdaal discusses evidence-based study methods for medical students, tips for using medical flashcards, and the role of fun in productivity.
- [01:36] Evidence-Based Study Techniques
- [04:55] Anki and Other Flashcard Apps
- [06:35] Mnemonics and Memory Palaces
- [08:27] Tips for Using Flashcards
- [12:36] Defining Productivity & How to be Productive
- [14:44] How to Overcome Common Productivity Struggles
- [16:45] The Role of Fun in Learning & Productivity
- [21:00] Avoiding the Professional “Conveyor Belt” and Achieving Happiness
Full show notes
Dr. Leila Javidi and Chase DiMarco discuss when students should ask for help and the perks of personalized coaching.
- [00:34] How Dr. Leila Joined Med School Tutors
- [03:10] When Should You Get a Tutor?
- [04:35] Personalized Learning Through Coaching
- [07:05] How to Sign Up for 1:1 Tutoring at MST
- [09:43] MST’s Competitive Advantage
- [13:08] Med School Tutor’s Pricing
- [15:10] Up and Coming Services from MST
Full Show Notes
Michelle Miller holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and is Professor of Psychological Sciences at Northern Arizona University. She also serves as President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow. Additionally, Dr. Miller has published several books and studies on memory and effective learning. Today’s episode will cover principles and techniques for memory effectiveness in the medical field.
- [3:50] The Emerging Methodology of Teaching Online
- [4:35] The Core Principles of Memory to Increase Learning Outside of the Classroom
- [10:30] Factors Involved in Retention
- [13:30] Techniques for Terminology
- [18:50] Conceptualizing Context to Shift Memory Modality
- [22:30] Knowing How and When to Apply Different Techniques for Memory
- [26:50] Spacing Out Study and Why it is Beneficial for Retention and Recalling
- [32:35] Reflecting on Techniques That Work for You Resources
Information about Dr. Michelle Miller can be found here: https://www.michellemillerphd.com
Books
Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simmons
Websites
https://www.retrievalpractice.org
https://www.learningscientists.org
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Chase DiMarco shares his experience with lucid dreaming, how different strategies work for different people, and how to incorporate it into your learning schedule.
- [00:51] Defining Lucid Dreaming
- [02:48] Using Visuals Within a Dream
- [04:47] What are Memory Palaces?
- [06:58] Using Memory Places as Visual Objects During Lucid Dreaming
- [09:33] The Different Lucid Dreaming Techniques
Full Show Notes
Barry Mapp is a learning instructor that trained under the memory champion and mind map creator, Tony Buzan. He has successfully trained thousands of learners in mind map technique and creation. Today, he is going to help explain how we can use these organization and memory tool in medical school.
Dr. Daniel Saddawi-Konefka is a Harvard physician, program director for anesthesiology at MGH, and an educational researcher with several published articles on the topics of self-directed learning and residency education. Today, we will focus on how to increase study efficiency and utilize evidence-based study practices.
Dr. Saud Siddiqui, founder of SketchyMedical, discusses the effectiveness of several different study techniques and how to improve information recall using the method of loci.
- [00:50] Early Beginnings of SketchyMedical
- [02:55] Using Thematic Scenes for the Memory Palace Technique
- [07:38] Improving Information Recall Using Different Study Techniques
- [12:46] Sketchy’s Approach to Step 2 CK & CS Learning
- [17:13] Dr. Siddiqui’s Experience as Medical Student Entrepreneur
- [21:46] Additional Tips for Studying & Clinical Rotations
Chase DiMarco talks to Dr. Saud Siddiqui, the CEO and one of the co-founders of SketchyMedical. They discuss the effectiveness of different study techniques and how to improve information recall using the method of loci. Dr. Siddiqui also shares SketchyMedical’s company journey and his experience as a medical student entrepreneur.
Founding Story of SketchyMedical
SketchyMedical was founded by Dr. Siddiqui and his friends while they were still in medical school. They found it difficult to keep up with school requirements using only traditional study methods. When they tried to incorporate art, humor, and stories into learning, their school performances improved. They shared this new study technique to other friends in medical school.
Before Sketchy had an online platform, it started off as a YouTube channel with explainer videos. The videos were received very positively, with users clamoring for more. Dr. Siddiqui and the co-founders decided to continue creating content, which eventually evolved into Sketchy¾the interactive learning platform we all know and love today.
Using Thematic Scenes for the Memory Palace Technique
Sketchy’s content prioritizes the key points that students should know. Using the method of loci, also known as the memory palace technique, Sketchy sets up thematic and cohesive scenes. The information is then attached to familiar objects in the scene. Distinct themes are applied to different subject matter. It also helps that they pair words that sound similar to medical terms. For example, they may associate agalactiae – a species of bacterium – to “a galactic baby”. Pop culture references are also included in the content which makes the learning process more fun and memorable.
When it comes to Step 2 CK and CS materials, Sketchy focuses on the most crucial information that can tip off diagnoses. In their learning modules, they also utilize the SOAP format. Step 2 materials require more than just memorization. Diagnostic algorithms are more complex. Sketchy is continuously making improvements to its content to optimize learning for clinical knowledge and skills.
How to Improve Information Recall
There are two important factors that can help improve memory recall. First, consider the context in which you learn the material. Visual learning has been proven to be much more effective than just reading text. Re-reading the material may give you a false sense of mastery. The truth is, when you’re reading, the brain is not actively retrieving learned information.
Second, the application of knowledge also plays a part in improving recall. Using learned information in new ways reinforces your comprehension. Teaching concepts to a friend or drawing a mind map are simple ways of applying what you’ve studied. By doing so, you also identify gaps in your knowledge.
To effectively learn and retain information, use a combination of different study techniques. Use questions, space repetition, flashcards, and platforms like Sketchy to cement your knowledge. Concepts and terms will be harder to forget when you take a multifaceted approach to learning.
What is it Like to Be a Medical Student Entrepreneur?
Being a medical student is already difficult by itself. Pursuing content creation or another venture while in school will be even more challenging. Dedication to your passion project is what will help you push through self-doubt.
If he’s not studying, Dr. Siddiqui was using his free time to create content. Eventually, he was able to shift to working solely on Sketchy. Weigh the pros and cons before taking a big leap like Dr. Siddiqui. If you’re not ready to pursue your venture full time, find a way to balance both your project and your studies as a medical student entrepreneur.
Additional Tips for Studying & Clinical Rotations
At the start of your medical school journey, you will face recurring exams. Try out different study methods to find what works for you early on. Once you begin clinical rotations, make sure to show up prepared as opposed to just learning on the spot. Use this opportunity with patients to apply what you’ve learned. Refresh your memory by reviewing past lessons and modules. Remember: application of knowledge is key to building your expertise.
Get in touch with SketchyMedical through their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. To reach out to Dr. Siddiqui, send him a message on Twitter or via e-mail. You can listen to episode 17 of Medical Mnemonist for more tips from Sketchy co-founders Bryan and Arron Lemiuex.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Chase DiMarco opens up about recent events that lead to personal anxiety and discusses how students can deal with anxiety and depression during COVID.
- [01:50] Mental Issues Among Medics
- [03:50] Finding Ways to Deal with Your Anxiety
- [04:50] Trigger Events
- [08:52] Seeking Help
- [12:50] How Stress Can Affect us as Learners
- [14:10] The Vicious Cycle That is Anxiety and Depression
The medicine world has often been recognized as a stressful environment that sometimes hurts a medics' performance, physical health, and psychosocial well-being. Throw a global pandemic into the fray, and you'll find that even more medics are falling into a state of either depression or anxiety. Interestingly, medical practitioners are less likely to seek help because of the fear of being stereotyped or judged by their peers.
With the global suicide stats at an all-time high, it's high time we addressed the mental health issues in a COVID-fatigued society. Although Chase has faced bouts of anxiety since his high school, he has managed them with relative ease. However, a recent trigger event made him feel a little overwhelmed with what was happening around him. This trigger event helped him understand that no matter how small the issue you're facing might be, it has the potential to make you feel anxious or depressed. These triggers can come from anywhere, and it won't matter how insignificant they are; the thing to note is that they affect you, and you need to do something about them.
We unknowingly struggle with mental issues which means some of us seek help when it's too late. These little anxiety triggers are known to build up and eventually blow up, leading to a spike in negative thoughts crisscrossing through a person's mind. The most important step in the healing process is recognizing that you need help.
While different solutions can work wonders for different people, a couple of resources that worked for Chase might also work for you. With the pandemic restricting people's access to physical help, online platforms such as BetterHelp and TalkSpace are known to offer help via text, chat, or video calls. Chase advises people to try and seek help from neutral parties since close friends and family typically have a bias because of the relationship you have with them.
Learners have the most to lose when it comes to dealing with mental health issues. The fact that depression and anxiety can play havoc with one's memory makes it difficult for learners to ingest new material or answer a patient's questions. The mental issues will also affect your sleep patterns, and the longer you wait before seeking help, the longer it will take before you come back to a state of normalcy.
Chase's message for you today is that it might not be you who's battling depression and anxiety, but you might know someone who is. Not everybody has the guts to come out and talk about what's eating them. If you notice somebody acting differently from what you associate them with, be the friend and offer a listening ear, you'll be surprised by how big an impact you can have by just being there. You can also share this episode with them to let them know that they are not alone and that there is help. We live in trying times, and the best way to look out for one another is by being there for one another.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! Also, do check out Read This Before Medical School.
National Helpline
Psychology Today Therapist Finder
Better Help
TalkSpace
Discover advanced memory techniques from the experts at Mullen Memory.
Chase DiMarco hosts The Medical Mnemonist podcast episode: Advanced Memory Techniques with Mullen Memory.
Alex Mullen & Cathy Chen of Mullen Memory discuss memory palaces.
Chase DiMarco hosts The Medical Mnemonist podcast episode: Memory Palaces basics with Mullen Memory’s Alex Mullen & Cathy Chen.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor!
You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Rhett Thomson discusses the importance of understanding material vs rote memorization, the story method, and pre-made versus self-made mnemonics.
