How to Study in Pre-Clinical Years of Medical School

Looking for ideas for how to study in the first two years of medical school? Let me tell you what worked for me.

1. Download Anki and use the Anking deck. This is non-negotiable. My first mistake: I thought I didn’t like flashcards and that they don’t work for me. I was so wrong. My second mistake: once I was convinced I should probably use flashcards, I thought I would make my own. This was an incredible waste of time. The Anking deck has every flash card already made for you, and they are well-made cards too.
2. Get a Boards and Beyond subscription. Dr. Jason Ryan teaches you literally everything you need to know. His content is awesome when the concept is more conceptual rather than something you need to just memorize. Key part: when you finish watching the boards and beyond video, unsuspend the cards for that video in the Anking deck.
3. Get a Sketchy subscription. This is by far the best way to learn micro and pharm because those two topics are almost purely memorization. I feel like Dr. Ryan basically just read his slides like a text book when the concept was more about just memorizing something. Sketchy makes the memorizing part easier. Key part again: when you finish watching the sketchy video, unsuspend the cards for that video in the Anking deck.
4. Use Amboss or UWorld for practice questions. These are helpful for preparing for progress exams and Step 1.
5. Don’t worry about understanding the topic perfectly when you first learn it. Just try to get the general idea and then Anki will drill it into your head over time.
6. Then just make sure to do your Anki each day. I found I could hash out all the studying I really needed to do in 3-4 hours each day. Much better than the horror stories med students try to tell about how they spend 10-12 hours a day studying. That left me plenty of time for other things like a hanging out with my wife and kids, doing research, and working on hobbies.

That’s it. Those are the steps that worked for me. I hope they help you too.