How to Retain Longer? Memory Boosting

To recall all 19 subjects during stressful period of the exam, you need to have your notes at your fingertips.

Here are some techniques I used that helped me:

1. Understand and Learn.

At least wherever you can. There is already too much of factual knowledge to be mugged up. We can reduce that load by understanding the conceptual data.

If you end up mugging up things which could have been understood, then at the end, you will end up gaining a huge pile of factual knowledge difficult to recall during the exam.

Eg: Suture needed for vascular repair, closing abdominal sheath or mesh hernioplasty needs to be something which stays (ie non absorbable). And hence we prefer Prolene (Non absorbable synthetic suture)

Eg: A common Q regarding efficacy of Penicillin  (a Beta-lactam = cell wall Inhibitor)  for different organisms. Now The organisms which lacks a proper cell wall would be resistant ie Mycoplasma, Rickettsia, Chlamydia.

Eg: Acetylation causes DNA activation or Deactivation?? And methylation??

We all know DNA is highly negative charged. To stabilize it, It is packed by histones which are Positively charged (due to highly positive AA arginine and lysine). This packing neutralizes DNA and makes it INACTIVE.  Now if u add a group with negative charge(like acetyl) it will take/neutralize the +ve histone and DNA would be free and become euchromatin (active).

 So,  Acetyl is -ve Group and methyl is +ve. So acetylation activates and methylation inactivates

2. Add a thinking Process behind every fact.

Even for factual knowledge, if you add a THINKING PROCESS  to arrive at the fact, that will help you recall these things quickly during the exam. Now Every time you revise that thing, a circuit would gradually form and you will be able to recall it easily. This thinking process could be a logical one or something stupid, doesn't matter as long as you can recall it.

Eg: How to remember Prolene is Non absorbable synthetic? Well because its a PRO !! Hence it cant get absorbed and has to be man made !

Eg: I often used to be confused in mechanisms of Vancomycin (a trans-glycosylase inhibitor) and Beta-Lactams (a trans-peptidase inhibitor). Now, since Penicillin is the major Beta-lactam we know, and it starts with "P", hence its a trans- "P"eptidase inhibitor. So the other one vancomycin automatically becomes Trans-Glycosylase inhibitor. These things may seem unnecessary now, but during those stressful 3 hours of exam, these are life saving tricks.

Eg:  All Mucopolysaccharidosis are AR Except Hunter's Disease which is XLR. (Since Hunter Hunts the X chromosome)

Eg: Tri-Nucleotide Repeat Mutations:

Fragile-X syndrome: is CGG. ( Elder Sister in hindi is JiJi (GG) has X chromosome. Shes fragile lets See(C) her. Hence CGG.

FriedRich Ataxia- GAA. This person is Rich with talent and can both dance (Ataxia) and sing (GAA).

Myotonica Dystrophica-CTG. Problem in muscles, need radio Investigation to see. Lets do CT (CTG)

Rest are CAG (Huntington, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, Spinobulbar Muscular Atrophy)

These techniques have to be made during the first reading itself, so that when you revise it, these techniques get incorporated into your memory as well and recalling during the exam becomes easy.

3. Making Proper Notes

Everyone is reading the same set of notes, but not all are able to get a rank. Now this doesn't mean you need to add all the extra/new knowledge around you to your notes and make them super bulky. You need to read the basics only, followed by good furnishing.

-Highlight the key points so that after 2-3 readings, you just need to read those highlighted stuff because you will know what's around it. This will increase your speed and help you focus on important things.

-Attending Live lectures. Notes made with active learning followed by reading them as soon as possible always have high retention rates. Pay full attention to the classes, and write every thing the teacher says. I even used to write the Jokes/Funny moments so that when I read them again, I relive the moment hence associating an emotion with the fact.

 Try to ask as many doubts as possible. Try to actively participate in the class. Answer loudly in classes. Try to make more and more mistakes. You might feel embarrassed for answering wrongly, but you need this embarrassment to avoid making the same mistake again. Associate an emotion with anything and you will retain that longer.

-As you practice MCQs, keep adding your mistakes to your notes. Mark it with a red pen. So that when you revise, the contrasting colours catch your attention and you are reminded of the Important Qs and the mistakes you did. So next time a similar MCQ comes up in the exam, you will be ready as ever not to repeat the same mistake. During the exam, you will get a feeling/vision that this was written on the right page, on top right most. More you revise, more the vision becomes clearer and recalling becomes easy.

4. Make your story.

Many a times you will come across a topic which has nothing but factual knowledge. Take it as a challenge, insert your creative mind into it and make a story out of it. This could work wonders.

Eg 1: Pagets Disease.

Facts: Common in Elderly Males. Radio: Ivory vertebrae, Picture Frame vertebrae, Cotton wool skull, Blade of grass/Flame shaped appearance in Long bones.

Story: A Mad/Pagal (Pagets) Elderly man, Going hunting for elephants for their expensive Ivory (Ivory vertebrae). He kills the elephants by using  Blade of grass/Flames , stabbing the animal on his skull and now it becomes cotton wool skull. Then he takes a Photo and Frames it in his House.

Eg 2: Achondroplasia

Facts: Commonly a Rhizomelic dwarfism. Trident Hand.  Autosomal Dominant. Champagne glass pelvis, Bullet Nose vertebrae, Tombstone Iliac Blade.

Story: Imagine a dwarf with a trident Hand. . He was a Dominating person and used to Drink a lot of Champagne. He used to Drink and Know things ;) One day he got so drunk, he took a gun and fired bullet at himself and now his body rests near the tomb stone.