- [00:43] Physeo’s Philosophy of Learning
- [05:29] PowerPoints Versus Physeo’s Content
- [12:05] Pre-Made and Self-Made Mnemonics
- [23:30] Questions to Ask When Studying or Learning
- [28:44] Rhett’s Thoughts on Step 1 Becoming Pass/Fail
- [32:10] Patterns of Learning Used By High-Scoring Step 1 Exam Participants
- [35:54] How to Find Out More About Physeo and Step 1 Success Stories
Chase DiMarco talks to Rhett Thompson, a student at the University of Utah Medical School and Cofounder of Physeo, a learning resource which helps medical students to prepare for the USMLE board exams. They discuss the importance of understanding versus only memorizing, the story method, and pre-made versus self-made mnemonics.
Physeo’s Philosophy of Learning
Physeo was born when Rhett and his friends were approaching their USMLE Step 1 Exam. They realized that they had relied on memorizing facts, without sufficiently understanding how these facts fit into deep and meaningful conceptual frameworks. The original intention was to build a conceptual framework around physiology, which is foundational to medicine. But at the moment, Physeo comprises not only 72 videos on physiology, but 79 videos in total covering other Step 1 topics as well.
PowerPoints have been the standard method of information dissemination, within medicine but also more broadly. There are several benefits to PowerPoints — they enable a student to follow along with a lecturer, and they enable notes to be accessible to students after the lecture, reducing anxiety around notetaking. However, PowerPoints are insufficient with regards to helping students to understand and lock in the information that they are given.
Physeo focuses on creating a large framework which makes learning and memorization intuitive and effortless. The core of Physeo’s philosophy is that understanding is key. Physeo’s videos walk students through complicated topics tested in the USMLE Step 1 Exam, reimagining them as stories, and using mnemonic devices which are logically coherent and intuitive, rather than a bunch of facts thrown together.
Pre-Made and Self-Made Medical Mnemonics Medical students can use various pre-made mnemonics provided by companies like Physeo. However, some argue that self-made mnemonic devices are more effective than those created by someone else. While Rhett agrees that self-made medical mnemonics may stick better, it is difficult to create stories as complex, and yet intuitive as the pre-made ones created by Physeo if you do not have a team of people doing thorough research and refining the mnemonics together. Medicine involves many complex topics, and a mnemonic that is roughly thrown together by an individual person may not stick.
Questions to Ask When Learning Although the quality and breadth of Physeo’s visual mnemonics are not achievable by an individual, Rhett provides key questions that students can ask in their own study time, as an effective learning technique. Firstly, ask why or how. To illustrate, in acute inflammation, prostaglandins can cause swelling. Instead of just memorizing this, ask yourself why/how prostaglandins cause swelling. You can then make a connection that is more logical. For example, prostaglandins cause postcapillary venules to become more permeable. This permeability can cause leaking of fluid, which results in edema in the interstitial tissue.
You have made a bit of a framework by making this logical connection — taking us to the next question: how does this fit into a bigger framework? Having studied prostaglandins, you might relate this to the larger framework of acute inflammation. So you have connected prostaglandins to swelling and acute inflammation.
Taking this further, in a clinical scenario, you might see someone with a swelling, sprained ankle. You know that swelling occurs in acute inflammation. You know that prostaglandins are released in acute inflammation, causing permeable postcapillary venules, and swelling. NSAIDs are prescribed to reduce the number of prostaglandins floating around, and in turn reduce swelling.
Explore Physeo as well as Rhett’s podcast Step 1 Success Stories.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Dr. Jill Wener discusses systemic racism, anti-racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the concept of reverse racism. Dr. Wener is the host of the Conscious Anti-Racism podcast.
- [01:48] Dr. Wener’s Journey into Anti-racism
- [08:39] White Supremacy Culture and Systemic Racism
- [15:27] Racism in Medicine
- [19:26] Why Reverse Racism Cannot Exist
- [27:40] Why Black Lives Matter exists
- [31:16] Internal Versus External Work to Combat Racism
- [37:19] Resources on Anti-racism
Dr. Jill Wener is the host of the Conscious Anti-Racism podcast and creator of a curriculum with the same name.
But I am Not Racist! Dr. Wener began leaning into her discomfort around race after a friend admonished her on the racially privileged perspective of her blog post on the 2016 election. Initially defensive, she knew that if she did implicitly have harmful views on race, she needed to correct them.
Just like Dr. Wener, many white people are sometimes defensive about race, and reluctant to agree that they are racist and that they benefit from white supremacy and white privilege. They often cite the hard work that they have invested to achieve success, and how they never use their racial privilege. However, Dr. Wener describes the systemic racism in the US as a “toxic fume soup” in which we are all immersed. White people inevitably benefit from their race, even if they do not intend to do so.
To illustrate one of the many ways in which white people unintentionally benefit from the color of their skin, Dr. Wener shares her story of being ticketed for using her cell phone in the car. She describes exiting her vehicle to stretch while waiting, and trying to explain to the officer that she had only taken out her phone to take a picture of an advertisement for a farmer’s market. Once the officer gauged that she was a doctor, he explained that he would not have ticketed her. At the time, Dr. Wener did not count this as an incident of her white privilege. But in hindsight, she knows that if she had acted similarly as a black person, she would have been shot or arrested. She knows a black friend who drives with a stethoscope and his medical ID hanging on his rearview mirror to protect himself from harm. White people can go through life without considering their race very much, whilst black people must always be aware and take precautions to protect themselves.
Why Reverse Racism Cannot Exist Young adult author Kimberly Jones, encourages us to consider a game of Monopoly where the game has been fixed against some players i.e. black people. For four hundred rounds, black people have been working for no pay under slavery, not being able to own land or anything. Then, for another fifty rounds, money that black people earned was taken from them (consider Tulsa). Now, imagine that after four hundred and fifty rounds, suddenly, black people are told to just start playing the game as “equals.” The hundreds of rounds of damage has not been undone. Therefore, when special spaces are created for black people, or when special opportunities are given to them, it cannot be considered racism on white people, rather, it is taking the first steps towards equality.
Racism is the systemic oppression of the weak by the powerful. Systemically, white people have the power, therefore they cannot be the victims of racism. Relatedly, Black Lives Matter does not imply that other lives do not matter. Rather, the name demonstrates that previously, black lives have not been treated as if they matter, and now we acknowledge that they matter just as much as white lives.
Racism in Medicine The boards of most hospitals and the dean’s office of schools, in other words people in power, often lack representation from people of color. In patient care, research has demonstrated that med students think that black people feel less pain. Differential diagnosis methods, which are designed with good intentions, often result in stating the races of people of color, whilst assuming the default race to be white. The treatment of sickle cell patients is often entrenched in distrust and false ideas. Racism is rampant in medicine. As a physician, you can practice anti-racist allyship in medicine by reaching out to the diversity inclusion officer at your hospital to ask if there are projects that you can work on.
Do not put the burden of dealing with your racism on black shoulders by asking about what you can do to be less racist. Black people do enough emotional labor simply by dealing with the racism thrown at them daily. Deal with your racial discomfort internally, and become anti-racist by seeking out amply available online resources, podcasts and books to help you out. To get you started, here are some of them: Dr. Wener’s Conscious Anti-Racism course and podcast, White Coats For Black Lives, How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal Marie Fleming, ... But I'm NOT Racist!: Tools for Well-Meaning Whites by Kathy Obear, Allies in Action Virtual Bootcamp, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race. Anti-racism resources compilation #1 and compilation #2. Also, do check out our related episode Diversity & A New Social History in Medicine w/ Nicole Washington MD, MPH
Check out Dr. Wener’s TransforMD retreat for women physicians. Check out MedSchoolCoach for more information about hiring a tutor, or have a chat with the enrollment team. Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School. Sign up for free to join Dr. Erkeda DeRouen (The Prospective Doctor), Sam Smith (MCAT Basics), and Chase DiMarco (1-Minute Preceptor & The Medical Mnemonist) on Behind the Mic LIVE on September 24 as they discuss their journey through medicine, why they began podcasting, their dream guests, and more.
Dr. Megan Sumeracki teaches us about Spacing, Retrieval, Interleaving, Elaboration, Dual-coding, and Concrete Examples.
- [2:16] The Learning Scientists Podcast & Bi-directional Communication
- [4:13] The Importance of Learning Research as open-access
- [5:27] The Six Strategies of Effective Learning from the Institute for Education Sciences (2007?) & The National Council for Teaching Quality Report (2016?)
- [7:45] A Brief History of Spacing and Retrieval Practice, Ebbinghaus, and Memory Accessibility
- [9:57] What is Spacing and How do We Use it?
- [12:17] The Ins and Outs of Retrieval Practice
- [4:47] Interleaving Your Study Practice (19:10 Taylor and Rore? 2010 blocking v. interleaving)
- [21:20] Elaborative Interrogation: The How, When, Why, and Where of Your Study Material
- [24:40] Dual Coding: Combining Visual information with your Learning!
- [28:05] Concrete Examples: The More the Merrier
- [32:54] Closing Advice from Dr. Sumeracki: Use These Strategies!!!
Also, you can find Dr. Sumeracki’s books on Amazon, research articles, and some great podcasts by the Learning Scientists on Retrieval for medical residents, and an interview with her sister, Dr. Alyssa Smith.
Dr. Joel Ramirez talks about how tutoring can be a valuable resource for medical students studying for the USMLE exams. As someone who personally benefited from tutoring, Dr. Ramirez has a passion for educating and tutoring. MedSchoolCoach provides tutoring for both USMLE board exams (shelf and step), as well as the MCAT.
- [02:38] Tutoring for the MCATs Versus Board Exams
- [04:06] How to Determine if You Need a Tutor
- [06:37] Pinpointing Weaknesses in a Medical Student
- [10:00] What to Expect from a Medical School Tutor
- [13:37] Weighing the Financial Costs of Tutoring
- [16:46] The Focus of a MedSchoolCoach Tutoring Session
- [20:54] How Much Tutoring It Takes for a Student to Get a Passing Score
As someone who personally benefited from tutoring, Dr. Ramirez has a passion for educating and tutoring. MedSchoolCoach provides tutoring for both USMLE board exams (shelf and step), as well as the MCAT. Funnily enough, medical students tend to enjoy sitting for board exams more than they did the MCAT, because board exams are more relevant to the medical sciences, as opposed to the MCATs, which involves topics like physics, language and literature.
