Umair Afzal shares his recommendation on note-taking, getting ready for finals and the right way to stay motivated throughout revision.
For the previous couple of years, I’ve spent my Easter break finding out dental pointers to arrange for summer time exams. For finals, nonetheless, it felt daunting, as I had no thought what curveballs the examiners may throw at me.
With no set syllabus and your complete discipline of dentistry up for grabs, I shortly realised that these exams required resilience, strategic pondering and a stable revision plan.
Inside this text, I’ll provide sensible recommendation about note-taking and the way I used a wide range of medical circumstances to my benefit in my preparation for finals. I’ll additionally cowl how the ‘circulation state’ helped me stay motivated whereas revising.
Word-taking methods
Every dental college offers a lot of sources from which to check. Lecture kinds can fluctuate amongst tutors, with some focusing solely on core examination subjects. In distinction, others delve into fascinating areas that the tutors gained’t study. Equally, medical experiences with sufferers can go far past what any textbook can provide.
In my first yr, I captured lecture information by scribbling notes onto lined paper. Each night, I’d neatly handwrite my notes right into a booklet with colored pens. I’d spend hours printing, reducing and glueing pictures in. These duties took time, and handwritten notes made it troublesome to search out important data shortly.
The night time earlier than my first dental college examination, a detailed good friend confirmed me how they typed up their notes utilizing a phrase processor, formatting them like a medical textbook to avoid wasting time.
Utilising know-how helped him to spend much less time working and be extra environment friendly. By studying round every matter on Google, he additionally had a much better understanding of the content material than I had.
I realised that re-writing my notes in colored pens wasn’t sufficient to soak up the data for the examination. I needed to actively course of the data and convert it into a brand new format. Reminiscence depends on the mind strengthening our neural pathways (Buonomano et al, 2023). The extra you employ the identical neuronal pathway, the stronger the reminiscence turns into (Sridhar et al, 2023).
Since that dialog, I started writing my notes in the identical type. I learnt how essential it was to distil the important thing ideas and create a useful resource that facilitates understanding and covers the examinable areas.
Consequently, I scored nicely in my exams throughout my 5 years at dental college, and I may higher digest the data given to me.
Medical circumstances
The unseen circumstances felt like an enormous hurdle. It was daunting to consider the excessive stakes and the curveballs the examiners may throw at us.
I didn’t know the very best technique to arrange utilizing the really useful textbooks. We needed to meet different medical deadlines, so there was little time to cowl all of the content material.
Whereas my in depth notes offered a stable basis of the dental concept, formulating a prognosis depends on medical expertise.
To enhance myself, I mirrored extensively on every affected person interplay. This helped me to recognise widespread patterns amongst sufferers, permitting me to make knowledgeable selections about remedy plans.
Moreover, I learnt extra about clinics when sudden problems arose.
For instance, my sensible restorative tutor, Hamish Gillespie, hung out with me after a clinic ended discussing restorability assessments. All of the tutors at Leeds genuinely wished me to do nicely.
I didn’t realise then, however their efforts helped me throughout my closing exams. Throughout my unseen circumstances, the information I had developed from clinics helped me display that I used to be at the usual of a ‘secure newbie’.
Circulate states
Throughout the final decade, I’ve tutored numerous GCSE and A-level college students over Zoom by way of my small enterprise. A standard theme my college students informed me was that they discovered revision boring over lengthy intervals.
One life-changing approach for me was the idea of ‘circulation‘. Throughout a circulation state, you turn out to be totally immersed in an exercise, dropping monitor of time and remaining totally engaged.
To realize this, I depart my telephone out of sight, set some objectives for the session, and tidy my workspace.
My bed room is a quiet, distraction-free house that works for me, however I’ve additionally labored in my native library for a change of surroundings.
Nonetheless, revising for lengthy intervals might be mentally exhausting. It’s price contemplating methods to make issues extra enjoyable.
My housemates knew I listened to instrumental pop covers to make issues much less boring. My playlists might sound foolish, but it surely helped me benefit from the studying course of! In consequence, I may retain data extra successfully and focus longer in a ‘circulation state’. General, I procrastinated much less and gained extra when finding out, which helped.
Last ideas
Upon reflection, closing exams require greater than memorisation. Transitioning from handwritten notes to a digital format streamlined my revision, enhancing the readability of my work.
Each medical expertise is effective and may educate you past the boundaries of a dental textbook.
By prioritising difficult areas and utilizing the circulation state, I may keep centered and stay on monitor throughout busy intervals. I assume all my efforts had been price it!
Learn extra from Umair Afzal:
Mastering communication as a dental skilled
Sleep and routine: the important thing to success in dentistry?
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