Techniques On Improving Memory Retention For Better Usmle Scores

The human brain is beset with all kinds of stimulus. As medical students, you know that the more learning opportunities and experiences you indulge yourself with, the more knowledge you can acquire. But how can you remember all the needed facts that will afford you a better USMLE score? There are several factors that generally aid learning effectively to improve retention:

Distribution of Practice. For most kind of material, spaced learning is more efficient than mass learning. A four 15-minute practice period, spaced a day apart, are more efficient than one solid hour of practice in learning. However, the optimal distribution of practice and rest periods varies with the task. As such, this distribution of practice principle is best applied when you are trying to practice by yourself a skill you have just learned.

Intervening Activities. What you do during the time between learning and recall is a factor in retention. You are most apt to retain material if you go to sleep immediately after learning it, because there are no intervening activities to interfere with retention.

Knowledge of Results. If you are informed of your progress, either by being told how well or poorly you are doing by seeing the results directly, you can correct your errors. This is the principled behind assessment and evaluation of USMLE review programs. Feedback also provides reinforcement. A delay in feedback does not in itself appear to influence retention, but it does allow intervening activities to interfere.

Whole vs. Part Learning. Whole learning is usually more efficient than learning by parts and then trying to put them all together, but much depends on the way the material is organized. For instance, consider the following list of words:
Assessment, Pharmacotherapy, Diagnosis, Urinalysis, Intervention, Ultrasound, Evaluation, Re-Assessment,, Blood Chemistry, Surgery, Sputum Smear, Dialysis, Discharge, Dietary Management.
Assessment, Diagnosis, Intervention, Evaluation, Re-Assessment, Discharge, Blood Chemistry, Urinalysis, Sputum Smear, Ultrasound, Pharmacotherapy, Surgery, Dialysis, Dietary Management.
The second list is easier to learn because of the way it is organized. Material can be efficiently learned by parts, however, if the parts are logical subunits of the whole.

Meaning. It is easier to learn and remember something if you understand its overall meaning and can relate it to a material or previous learning experience you already know. The organization of learned material is crucial to both storage and retrieval. This fact gives you a new perspective as to why you are encouraged to relate a situation much the same with a given example when topics of diseases or management is being discussed in review sessions. It does not only measure your previous knowledge of the subject under discussion but also challenges you to apply the same principle to a given situation.

Motivation. Continuous routine repetition will be less effective than few repetitions accompanied by intent to learn. You are more receptive to learning if you know that the material will be useful to you later.

Of course, a good USMLE review plan is already part of the scheme, but memory is one factor that plays a big role when it comes to achieving better results for USMLE boards.

By: Gerald Faye Johnson

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Gerald Faye Johnson is an Educational Content Consultant for various USMLE Step 1 Reviews produced by Apollo Audiobooks, LLC and Premedical Solutions, LLC. You can find the source interview podcast for this USMLE Step One resource at our website.