There are two major groups of students who benefit from coaching — students who just want to pass their MCATs or board exams, and students who need a very high score because they want to get into a competitive specialty — for example neurosurgery, or want to go to medical school in a competitive geographical location — for example New York or California. And there are two broad categories of problems that students face:
- A knowledge or content gap.
- Insufficient strategy for answering questions.
The tutors at MedSchoolCoach will design a personalized coaching/tutoring program for each student to prepare them for their MCATs or board exams. All tutoring is conducted in 1-on-1 sessions.
When a medical student or a potential medical student expresses an interest in hiring a tutor through MedSchoolCoach, they must fill out an intake form in which they talk about their academic experiences, learning style, exam schedule etc. Based on this information, they are matched with a tutor. If a student is unsure that they want to commit to long-term tutoring, they can sign up for a package of five to ten hours first, or they can talk to the enrolment team, who can help them to decide if tutoring is the right option. Although Dr. Ramirez works for MedSchoolCoach, he emphasizes that when consulting with potential students, he always tries to share the best option for the student, which may not be tutoring.
Many students might be put off by the financial costs of tutoring. Dr. Ramirez argues that if going to medical school in a specific geographical location, or having a specific specialty is paramount to a student’s happiness, then the investment is worth it.
When asked about how long it would take for a failing student to reach the passing mark, Dr. Ramirez explains that this really depends on the student’s story. A high-performing medical student who simply has not begun board exam preparation yet, will have a much easier time reaching a passing mark than another medical student who has been studying for the board exam for three months, and is still failing.
Check out MedSchoolCoach for more information, or have a chat with the enrollment team. Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Dr. Ali Abdaal discusses evidence-based study methods for medical students, tips for using medical flashcards, and the role of fun in productivity. Dr. Abdaal is a FY2 physician in the UK and a successful YouTuber with over a million subscribers.
- [01:36] Evidence-Based Study Techniques
- [04:55] Anki and Other Flashcard Apps
- [06:35] Mnemonics and Memory Palaces
- [08:27] Tips for Using Flashcards
- [12:36] Defining Productivity & How to be Productive
- [14:44] How to Overcome Common Productivity Struggles
- [16:45] The Role of Fun in Learning & Productivity
- [21:00] Avoiding the Professional “Conveyor Belt” and Achieving Happiness
Dr. Ali Abdaal is co-host of his own podcast Not Overthinking, but in this episode of The Medical Mnemonist, he discusses two evidence-based study techniques used in his medical studies – active recall and spaced repetition. Dr. Abdaal is also a fan of mnemonic devices. As a medical student, he recalls creating silly mnemonics with his friends. For example, to remember the side effects of pyrazinamide, which is a treatment for tuberculosis, he associated it with the Islamic concept of “zina” or premarital sex which is prohibited. Another act that is prohibited in Islam is drinking alcohol, which damages the liver. Therefore, a negative side effect of pyrazinamide is damage to the liver.
Using mnemonic devices falls within Ali’s larger belief that having fun is key to productivity. He shares his “productivity equation” which is:
Productivity = (Useful Output/Time) x Fun
Another fun and effective study method that he used in medical school was having pomodoro sessions with his friends. A pomodoro session consists of 25 minutes of studying, and then a 5-minute break, repeated over and over again.
Although Dr. Abdaal prioritizes fun, he believes that action precedes motivation — a concept that he gleaned from the book, The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden. Often, people believe that they need the motivation to accomplish something. However, it is more accurate that we get motivation after achieving small milestones in our actions & efforts. Thus, the best productivity tip is to just start.
As a mental model for productivity, Dr. Abdaal encourages us to consider the analogy of the pilot, plane and engineer. The pilot plots the course, the plane does the work, and the engineer tweaks and optimizes these processes. Ali believes that we should spend 85% of our time being the pilot – planning our tasks, 10% of our time being the plane – doing our work, and 5% of our time being the engineer – optimizing our productivity, say by learning how to type faster or trying out a new productivity app.
With regards to using medical flashcards, Dr. Abdaal leans towards personalized flashcards which condense lots of information, rather than generic sets of flashcards which contain a single fact each. When using a generic set of single-fact flashcards, we might develop the illusion of productivity by rushing through the set, without really learning anything, or rehashing information that we know well already. Instead, we should consider using flashcards specifically for topics which confuse us. And it is likely better if these flashcards integrate different pieces of information, rather than single facts because this is how information exists in real life — within the context of other information.
He also shares his fear about falling into the “conveyor belt” of professional life. As medical students, it is easy to keep saying “I will be happy when I get accepted into my residency program” and then later, “I will be happy once my residency is over and I am an attendant.” The cycle could go on and on. Dr. Abdaal even fears that his idea of doing his Step 1 IMG in the U.S. might come from a fear of not having another exam in front of him. He encourages us to ask ourselves the question “What game am I playing, and do I want to be playing this game?”
Each of us needs an “economic engine” or a way to make money. However, Dr. Abdaal encourages medical students to get this part of our lives sorted as soon as possible, so that we can focus on doing things that we enjoy. He is glad that his YouTube channel supports him, and if he continues to practice medicine, it will be because he really wants to, not to pay the bills. For those of us looking to build up our own “economic engines”, we should think about what we are good at that provides value, or develop the skills required to provide value.
Take a look at Dr. Abdaal’s YouTube channel and his podcast Not Overthinking. Also, check out Creating Visual Mnemonics with Sketchy Medical Drs. Bryan and Aaron Lemieux as well as Visual Mnemonic Generation with Ron Robertson of Picmonic.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Three well known memory experts share tips for integrating memory techniques like memory palace, the story method, and mnemonics flashcards.
- [01:27] Defining Memory
- [02:59] Defining Mnemonics
- [04:17] Common Misconceptions About Memory
- [06:56] Comparing and Integrating Memory Techniques
- [13:40] Remembering & Differentiating Concepts That Are Very Similar
- [15:24] Remembering Information Outside the Classroom
- [17:27] Tips for Remembering Names
- [20:38] Pre-Made vs Self-Made Medical Mnemonics
Chase DiMarco conducts a memory expert panel with a three-time world memory champion, Alex Mullen, multiple US memory record-holder and author, Nelson Dellis, and mnemonics practitioner, trainer, and author Anthony Metivier. They talk about common misconceptions surrounding memory, share tips for comparing and integrating different memory techniques for medical school and for remembering non-academic information, such as people’s names and the layout of a hospital.
People tend to think of memory as a bookshelf from which we can simply retrieve information. However, Alex explains that memory is more like a lens through which we view the world. Everything we encounter is filtered through the lens of memory. The author of the blog Wait, but Why, Tim Urban, describes memory using an analogy: memory is like a tree trunk, the more knowledge you acquire, the more branches you build. This makes it easier to integrate new material, by building on what you already know.
Lots of people also believe that memorization is a fixed ability, or a gift, rather than a skill that can be cultivated. Nelson debunks the concept of a “photographic memory” which does not exist and is not supported by the literature. Rather, memory is a skill that can be improved.
Alex is famously known as a proponent of mnemonics flashcards for medicine, while Anthony is known for his visual memorization techniques, such as memory palaces. However, both of them agree that we should not try to compare and argue for particular memory techniques, as if there is a singular perfect technique. Instead, it is important to consider the type of information that we are memorizing.
In contrasting memory palace and the story method, Nelson agrees that the decision to use a particular method should be contextual. Memory palaces are more robust, while the story method holds the risk that you blank out in the middle and cannot retrieve the remainder of the story. However, using the story method requires little preparation, and is thus more convenient. When you are memorizing something, critically determine whether or not your methods/activities are effective for this information, rather than blindly applying them.
To remember people’s faces, the panelists provide several possible techniques:
- Remembering parts of the room where you met the person,
- Remembering their specialty
- Gauging and remembering their height and weight.
- Keep business cards, because they can function as “flashcards” of sorts.
For spatial information such as layouts of buildings or cities, it can help to remember landmarks or street names.
While many people recommend writing your own medical mnemonics, studies have shown that ready-made medical mnemonics from sources such as Sketchy can be just as effective.
Check out Nelson’s website, Nelson’s YouTube channel, as well as his books Memory Superpowers and Remember It: The Names of People You Meet, All of Your Passwords, Where You Left Your Keys, and Everything Else You Tend to Forget.
Check out Anthony’s website ‘Magnetic Memory’ and read his book The Victorious Mind.
In addition, check out Alex Mullen’s website 'Mullen Memory' and Alex's Twitter page.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Also, do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Chase DiMarco shares tips for dealing with failure in medical school and healthcare education. Failure can be the beginning rather than the end.
- [00:20] Why We Need to Talk About Failure
- [01:30] Feelings Surrounding Failure
- [03:51] How to Overcome Failure
- [05:25] Failures Involving Board Exams
- [06:57] Chase’s Failures
- [09:01] How Chase Persisted to Convert His Failures into Successes
- [11:25] Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan (WOOP)
Failure is inevitable, but it can be a starting point, rather than an endpoint. Think about your struggles with failure; be they academic, occupational, or social. You can transform these negative associations with failure into opportunities for growth. As Chase puts it: “Failure + Persistence = Success.”
When we fail, we are often bombarded with thoughts such as “I cannot believe I did this again,” or “I am just not good enough.” Research indicates that this is not an optimal mindset for your education. So, how do you turn these failures into successes? First, think about whether the failure was actually your fault. For example, if 98% of your class failed a test, perhaps the instructor insufficiently prepared the class for the test. In these situations, do not get trapped in your thoughts. Let it go.
However, if you do see a solution that you can implement, then do so. Consider the example of preparing for a board exam. If you realize that you are failing practice tests, then take steps to improve. Practice self-exploration and self-awareness, and reach out to people who can help you. Talk to peers who have gone through the exam, incorporate evidence-based study techniques, or maybe even delay your exam schedule until you are better prepared.