Eg 3: This one is a bit weird but this is what helped me to memorize this very tough but high yielding table. You can modify accordingly. Here is my version.

-For the TYPHUS Group: Once there were two reservoirs, Humans and Rat. Both were fighting. Rat said I can give rise to a Disease. He called his friend Mite and caused Scrub typhus via R. Tsutsugamushi. Human had to scrub his own susu due to this. Furious, human called the Loud Louse and with help of the PRO, ie,  R. Prowazakii, caused the dangerous Epidemic Typhus !!

To this Rat was scared but also smiled seeing how human is causing diseases among themselves. Since enough damage had been caused, he decided to Flee (Flea vector)  by submarine (Murine typhus)  and also gave R. Typhi as a farewell gift.

-For the spotted fever group:

Simplest name here is R. Rickettsii and simplest name (the only one I knew existed in UG Days) is RMSF, ie, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.

Indians are cool and to any disease they say Koi nai, Dekh lenge. Hence Indian tick=R. Conorii (koi nai).

-Someone having Pox will look like a loser(anadhi/anari). Hence R. Akari.

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I hope now you get the idea. Associating facts with stories is a scientific proven way to Retain ANYTHING longer. All you need is find the key words, link them together and make a story. Once you revise them multiple times, you wont need to recall the entire story everytime and the facts would be at your fingertips.

5. Discussing/teaching people.

Once you teach someone, (Preferably a someone who knows less about a topic like a Junior), your notes recited in your own voice will be a huge boost to memorize them. More importantly, the learner will keep asking doubts and that will expose your weak links and will tell you how well you have actually understood the topic.

6. Using High yielding Sticky notes and See them Every Day

While your reading, you will realize there are some points/facts/tables you need to refer again and again. Some facts which are high yielding but very difficult to memorize.

All these important tables, volatile things, you can note them down and paste in front of you. It could be your study table, mirror or some wall.

Make sure you read them everyday, first thing in the morning. Make it  a habit. And after months, you will realise you are a master of these high yielding topics and would never get them wrong in the final exam.

But remember, Don't Over Do it. Be smart about what to write down. Because if you overdo them, you will end up with a bulk of factual info and you will never read them and procrastinate since they would eat up a lot of time daily.

So after following this technique, you will end up with an amazing collection of high yield stuff you can refer to by just a glance. This is also an effective way of revision and will help you improve your grand test scores. And I guarantee you, there will be at least 20-30 direct Qs in your final exam that you will be able to answer just on virtue of these sticky notes.

Here are some of my sticky Notes:

 7. Mnemonics

I m sure you all are aware of this technique. Just don't make mnemonics which itself is hard to remember. Try to keep it simple and related to the topic. Making ABCDEF for every topic wont help you in the Final Exam. 

I will give you some examples. But I am sure you all are experts.

Eg: Pharma drugs.

KETAMINE

Kids, Emergence reaction, Thalamo-cortical tract block, Analgesic, Meals (can be given even if patient has taken meals), Increase of Preassures (ICP, IOP, BP), NMDA Blocker, Excellent Bronchodilator.

Eg: Glycogen Storage Diseases

Mnemonic: ViP Ce Aaj Mulakat Hui.

               I Von Gireke's Dis

              II Pompe's Disease

              III Cori's Disease

              IV Anderson's Disease

               V McArdle's Syndrome

              VI Her's Disease

Eg: Very important classification of Viruses. DNA (Enveloped Or Non-E) and RNA (Enveloped or Non-E).

Now, All DNA viruses are Enveloped except:

PAP (PAP lagega inko for being Naked)

Parvo B19 (is the only single stranded DNA virus)

Adeno Virus

Papo Virus (includes Polyoma virus and Papilloma Virus)

Similarly All RNA viruses are Enveloped except:

RiP (Kill them for being Naked)

Reoviridae (Includes Rota virus, Colrado Tick fever virus): Is the ONLY double stranded RNA virus

Picorna Virus (Includes PERCH ie Polio, Echo virus, Rhino Virus, Coxsackie virus, Hept A )

8. Doing MCQs and grand tests.

 These help you to recall important facts, and you should go back to your notes where that fact is written and revise it. If you get a MCQ wrong,  you should feel angry about it, go to the notes and mark it with red pen. Once you attach an emotion with a mistake, its difficult to forget. Trust me, this technique works wonders.

8. Healthy Lifestyle.

Most underrated, but very essential component. I tried it and it works !

-Sleep enough. At least 7-8 hours. You need this much time to allow your brain to process the info you learned the previous day and transfer it to the long term storage.

-Eat healthy. It help you stay fresh and active. Eating  oily food is okay sometimes, but if overdone, it  makes you feel lethargic and sleepy. Memory boosting food like Badams, Blueberries  !!

-Exercise. Just a mild 10 min walk could do wonders. It will freshen up your mind and helps to increase concentration.

  - Meditation. This is something each one of you should practice. I m not asking you to start watching SANSKAR channel and do yoga daily for hours. Just a 15 min meditation in the morning. The basic one. Close your eyes, take breadths in and out, and try to think about NOTHING but the breadths. Initially sitting for even 5 min would be very tough, but you will start seeing the effects after a week. Concentration power improves, your mind becomes  clear of unnecessary noise and ready to grasp new information.

CONCLUSION

All these techniques will help you to recall more and more stuff during your exam. But one common thing you need for any technique to work is its repetition. Revision and repetition are key to get a good rank. You might be tired of hearing this again and again, but this point is so essential it deserves the repeated mentioning.

All the Best !!

#MakeItHappen

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