No matter your course of college study, adopting effective study habits can help assure a smooth educational experience and boost your academic and career success. Here are a few top tips from St. Augustine, FL-based WOLFPACC, which uses a revolutionary approach to helping medical students succeed.
- Forget everything you’ve ever learned about studying medicine: America’s schools tend to be big on memorization and recall. Unfortunately, this is a severely limiting way to learn any subject for one primary reason – It doesn’t cover the “how and why” factor. WOLFPACC’s unique approach focuses on better understanding of the five main organ systems and the ways they relate to each other. Better comprehending why the body does what it does will lead to more accurate diagnoses and improved treatment.
- Claim and organize your space: Choose a quiet, comfortable and well-lit space free of distractions to serve as your primary study spot. Keep it stocked with all the essentials – paper, notebooks and file folders for various subjects, pens, pencils and highlighters, etc. – so that you won’t have to leave the space until your study session is done.
- Get it on paper: Keep a day planner with a study schedule and to-do list to help keep you on track and nix the temptation to procrastinate. Make sure to mark days when quizzes or tests are scheduled, reports or projects are due and helpful extracurricular activities like lectures and field trips are slated. Plan the rest of your daily schedule accordingly.
- Know your dominant learning style: People typically have one of three primary learning styles – auditory, visual or kinesthetic. Auditory learners learn best through hearing things, so listening to a digital recording of your professor’s lectures and your study group discussions can be helpful. Visual learners retain more information when they use visual aids such as flashcards, illustrations and video presentations. And tactile learners benefit by using their hands. They make heavy use of highlighters when reading, take copious notes, doodle illustrations related to lecture material, or even use stress balls to help them focus when reading, listening to or viewing video lessons. Know which learning style works best for you and incorporate related tools and approaches.
- Take a break: If you’re tired, achy, sick or simply bored, your studies undoubtedly will suffer. Take care of your mind and body by exercising, eating right, getting plenty of sleep and taking time to have a little fun.
Ready to rev up your medical school studies? Call 904-209-3140 and speak with a WOLFPACC enrollment specialist about our USMLE or COMLEX programs.