Chase himself delayed his graduation date, made excuses about his performance, has been guilty of not implementing proper study techniques, and has often neglected his mental and physical health. The 1-Minute Preceptor podcast and his book Read This Before Medical School are both products of his initial failure. They are also both examples of how a small failure can be the seed for much greater success.
Do not just read this post and walk away. Think back on your failure points. What have you done to mitigate your weaknesses? Can you pre-plan for possible failures? If you have neglected physical activity, can you buy some weights to use at home? If you have neglected social interaction, can you join meetups around the city? Be proactive, conscious, and intentional about bettering yourself. One concrete framework for planning for future failures is the Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan (WOOP) framework, which was discussed in Episode 31 of this podcast with Dr. Daniel Saddawi-Konefka.
One day, or Day One — you choose.
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Also, do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Chase DiMarco shares tips for practicing an evidence-based study technique called interleaving. Interleaving is tricky to apply because there is no golden rule that is analogous to the 1-1-3-1-1 rule for spaced repetition, for example. Instead, the effectiveness of interleaving depends on various factors such as the topic, the depth at which we are studying and our schedule.
[01:28] Interleaving Topics
[03:36] Interleaving Materials
[04:33] Choosing Study Resources
[06:52] Filtering Question Banks
[08:19] Stress + Rest = Growth
[10:57] Recency Bias
[12:14] Repeating the Same Question Bank
To interleave topics, one method is to ramp up the number of topics and the intensity of study as the week goes forward. For example:
Monday: Anatomy, 80% intensity
Tuesday: Pharmacology + Anatomy, 100% intensity
Wednesday: Biochemistry + Pharmacology + Anatomy, 100% intensity
This method provides several benefits including overcoming the forgetting curve. We tend to forget materials after three days, if we do not review them. This method allows us to review old topics, whilst still learning new ones. In addition, we can prevent burnout. If we study anatomy for the whole week, for example, we will get very tired.
We can also choose to interleave study materials, in addition to study topics. For example, taking the example schedule above, we might listen to an anatomy lecture on Monday, use an anatomy question bank on Tuesday, and then use flashcards on Wednesday. Using various materials for the same topic will help us to remember it better.
In choosing study resources, Chase reminds us that the evidence for one question bank over another is usually anecdotal — maybe something we read about in a forum. As such, if finances are tight, we should not be afraid to choose a more affordable resource, which is likely just as good. Referencing a forthcoming interview with Dr. Corey Fawcett on the Prospective Doctor podcast, every dollar that we spend on our education can add up to four dollars by the end of repayment. Before purchasing a resource, we should look at our budget and decide if the resource is really worth it.
Two more things to keep in mind: 1. remember to schedule breaks and 2. be aware of recency bias. We tend to schedule 7-day weeks without realizing that a good balance of stress and rest is essential to growth. Secondly, recency bias refers to the tendency to choose an answer to a question because we covered a topic involving that answer very recently. To combat this, we should apply metacognition and ask ourselves why we choose an answer — because it is correct, or because it is recent?
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE! Also, do check out Read This Before Medical School.
Chase DiMarco discusses the six stages of medical learning which you can use to assess your level of knowledge. He also details the best study techniques & methods corresponding to each stage.
[00:23] Motivation for Knowing the Stages of Medical Learning
[02:34] Stage 1: Basic Facts & Memorization
[04:27] Stage 2: Integrative Basics
[6:07] Stage 3: Integrative Flow
[7:47] Stage 4: Integrative Clinical
[12:07] Stage 5: Mixed Pathologies & Stage 6: Fellowship-Level Knowledge
[12:51] Study Techniques to Use at Each Stage
The first stage of medical learning is basic facts and memorization. This stage corresponds to pre-med or to the first few months of medical school. You memorize answers to questions such as ‘what muscle attaches to this bone?’or ‘what cancer marker is seen in pancreatic cancer?’ You do not have the knowledge to synthesize facts or to come up with a treatment plan. At this stage, tools like flashcards are key.
The second stage is integrative basics. You learn the symptoms, signs and treatments for different diseases. This is also where you must memorize ‘illness scripts.’ For example, if a young child comes in tugging their ear and crying, they likely have an ear infection. Integrative basics correspond to the end of your second year of medical school, and are often useful in Step 1 board exams. Whilst flashcards are still useful, you also begin to use question banks (QBs) and develop an awareness of the techniques used by question writers.
Next, integrative flow, which is often relevant for Step 2 board exams. This is where you comprehend the ‘order of operations’ when it comes to treating a patient. Going beyond illness scripts and basic diagnoses, you ask questions like ‘what is the next step of treatment?’ and ‘what diagnostic should I do to confirm my preliminary diagnosis?’ You should still use flashcards and QBs, but should also incorporate more flowcharts and visual tools like mind maps to understand this ‘order of operations.’
The fourth stage is integrative clinical which goes beyond Step 2 board exam materials, and into actual clinical experience. The materials that you study for the board exam often diverge from actual clinical experience, and this is where you delve deeper into treatment options and real patients.
Chase does not focus on the fifth and sixth stages because these go into the realm of residency & fellowship experience. However, all of these stages cultivate your awareness of the constant progression of your knowledge. You should take the time to use rehearsal strategies and you should be wary of ‘recognition memory’ as opposed to true memory. Here are some further resources and communities that you might find helpful:
FreeMedEd Website
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE!
In this episode, Chase DiMarco reviews the study technique known as “elaborative interrogation.” This episode is not an introduction to elaborative interrogation, which has already been covered in an earlier episode. Instead, Chase shares four key tips for students to keep themselves accountable and effectively apply elaborative interrogation at various stages in their medical education.
[00:49] Overview of Episode Contents
[02:13] Tip #1: Review Materials Consistently
[04:41] Tip #2: Practice Integrative Learning
[07:24] Integrative Learning for Later-Stage Medical Students
[09:13] Tip #3: Schedule Sessions for Elaborative Interrogation
[10:59] Tip #4: Use Metacognition When Choosing Study Materials
[13:49] Sneak Peek of Next Week’s Episode
Firstly, review materials consistently. Students often worry that all the content that they must learn is just too much, and tend to just focus on newer content. However, it is better to consistently “fight against the forgetting curve” rather than having to memorize the same materials over and over due to inconsistent review. Further, Chase reminds students that the reviewing of past materials should involve active learning techniques like flash cards and medical mnemonics, rather than passive learning.
Next, students should practice integrative learning. Even if a student’s curriculum uses a disciplinary approach, the student should personally branch out and draw connections with other disciplines as they learn. For example, when a student is asked an anatomy-based question, they must think about the diseases and medication that are related to the disorders that they come across. This branching out makes the material more memorable.
Early on in a medical education, students tend to learn more core science and then later transition into more clinical material, before transitioning back to core science during their residencies. Thus, students who retain an integrative approach throughout will better coalesce the different materials from each stage of their academic journey. For students in the later stages of their academic journey, it is not too late to begin practising integrative learning. Chase encourages students to think about questions such as “how would my answer to this question change, if I change the gender of the patient?” Board exams often include such questions.
The next tip is to schedule sessions for elaborative interrogation. It is not always a good time to practice this technique. For example, closer to an exam, more focus on question banks and getting the exact answers right is crucial. This is why setting aside time, say 20 minutes a day, to practice branching out and thinking more deeply about a topic is important.
Finally, students should practice metacognition when choosing study materials. This means that they should always ask “why” when choosing a specific resource. For example, if a student often watches videos rather than reading a textbook, they must question whether a video is simply the “easier” resource or actually the “better” resource. Students must be willing to adjust their study materials if they realize that they are simply defaulting to the “easy” choice.
As soon as you finish listening to the podcast, open up your calendar and pencil in time for some elaborative interrogation. Think about the study materials that you are using, and decide if these are the best fit for you! For more tips on navigating the academic aspect of medical school, do refer to these further resources:
FreeMedEd Website
Read This Before Medical School
The Six Strategies of Effective Learning with Learning Scientist, Dr. Megan Sumeracki
Sign up for a Free Coaching session with Chase DiMarco, sponsored by Prospective Doctor! You can also join the Med Mnemonist Mastermind FB Group today and learn more about study methods, memory techniques, and MORE!
Dr. Anthony Metivier is a prolific speaker, bestselling author, and creator of the Magnetic Memory Method. This is his third time guesting on the podcast and joins us today to discuss the Magnetic Memory Method, overcoming obstacles to retention and common memory misconceptions.
2:15 About Anthony’s TEDx Talk and New Book ‘The Victorious Mind’
4:13 Memory Palaces: Spatial Mnemonics to Promote Retention
6:45 Overcoming Excuses to Create Memory Techniques
7:29 The Magnetic Method: Creating Reliable Retention and Repelling the Unnecessary
11:03 The ‘Bad Memory’ Misconception and How to Conquer it
12:15 The Benefits of Utilizing Memory Techniques Beyond Learning
13:00 Understanding That Fun Should not be a Requirement for Learning
16:08 Building Systems That Require Participation to Reach Your Goals
19:09 Creating Your Goals: Doing Due Diligence to Understand Your Path
22:20 Pre-Planning: Decreasing Cognitive Load by Creating Visual Dictionaries
24:35 Multi-Sensory Dictionary Creation
30:25 Re-visitation Pattern Retention
33:25 Space Repetition vs. Memory Palace Techniques: There is No Universal Tool
36:30 Meditations: Reducing the Self-Referential Inner Narrative
Resources
Information about Dr. Metivier and the Magnetic Memory Method can be found here at https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com. Also, check out his recent TedX Talk!
Anthony’s free course can be found here:
https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/free-memory-improvement-kit/
If you would like to apply for his full Masterclass, feel free to use my affiliate link!
Books
The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditations and Mental Well-Being by Dr. Anthony Metivier
Anthony Metivier Amazon Author Page
Dr. Amreet Sidhu is a Toronto-born Internal Medicine Resident based in Detroit. He is the creator of Brosencephalon, a comprehensive set of pre-clinical flashcards created for self-study that spread worldwide. Amreet’s cards have evolved into a community-driven project by medical students for medical students. Today’s episode will cover the inspiration behind the creation of Brosencephalon, the most useful aspects of Anki and how to create your own effective flashcards for retention.
