Using this method will keep you engaged and honed in on the most critical, testable aspects of each condition. Reading up on your patients and their conditions in UpToDate during the day will also free up time in the evening for other shelf and Step 2 CK resources, like practice questions. Then, reference the relevant sections of UpToDate to check your accuracy and fill in any knowledge gaps. You can do double duty and use this resource to study for your shelf and Step 2 CK exams if you go through your patient’s problem list and mentally quiz yourself on the clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria, and treatments for each condition.

This prevents people from thinking that you’re just browsing on your phone. Second, nobody will look twice if you’re reading UpToDate during the day, especially if you’re looking up topics related to your patients. So how can you fit in some valuable moments of studying while not appearing nonchalant?įirst of all, study primarily on your tablet or laptop rather than on your phone. That period between completing your rounds and returning home might as well be a black hole where free time goes to disappear. If you think about it, there’s actually a ton of downtime during hospital rotations. Squeeze in Study Time at the Hospital or Clinic And if that weren’t enough to keep you stressed out, there’s the looming, dreadful thought of Step 2 CK. So how can you handle all the competing demands on your time? Here are a few tips that I used myself, as well as some fantastic new things I wish I’d had access to during my clinical years.

Then, after that exhausting day, you’re expected to go home, read up on your patients, and study for your upcoming shelf exam. Instead, you’re most likely spending 8-12 hours a day running around the hospital or clinic, just trying to stay afloat while not accidentally following your resident into the bathroom. Gone are the days of lounging in a coffee shop and listening to lo-fi hip-hop beats while cranking out UWorld questions for hours on end.

When they begin their clinical years, one of the biggest challenges for medical students is adding a full day of study to an already full day of work.

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