3:20 The Inspiration Behind the Creation of Brosencephalon
7:42 Evidence Based Cognitive Learning for Effective Retention
9:59 How COVID-19 is Facilitating Change for Brosencephalon and Learning Programs
13:59 Curricular Design and Application
15:31 Creating Effective and Efficient Flashcards
19:58 The Benefits of Cognitive Effort When Creating Flashcards
23:30 Digital Cards vs. Physical
25:50 Elaborative Interrogation and its Relevance to Flashcards.
30:45 How to Integrate Multiple Learning Strategies
34:19 Using Flashcards for Self-Assessment
37:53 The Need to Update Standard Western Learning Conventions
40:00 Amreet’s Favourite Anki Plugins
41:50 The Use of Mnemonics and Images in Flashcards
43:43 What Would Amreet Change if He Could go Back in Time?
Resources
Information about Amreet and Brosencephalon can be found here:
https://www.brosencephalon.com
https://twitter.com/brosencephalon
https://www.reddit.com/r/Brosencephalon
Anki Plugins
Hierarchical Tags
Frozen Fields
Load Balancer
Heat Mapper
Websites
https://apps.ankiweb.net
https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
We have a very special episode for you today. Though we are still in the midst of a pandemic, economies are going haywire, and police reformation is a top concern for the nations future students must still focus on their current educational requirements to have the personal futures they desire. As such, here is the lecture that your host, Chase DiMarco, gave during the first annual Online Medical Education Summit!
By combining past episodes training on memory palaces and visual marker creation, you will now learn one potential method for memorizing all of your school textbooks! This is an advanced stage of mnemonics creation but in reality it is simply using the same universal principles to a larger scale. For a refresher on visual marker creation and memory palace basics, here is a list of past episodes that may help:
E2- Memory Palaces basics w/ Mullen Memory’s Alex Mullen & Cathy Chen
E4- Visual Marker Creation & Journey Method w/ Nelson Dellis
E17- Creating Visual Mnemonics with Sketchy Medical Drs. Bryan and Aaron Lemieux
E23- Visual Mnemonic Generation with Ron Robertson of Picmonic
E26- School Success and Productivity with Memory Athlete Brad Zupp
Also, if you would like to view the video presentation you can find it here. A recommended pre-requisite to this material would be the FreeMedEd tutorial on Memory Palaces and Medical Mnemonics. Enjoy!
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Chase DiMarco holds an MS, MBA-HA, and is an MD/PhD-candidate, having studied at Saint James School of Medicine in the Caribbean. He is the founder of FreeMedEd.org and host of The Medical Mnemonist and 1-Minute Preceptor podcast. Chase has also co-authored the book Read This Before Medical School. Today’s episode sees Chase interviewed by 4th year medical student Sharif. They will cover his time in medical school and how he would approach studying if he could go back.
- 04:24 What Motivated Chase to Begin FreeMedEd
- 07:10 Filling the Gaps: What Teachers Don’t Know About Learning Techniques
- 08:40 The Benefits of Preceptors
- 10:20 How Chase Would Have Applied Memory Techniques for Study
- 12:35 The International Schooling Experience
- 15:10 The Qualities of a Successful Medical Student
- 18:06 Competitiveness and Burnout
- 26:15 Chase’s Daily Medical Student Routine
- 32:48 The Techniques Chase Wishes He Knew in Medical School
- 47:50 Implementing a Mind Palace
- 51:38 Quality of Learning Over Quantity
- 53:37 Using Memory Techniques to Create Free-Time
Resources
FreeMedEd.org
How to Make a Memory Palace on Youtube
Books
Read This Before Medical School by Chase DiMarco, Theodore X. O’Connell and Gregory Rodden
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Michelle Miller holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and is Professor of Psychological Sciences at Northern Arizona University. She also serves as President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow. Additionally, Dr. Miller has published several books and studies on memory and effective learning. Today’s episode will cover principles and techniques for memory effectiveness in the medical field.
- 3:50 The Emerging Methodology of Teaching Online
- 4:35 The Core Principles of Memory to Increase Learning Outside of the Classroom
- 10:30 Factors Involved in Retention
- 13:30 Techniques for Terminology
- 18:50 Conceptualizing Context to Shift Memory Modality
- 22:30 Knowing How and When to Apply Different Techniques for Memory
- 26:50 Spacing Out Study and Why it is Beneficial for Retention and Recalling
- 32:35 Reflecting on Techniques That Work for You
Resources
Information about Dr. Michelle Miller can be found here: https://www.michellemillerphd.com
Books
Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simmons
Websites
https://www.retrievalpractice.org
https://www.learningscientists.org
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Gabe Wyner, author of Fluent Forever, is fluent in 8 languages and has developed multiple strategies for mnemonics-based learning. Today’s episode will cover how to apply those strategies to the medical field.
- Intro
- 2:20 Developing Initial Learning Strategies.
- 7:10 Implementing Memory Skills: Pre-packaged vs. Personalized Options
- 10:08 Levels of Processing
- 16:10 The Importance of the Personal Level of Processing
- 27:00 Topic Management
- 37:40 Repetition and Retention
Resources
Get 2 months of Fluent Forever FREE with this coupon!
Information about Gabe’s approach can be found here: https://fluent-forever.com
Catch our interview with Sketchy Medical!
Join the Medical Mnemonist Master Mind Facebook group and find our Blog posts, Podcasts, and other Resources at FreeMedEd.org! Feel free to Email any Questions or Comments.
Review test-taking skills, preparation, and how to use self-assessments and mentorship to thrive!
In these last episodes of the Recap series, we will discuss test-taking skills, preparation, and how to use self-assessments and mentorship to bring our skills to the next level! Though proper exam prep, both for our mind and our bodies, we can limit many of the anxiety provoking responses and distractions that hamper our abilities.
Of course, our preparation can only get us so far. Sometimes we simply need help from the experts. This is when tutoring and mentorship can come into play. With the use of our own Purposeful Practice, and the guidance of someone with greater knowledge and experience than ourselves, we can reach for Deliberate Practice and be on a path for mastery!
Key Episode Points!
2:37 Mind Over Grey Matter - Conditioning our Stress Response
12:43 Setting our Mindset for Study and Exam Prep Success!
15:25 A Jedi’s Path - Using Medical Education Mentors
18:50 Purposeful Practice + Mentorship = Deliberate Practice & Subject Mastery!
24:20 Key Takeaways and Offers/Updates
Uncover best practices for memory palaces and mistakes to be aware of to create elaborate and dense palaces.
This is our FINAL recap for medical mnemonics as we finish off the best practices for memory palaces and mistakes to be aware of. With an organized structure, we can create very elaborate and dense palaces. Alternatively, with less structure, we can create visual mnemonic associations more quickly.
There are many strategies to utilize when it comes to creating our own personalized visual markers. As it is a creative process, there is no right or wrong answer. Similar to much of learning, it all comes down to what works best for you. This comes from experimentation, education, and consistency. So study smart and remember longer with these key points of memory palace creation for medical students!
Key Episode Points!
1:45 Begin at the Beginning- Organizing and Structuring Your Memory Palace
14:30 Using Spaced-repetition & Adding Linking Markers to Visual Mnemonics
19:50 Advanced Techniques- Hyperlinking, PAO, Memory Cities, Mind Forests
23:26 Avoid Pitfalls- Negative Self Talk, Density of Visuals, Limited Memory Palaces, and MORE!
38:08 To Tech or Not to Tech & Information Overload
Discover how to create visual mnemonics, dynamic stories, and add these into a memory palace.
Here is our second part of the accelerated learning and mnemonics recap of all 2019 highlights! You will get a much more succinct view of how to create visual mnemonics, how to create dynamic stories and an introduction in adding these into a memory palace. The third part of the accelerated learning recap will finalize this part of the mini-series by condensing a year of great memory palace techniques, mistakes, and more into one informative episode!
Key Episode Points!
2:42 Creating Visualizations- Visual Aids for Memory Techniques
5:40 Peg System Example with Howard Berg
11:29 Using Associations to Create Dynamic Visuals
16:53 The Story/Linking Method
22:50 An Intro to Memory Palaces
39:53 You are Invited! Check out our first Meetup and Other Events to Come
Examine accelerated learning techniques and focus on the limitations of our brain and memory to fight against the Forgetting Curve.
In this episode, we will take our first recap look at accelerated learning techniques. Here, we focus on the limitations of our brain and our memory. With a deeper understanding of these limitations, we can plan to fight against the Forgetting Curve and succeed at learning quicker.
We will also take a broader view of speed reading and mind maps for medical students and give examples of how to use these in our current studies. Those who seek more direct advice on these topics can reach out to Chase, or visit FindARotation on the social media links below.
Key Episode Points!
2:50 Intro to Mnemonics for Med School
24:20 Speed Reading Tutorials and Mistakes
37:40 Mind Maps as Medical Mnemonics
Finish the review of the evidence-based study skills and spaced-repetition techniques covered in Part 1.
In this episode, we finish off the evidence-based study skills and spaced-repetition techniques we eluded to in Part 1 (Episode 46) of this mini-series. Much of the research conducted by the Institute of Education Sciences suggests that certain learning methods, such as spacing and rehearsal practice, provide strong evidence to their effectiveness. This should be no surprise to frequent listeners to this podcast as these topics are mentioned in a majority of interviews conducted!
On top of these skills, how to perform them, and mistakes to be aware of, the topic of mentorship arises later in the episode. What are some of the benefits of having a mentor and how can you search for clinical experiences earlier on in your education? Those who seek more direct advice on these topics can reach out to Chase, or visit FindARotation on the social media links below.
Key Episode Points!
2:50 Evidence-based Learning Strategies for Medical Students
1335 Durable Learning?
12:10 How to use Spaced Repetition and Rehearsal Practice for Medical Students
24:05 Common Spaced Repetition Mistakes to Avoid
30:17 Get a Mentor! Use FindARotation!
Dive into studying and time management in medical school, as well as note-taking and flashcard techniques.
In part 1 of our 2019 Best Episodes Recap, we will review some of the highlights from our expert interviews. Part 1 will cover study efficiency, time management in medical school, group studying, note-taking techniques, and even a brief overview of flashcard techniques.
Exploring the techniques that work for us, personally, will greatly reduce the weekly effort and time it requires to cover all of the material required for your studies. Knowing your purpose in studying this material (short vs long-term) can also determine what techniques are going to be more beneficial. We may wish to stick with regular notes for less important material, make graphic Mind Maps for outlines, or move tricky material into our spaced repetition flashcard decks.
Key Episode Points!
1:50 Efficient Study Planning & Student Time Management
8:45 Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!
20:10 Be Nice: Tips to Working in Groups
25:58 Note-taking Success with the Cornell Method & Minds Maps
30:27 How to Create Medical Flashcard Decks
Learn about The Story Method, a mnemonic tool to create procedure-based or chronological associations between visual markers.
The Story Method (aka Journey Method, Linking Method) in mnemonics is a strong tool for creating procedure-based or chronological associations between visual markers. It allows us to make sure a particular order is followed, a sequence is completed in order, or follow a flow of disease processes. When creating visual markers for our mnemonics, making associations between the main concept (anchor marker) and the subtopics (linking markers) can greatly increase our long term memory of how these terms and actions interact with one another.
In today’s episode, we will cover the Story Method in greater detail as well as how to create an anchor and linking markers for certain diseases. These stories, or dynamic visual interactions, can then also be placed in their associated memory palace for long term organization. However, this isn’t always needed. Sometimes simply adding a brief skit to a flashcard can also provide that added dual-coding that will help you in the long run.
Chase DiMarco of the Medical Mnemonist Podcast covers some useful links for those interested in upcoming 2020 events and services.
Here are some useful links for those interested in the upcoming events and services mentioned in today’s show.
- Mensa Regional Gathering - Presentation on Education
- Read This Before Medical School
- DM @MedMnemonist with education questions of if you wish to join FME!
Lynne Kelly helps you discover some ancient memory techniques learned from tribes and cultures throughout history.
Lynne Kelly holds an interdisciplinary array of degrees and is a multiple winner of the senior memory championship in Australia. She studied Australian Aboriginal Tribes, Native Americans, Pacific and African cultures and their old traditions for the memory methods and will now share with us some ancient memory techniques.
Intro
2:36 How Stone Henge is possibly a Memory Palace
10:57 Making your own Memory Palace and How does it work
20:34 Memory Palace in Miniature
21:33 Medieval and Early Asian Memory techniques
22:55 Good Technique for Translating Medical Textbooks to a more Memorable Format
29:00 How to avoid mistakes when learning Memory Palace Techniques
Kam Knight discusses his personalized theories on accelerated learning techniques.
Kam Knight is joining us today to discuss some of his personalized theories on accelerated learning techniques. He is the author of several bestselling books on learning, memory, and productivity and is about to release an online course of which details can be found on his website MindLily.com.
Intro
3:25 Repetition and Its Influence on Long-term Memory: “Neurons that fire together, wire together”
8:10 Using Visualization and Mental Images to Strengthen Memory
13:12 Visualization Script Examples for Medical Students: Mitosis & Digestion
24:50 Mind Mapping is a Color-coordinated Hierarchy Method of Note-taking & Location-based Notes for Increased Memory
34:28 Be ACTIVE and ENGAGE in Your Education!
Barry Mapp, a learning instructor that trained under a memory champion and mind map creator, explains how to use these memory tools in medical school.
Barry Mapp is a learning instructor that trained under the memory champion and mind map creator, Tony Buzan. He has successfully trained thousands of learners in mind map technique and creation. Today, he is going to help explain how we can use these organization and memory tools in medical school.
Intro
5:05 “Left Brain” vs “Right Brain” Myths and Truths: Getting the BIG Picture First
11:55 How to Create a Mind Map for Medical Students
18:50 Strategic Thinking in Mind Map Design Planning & Making Associations
24:25 Avoiding the Reductionist Approach to Mind Map Creation & Adding Methods to Mind Maps for Medical Students
33:30 Just Three Wishes
Keegan Long-Wheeler discusses how gamification plays a role in medical education and the future of game design.
Keegan Long-Wheeler is an Educational Technologist Office of Digital Learning at the University of Oklahoma. He has been a creative developer in gamified educational materials and game design for many years. In this episode, we are going to discuss how gamification plays a role in education and where the future of game design may be going for medical and other academic environments.
Introduction
4:43 How Students Learn with an Online Educational Environment & Game Design
8:20 Open-source Game-based Learning: Games Offer Bold Learning Insights Nowadays (GOBLIN) and eXperience Play
15:05 Autonomy Over One’s Education with Game-based Design
17:20 Team-based Activities & Educational Collaboration Through Gamifying Medical School
21:00 Using Tokens and Rewards to Encourage Student Participation
Contact Keegan via Twitter for more details. Also, please visit his website and explore his other recommended resources below!
Resources
- What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy
- Keegan’s Website
- Goblin Home Page
- Goblin Download Pack
- eXperience Play Home Page
- Twine
- Habatica
Learn about a variety of journals, including self-assessment monitoring tools, habit tracking, and gratitude journals.
We’ve made it to Part 4 of Read This Before Medical School! The final section. We cover a lot of self-assessment monitoring tools in the form of a variety of journals. From Habit Tracking to Gratitude Journals, many of these discussed tool have surprising evidence to back up their uses and benefits.
Savanna Perry of the Pre-PA Podcast interviews Chase DiMarco about his personal struggles in medical school.
I want to thank Savanna for having me on the show! Here’s a brief snippet from the interview I conducted on the Pre-PA Podcast from The PA Platform. If you would like to listen to the full episode, learn about my personal struggles in medical school, and show your support you can enjoy the entire episode. Please let Savanna know if you find this information useful and maybe we can work on scheduling a future episode with greater details.
For the full episode, see the Pre-PA Podcast.
Dr. Hoda Mostafa talks about various thinking types, plus discusses embracing failure for positive outcomes.
Hoda Mostafa started her academic career in medicine at Cairo University after completing her medical studies in 1996 She joined the faculty at Cairo University, teaching and practicing in the Ophthalmology department until 2011. She is an avid supporter of teaching thinking skills across the disciplines she joined the American University in Cairo in 2011 and is currently the Director at the Center for Learning and Teaching and an Associate Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo.
Introduction
3:52 The Educators Responsibilities to Teach Students How to Learn and Focus on the Process over the Product
5:40 Design Thinking: Using Divergent Thinking, Convergent Thinking, and Iterative Thinking to Reach Educational Goals
9:58 What is Creative Thinking, Innovative Thinking, and How do we Develop Learning and Memory Skills
14:58 Positive Outcomes from Embracing Failure & How Mentorship Directs Medical Education
19:43 Self-directed Learning (including Self-regulated Learning) in Current and Future Medical Course Design (read The Future of Medical Education Design)
25:35 Just 3 Wishes: Use Challenge-Based Learning!
Learn more about Dr. Mostafa, and check out the University of Cairo’s courses.
Resources
- Teaching for Critical Thinking
- Jared Cooney Horvath
Learn about two important topics in Accelerated Learning: Speed Reading and Visual Mnemonics.
In Part 3 of Read This Before Medical School, we cover two very important topics in Accelerated Learning: Speed Reading and Visual Mnemonics. If you have ever tried to implement these study strategies before and had difficulty, you are not alone! In this section of the book we give you the training designs, charts, and tables you need to be successful in your future study endeavors.
For Speedreading, we go into greater detail about the SQ3R method to increase comprehension, how to use pacers, how to minimize subvocalization, and why saccadic reading is important for your reading speed.
The second section of Part 3 covers memory techniques. We begin with a discussion of memory and forgetting as well as what the literature has to say about these topics. Then, several different methods for remembering numbers are explained with examples given. Names and places are also difficult for many of us to remember, so a few strategies to boost your ability to remember others are listed out. Lastly, we cover a few advanced memory techniques and mind mapping.
Dr. Lev Goldentouch is an accelerated learning practitioner with unique advanced memory and speed reading techniques.
In Episode 36, we continue from our conversation in Episode 34 with Dr. Lev Goldentouch. Dr. Lev Goldentouch is an accelerated learning practitioner and instructor. He has developed advanced memory and speed reading techniques that are unique to his methodologies. He is also the author or Key to Study Skills, and co-developer of the very popular Become a Superlearner course. His wife Anna also provides one-on-one training for those looking to become masters of their learning!
Part 2
1:45 Using Mind Cities and Mind Forests to Remember 1 MILLION Objects! & Rehearsal Practice for Advanced Mnemonics
6:50 Improving Mnemonics with Dreams, Cartoons, Magic, and MORE!
10:55 How to Chunk Associations in More Effective Ways & Building a Community at the Medical Mnemonist Mastermind
14:30 Training Synesthesia for Stronger Mnemonic Associations (and the article from Nature that he cited)
16:55 Finding the Right Methods and Steps to Increase Your Reading Speed and Comprehension: Pre-Brainstorming Visuals, Skimming, Scanning, Parafoveal vision, and Compressing Information for Rapid Consolidation
27:00 The Different in Practitioners and Memory Athletes in Memory Training and Accelerated Learning
29:55 The Bare Necessities for Effective Learning and Productivity: Eat Well, Sleep Right, Stay Fit & Knowing Personal Goals
33:55 Just 3 Wishes
You can view more of Lev’s materials via his blog, Amazon page, or email him personally for a quick response. You can also utilize his personal training for more accelerated learning.
If you would like to try a few of the techniques first, here is a list of affiliate links you should definitely try to advance your skill level:
- Speedreading Masterclass
- Memory Mastery
- Mastermind Group
- Superlearner MiniCourse
- KeyToStudySkills Book and Audio
- Full Course Access
Chase DiMarco discusses his new book, the board exams, and helps learners get into a Board Examiner mentality.
In this second edition of our podcast mini-series, we cover Part 2 of Read This Before Medical School. This section covers the board exams to a greater extent and aims to help learners get into a Board Examiner mentality. We briefly cover the history of the NBME.
Our unique MedEdge Method is a concise and powerful tool for exam success. It is comprised of three parts: the Basic Exam Technique, the Tie-Breaker Technique, and the Post-exam Autopsy. These skills can be developed early in a learner’s academic career and carried on through their board exams and specialty exams.
Having a method to monitor mistakes, guidance to correcting mistakes, and knowing how to overcome obstacles during your studies and exams will greatly reduce stress during test day!
Dr. Lev Goldentouch discusses advanced memory and speed reading techniques.
Dr. Lev Goldentouch is an accelerated learning practitioner and instructor. He has developed advanced memory and speed reading techniques that are unique to his methodologies. He is also the author or Key to Study Skills, and co-developer of the very popular Become a Superlearner course. His wife Anna also provides one-on-one training for those looking to become masters of their learning!
Intro
Invoking Curiosity is a Key to Accelerated Learning & What are the “Keys To Study”
Visualization for Creative Images → Mind Maps, Memory Palaces → Mental Cities, Mental Forests
Learn Memorization Before Speed Reading & Use a Step By Step Method For Speed and Comprehension
Using Person-Action-Object (PAO Method) and 7-Group Chunking for Creating Visualizations & Mind Mapping and Memory Palaces for Larger Associations
How to Avoid Mental Barriers with Visual Mnemonic Creation: Relaxation, Creativity, and Setting Proper Expectations to Create a Visual Dictionary
The Etymology Method and Osborne’s Checklist for Creativity & Anchor Markers → Linking Markers → Hyperlinking for Complex Visualizations
Pre-reading and Brainstorming Visuals to Build Interest BEFORE Reading the Text
Starting Exercises for Student Training: Free Tools and Schedules + Personalized Mentorship
Speed Reading Obstacles and Mistakes to Avoid & Visualizations vs Associations vs Visual Markers
You can view more of Lev’s materials via his blog, Amazon page, or email him personally for a quick response. You can also utilize his personal training for more accelerated learning.
If you would like to try a few of the techniques first, here is a list of affiliate links you should definitely try to advance your skill level:
- Speedreading Masterclass
- Memory Mastery
- Mastermind Group
- Superlearner MiniCourse
- KeyToStudySkills Book and Audio
- Full Course Access
Learn about Chase DiMarco's new book, which focuses on class study efficiency, home study techniques, and self-development.
We start our 4-part mini-series about my soon-to-be-released book, Read This Before Medical School: How to Study Smarter and Live Better While Excelling in Class and on Your USMLE or COMLEX Board Exams.
In this episode, we will cover Part 1 of the book, which focuses on class study efficiency, home study techniques, self-development, and more.
The next 3 parts of the mini-series will be interspersed between our regular interviews and will cover one section of the book each. Hopefully, these episodes and the free Essentials guide will give everyone a great teaser of the complete material. And with the holidays coming up, please consider supporting us by sharing our many materials with friends and family interested in medicine and learning!
Dr. Daniel Saddawi-Konefka describes how to increase study efficiency and utilize evidence-based study practices.
In Episode 32, Dr. Daniel Saddawi-Konefka is a Harvard physician, program director for anesthesiology at MGH, and an educational researcher with several published articles on the topics of self-directed learning and residency education. Today, we will focus on how to increase study efficiency and utilize evidence-based study practices.
Intro
3:00 Evidence-based Studying and Self-Regulated Learning & Goal Setting vs Habits for Academic Success
9:23 Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (aka Wish-Outcome-Obstacle-Plan or WOOP)
17:40 Hard Work Leads to Effective Learning & Creating a Healthy Study Routine
20:50 The Effect of WOOP vs SMART Goals and Control with Anesthesia ICU Residents
25:15 Mistakes for Students to Manage for Proper WOOP Implementation & When WOOP Fails
Resources:
- WOOP My Life
- Academic Papers
- Gabriele Oettingen Video Lecture
You can also reach Dr. Saddawi-Konefka via email.
Meet Daniel Kilov, a mental athlete, who holds the national record for memory in abstract images.
We have mental athlete Daniel Kilov joining us. He has been featured on TedX, written for the Mensa journal, TableAus and has performed in several Australian memory championships. Daniel holds the national record for memory in abstract images, and is a PhD-candidate at Australia National University.
Intro
05:38 Levels of Sophistication of Different Memory Techniques & Atomic Techniques Learned from Ancient Mnemonists
09:16 Encoding vs Storing Memories: Associations, Peg Systems, Memory Palaces, and more.
12:23 The Limitations of the Memory Palace for Complex Material and Medical Courses
16:21 Memory Techniques from Around the World & Expanding on Western Art of Memory
19:30 Drills, Exercises, and Mentorship to Prevent Memory Mistakes
21:52 Proper Mnemonic Stories Require Simplicity & Not Settling for Only Common Techniques
25:58 BEST SYNDICATED SERIES EVER!!!
27:31 Just 3 Wishes
Resources
- The Memory Code
- The Memory Craft
- The City of The Sun
- Peter of Ravenna “The Phoenix”
- Making communication memorable
- The Book of Memory
- How to Become a Chess Master
- The Relationship between Clinical Experience and Quality of Health Care
You can also find more of Daniel’s videos and resources at DanielKilov.com or contact him by email.
Dr. Loretta Breuning describes brain chemistry and how students can use this knowledge to benefit their studies.
On covering memory, it’s useful to have a better grasp of neurotransmitters and how they affect our memories. Today we are joined by Dr. Loretta Breuning of the Inner Mammal Institute to help describe brain chemistry and how students can use this knowledge to benefit their studies.
Intro (Add time)
1:23 Neuroscience vs Neuro-memory Studies
4:15 Setting Your Study Session Based on Neurochemistry & Setting Expectations and Rewards
7:25 How to Set Intrinsic “Happy” Reward Systems for Medical Students and Graduate Learners
11:30 Early Reward Circuits and Early Pain Circuits: How Childhood Experiences Shape Current Motivations
16:48 Optimizing Self-Motivation Behaviors: Chunking Tasks into Small Successes
21:45 Types and Strengths of Different Self-rewards to Motivate Study Behaviors: Get those “Happy Chemicals” Going!
26:25 Why Social Comparison & Worrying About Other’s Scores is so Detrimental
29:00 Just 3 Wishes
Some of Dr. Breuning’s Books:
- Habits of a Happy Brain
- Tame Your Anxiety
- Status Games
Recommended Resources
- The Talent Code
- Anatomy of an Epidemic
For more information, visit the Inner Mammal Institute. You can Dr. Breuning’s funny animations, reading list, and the happy power examples. You can also learn more by following the Happy Brain Podcast.
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath discusses how we can alter our cognitive schemas in education and grow our cognitive capacities.
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath is a cognitive neuroscientist and educator that studies how our thinking changes our minds. He’s also the author of several books, including most recently Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick. Today we are going to cover how we can alter our cognitive schemas in education and grow our cognitive capacities.
Intro
5:10 How Your “Software Changes Your Hardware”: Using Visualization to Change One’s Brain
7:15 Utilizing Visualization to Decrease Testing Stress & Conceptualization for Linking Medical Knowledge
11:10 Leaping Before Looking: Why Medicine Requires Memorization Before Deep Learning
13:00 3 Steps To Maximizing Your Learning: Setting Your “Story” (Mindset), Recall Practice, Work on Deep Learning/Reconceptualization
18:05 Physician Instructors vs Educators & How Students Can Prepare for Self-Directed Learning
21:29 Growth Through Failure OR Failure Through Neglect: How to Be Mindful of Mistakes and Utilize This Primed State for Learning
25:03 Becoming Meta and Cognitive Fatigue During Study Sessions & Finding Your Own Study Patterns
28:25 Metacognition for Learning (Aspire, Analyze, Act, Assess, Adapt)
30:50 Just 3 Wishes
Recommended Resources:
- Why Students Don’t Like School
- How People Learn
- The Brain That Changes Itself
- More Material from Jared:
- Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick
- Dr. Jared Horvath Ted Talk
- LMEglobal
Abby Marks Beale, author of 10 Days to Faster Reading, explains how to speed up your reading for more effective learning.
Today we are joined by Abby Marks Beale, author of 10 Days to Faster Reading, the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading, Success Skills: Strategies for Study and Livelong Learning, among others. She also taught Study Skills to allied health students, and currently runs RevItUpReading.
Intro
0:50 Getting in the Positive Mindset and Self-Care for Effective Learning & Picking the Peak Performance Hours for Maximizing Time-management
6:20 Best Practices for Note-taking for Graduate and Medical Learners & The Cornell Method of Taking Notes
13:40 Mind Mapping Your Class Notes & Increased Retention for Visual Note-taking
18:08 What Does Speed Reading Really Mean?
19:35 Effective Strategies for Approaching Reading Activities and Class Assignments
23:30 How to Use Pacers, Decrease Subvocalization, and Increase Your Reading Speed and Comprehension
29:20 How to Avoid Obstacles and Being Purposeful with Your Study Environment
39:25 Just Three Wishes
Resources:
- Discipline Your Eyes
- Cornell-style note paper
- Spreeder
- ZapReader
- Spritz
Brad Zupp, a memory improvement expert, teaches how to supercharge memories to improve lives at work, school, and home.
Brad Zupp is a motivational speaker, memory improvement expert, memory coach, and author of Mastering Memory: 75 Memory Hacks for Success in School, Work, and Life, The Hack-Proof Password System and Unlock Your Amazing Memory who shows people how to supercharge their memories to improve their lives at work, school, and home.
He is also a record-setting memory athlete who participates in memory competitions worldwide. Today he joins us to apply mnemonic devices to medical and healthcare studies, covers recommended training resources, and more.
0:45 Intro
4:00 Practice Memory Training on a Daily Basis with Apps and Websites and How it Effects Your Life
7:43 How to Learn to Train Your Memory- Memory Palace and Association Practice for Medical School
9:50 Recommended Mnemonic Tools for Healthcare Students- Using the Picture-Connect-Review Technique to Bridge Your Knowledge and Memory
13:27 DON’T WALK With Your Memory, Learn to FLY!
17:46 How to Jump Start Your Memory While Attending Graduate/Medical School in 15-Minutes per Day & Using STOMP (Self-improvment, Training…and the OMP to be released in Mr. Zupp’s future book!)
22:02 Mastering Your Learning Abilities- We NEVER Stop Learning!
24:04 Self-assessment for When You’ve Hit a Plateau & Using Memory-advocating Study Groups 28:02 Mind Maps for Medical School and Healthcare Education (Scheduling, Planning, Organizing Materials) & Avoiding Mind Map Software
30:23 Why We Don’t Implement Memory Techniques & Gaining Knowledge vs Implementing Training
34:00 Just Three Wishes
Recommended Resources
- The Memory League
- The E-Myth Revisited
For personal contact, you can reach Brad via his Email, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn accounts. You can find all of his resources at BradZupp.com and review his presentations for young students. You can download his FREE ebook: Tips to Help Your Child Improve Focus and Remember Better and 10 Ways to Supercharge Your Memory.
Uncover the structural planning you should consider when studying large topics and textbooks for your medical studies.
How do I create memory palaces for school textbooks and lectures? In this episode, we cover some of the structural planning you should consider when covering large topics, textbooks, and your medical studies. Making a memory palace for your school materials don’t need to be difficult, but there are some constraints to plan for in order to maximize your mnemonics. In today’s training session, memory palaces for integrated and clinical medical knowledge. We still often learn discipline-based medicine during our first few years of school, but what is more clinically relevant is to integrate multiple factors across disciplines. Making a memory palace under this curriculum may look very different, but it doesn’t have to be threatening. We can reuse a lot of the visual markers we have used previously to make new palaces under a more integrative design. Useful Tools: Keep a Memory Palace List Keep a Memory Journal Practice Daily!
We will also cover an example of how to plan out your memory palace for your school textbooks and lecture notes and explain how Pre-meds can get a jump start on their medical memory palaces!
Learn to create spaced repetition and retrieval practice for medical school, plus discover what the 11311 Method is!
Today we cover how to set up your spaced repetition and retrieval practice for medical school. A deeper explanation of my 11311 Method is elaborated on as well as examples given. What happens if you run out of time? What happens if you remember material for a week or a month, but then lose it? These are common complaints from medical students, and are covered more in this episode. Also, how to utilize these same strategies for your memory palaces and other medical mnemonics will be explored in more detail.
Ron Robertson, the co-founder and CEO of Picmonic, guide us in creating medical mnemonics.
When trying to create visual mnemonics for medicine, there are few places that students can go for comprehensive examples. But one of those places that needs no introduction is Picmonic. Since 2011, Picmonic has been bringing graphic representations of education related mnemonics to a variety of healthcare fields. Today, we have Ron Robertson, the co-founder and CEO of Picmonic here to help guide us in creating our medical mnemonics. Rob thank you for taking the time to come on the show today!
Intro 1:30
3:41 Why Visual Mnemonics?
7:13 You Don’t Need to be an Artist to Make Visual Markers!
8:21 How to Review your Visual Mnemonics and Tips to Create Your Own
11:05 Turning Every Word into a Character, Playing with Phonetics, Tie Characters Together, and Making Wacky Visuals
13:50 Learning, Quizzing, and Spaced Review of your Visual Mnemonics
17:17 Don’t Make Study Mistakes: Practice Active Recall and Elaboration!
19:20 Using Settings/Scenes/Themes as Memory Palaces and Using Picmonic Freemium Services
25:10 Common Pitfalls in Visual Mnemonic Creation
28:14 Just Three Wishes
32:05 Recommended Resources: FirstAid, Pathoma, Osmosis, Sketchy, UWorld, Kaplan, OnlineMedEd
For more information, visit Picmonic to view their full list of resources. Try out their Picmonic Generator to create your own visual mnemonics for FREE!
Dr. Anders Ericsson discusses aspects of Deliberate Practice, including how to self-assess and find mentors for assessment.
Here is Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Anders Ericsson. We discuss one of the important aspects of Deliberate Practice, namely how to self-assess and find mentors for assessment. Gaining mastery in a subject takes time, practice, and guidance. Here are some of the tips you can use to gain mastery in your medical studies! Also, look below for how to join our new ITB Community via Slack.
0:50 Recording Your Study Experience for Mentor Appraisal
2:03 Using a Journal for Self-Assessment and for Mentor Use
7:08 Deliberate Practice for Medical Mnemonics
9:20 Using Patient Illness Scripts for Visual Mnemonics and Gaining Mastery Through Elaboration
14:25 How to Use State Dependent Memory for Exam Preparation
19:12 Just Three Wishes
Dr. Ericsson discusses Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour Rule, memory research, self-assessments, and more!
Many students that strive for graduate degrees and high honors are thought of as having Type A personalities, being born gifted, or have developed expertise in their area of study. This is especially true for medical students. But we were all cut from the same cloth, and expertise is a state more so then a trait. I’m very pleased to announce that today we have one of the foremost experts on expertise, Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, here to tell us how we can develop expertise in our studies! Dr. Ericsson is a Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State. He is well known for his work on Deliberate Practice, which was exemplified by his 2016 publication of Peak: Secrets for the New Science of Expertise. Dr. Ericsson, welcome to the show.
Intro
2:10 Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour Rule and What He Missed: Practice vs Deliberate Practice
7:33 Memory Research: Joshua Foer & How Anyone Can Learn The Techniques
13:52 How to Implement Deliberate Practice in Medical Training
18:06 Comparing Purposeful Practice and Deliberate Practice
19:31 Steps in Deliberate Practice: Goals, Focus, Feedback, Pushing Your Limits!
21:52 Self-Assessment Skills & When to Seek a Mentor
Find Dr. Ericsson’s book at PeakTheBook.com and this recommended reading article.
Greg Rodden from InsideTheBoards interviews Chase DiMarco about creating visual markers and memory palaces for medical studies.
Today we have a special edition! I will be interviewed by Physiology by Physeo's host, Greg Rodden! Greg is one of my teammates from InsideTheBoards, and questions me on a step by step process for creating visual markers and memory palaces for your medical studies. In this episode, we give a basic outline, rules, and obstacles to be cautious of when creating your medical student memory palaces. We will explore the cephalosporin antibiotic class in this tutorial example.
Timothy Moser is a master of memory who will teach you how to use memory palaces to learn new materials.
We all need a little help when learning to create our own mnemonics and memory palaces. It can be difficult to apply a strategy that you previously used successfully to a new topic or area of study. Luckily, we have a Master of Memory here to guide us: Timothy Moser. Author, Spanish instructor, and podcaster, Timothy has taught hundreds of people how to use memory palaces to learn new materials. Timothy, it’s great to have you hear today!
Intro
3:30 Discipline-based vs Systems-based Medicine and Medical Mnemonics
4:30 Mind Map Use for Organizing your Memory Palace & Spanish Language Examples to Structure Your Memory Palace
9:30 Using Themes to Structure your Medical Memory Palace
11:48 The Issue of Separating Discipline and Systems Knowledge & Integrating Knowledge of Different Learning Curriculum
13:30 Time Management: How to Spend your Dedicated Memory Practice Study Time
16:00 Handling Medical Terminology with Similar Names and Pronunciations
18:55 Can and Should We Make Mnemonics for Materials Already Learned?
22:50 Just Three Wishes
For more information from Timothy Moser, check out the Master Of Memory Startup Guide. There are also great, free videos and podcasts available for language learning at Accelerated Spanish Start.
Ryan Orwig from STATmed Learning explains education theories regarding mind maps and organizing your study structure.
In this episode Ryan Orwig from STATmed Learning (The STATmed Program) explains education theories regarding mind maps and organizing your study structure. He explains how to use Minimally Effective Links for creating Memory Palaces, and why Yoda may not have been the best instructor in the galaxy after all.
1:44 Continuing from Part 1: Using Spaced Repetition, Retrieval Practice, and Time Management
3:58 Theory on Mind Maps and Concept Maps for Study Organization and Structure
8:58 Memory Palace Examples for Medical Students
13:28 Using the Minimally Effective Link (MEL) for Medical Memory Palaces & Self Check Records
17:28 Using Retrieval Practice for your Memory Palaces (4x in 48 Hours)
19:41 Sound-Based Links (SBL), Association-Based Links (ABL) & Prescribed Links (PL) for Visual Mapping
22:58 Mistakes in Linking Terms within Memory Palaces & Weak Dynamic Visual Mnemonics
35:18 Using “Crude” Visual Mnemonics and Documenting Your Visuals: Medical Student Testimonials
38:20 Yoda and Retrieval Practice: A New Debate
Learn more about STATMed Learning and The STATProgram. Find more content on STATMed Learning’s YouTube page.
You can also contact STATMed through emailing Ryan, or call/text (304) 654-6503. Learn more, ask questions, share your story, and see if STATMed can help you.
Ryan Orwig, creator of STATMed Learning, teaches us better ways to study, maximize time, create memory palaces, and take boards-style tests.
There are many study methods when discussing the boards and graduate level exams. Being efficient and understanding time management is one skill required for accelerated learning. Today we have Ryan Orwig, creator of STATMed Learning, where he teaches med students and doctors better ways to study, maximize their time, create memory palaces, and take boards-style tests.
Intro
3:42 STATmed Workshop and Course & Focus on Working Memory for the Boards
9:52 Test Taking Misses vs Knowledge Misses: How Do We Tell?
13:44 Pattern Recognition & Differences in Individual Learning
20:07 Having a Study Pattern to Troubleshoot
24:04 Study Methodology (Course) vs Test Taking Skills (Workshop): Using the STATmed Platforms
In the next episode, we will continue with Ryan Orwig and the use of visual mnemonics for memory. We will take a deeper dive into the how, what, where, when, and why of memory palaces, mind maps, and other visual memory techniques. Ryan will also give some insight into the obstacles he has run across teaching these methods to his students.
Learn more about STATMed Learning and The STATProgram. Find more content on STATMed Learning’s YouTube page.
You can also contact STATMed through emailing Ryan, or call/text (304) 654-6503. Learn more, ask questions, share your story, and see if STATMed can help you.