Stuck in Comfort vs Redefining my Learning

Week 5 Check-in 

It’s my fifth week in and I’m ready to spill the tea. 

So lets do a quick summary:
Week 1: Burnt the midnight oil (stayed up studying and pre-reading at ridiculous hours) 

Week 2: Got sick and fell behind ( impaired my immune system due to lack of sleep)

Week 3: Desperately tried to get on-top of my work , I did  :)

Week 4: Tried to maximize productivity before training x prep for 
‘Spotter’ (Similar to midterm assessment; mainly anatomy and few physiology questions)

It’s common knowledge the vast difference between the secondary and tertiary level of education. So why did I start with the same learning approaches? Let me give you a quote by Bert Lance that explained my approach “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Honestly, I used what was proven and tested to give me the false sense of productivity I needed to feel to equate it with ‘hitting the ground running’. So what has changed now you may ask... and it all goes back to this quote “Don’t reinvent the wheel, just realign it” -Anthony J. D’Angelo.

So firstly I try to maintain a balanced life which includes regular exercise three times weekly. I have seen the benefits in cognitive skills. Rather than taking the easy way out and try to drop that commitment, I revisited my system. Now I maximize on the period between when I get home from class to when I leave for training by taking notes from previous lectures. This removes that task from my list of to do items after training and most often solidifies the information presented to me. This not only facilities me to do reinforcement when I return home, or even clarifying unclear areas, but also frees up my itinerary to knock off some learning objectives or prepare for labs and problem based learning sessions. 

Note: An aspect/ approach I take in my self-directed learning is to study with the learning objectives of the course. In that way I have a better idea in what is expected from me and I use it as a safety net to ensure nothing is left undone. 
This is particularly important as a med student because the lecturers are meant to serve as your guides in learning, not your teachers. They are here to help you decipher what to focus on and what not to focus on, as well as provide insight on topics self directed learning would be difficult to do on your own. This is evident in the nature of the course as anyone looking on would notice that the number of lectures are far less than the number of learning objectives. Once exposed to the programme as a student you would realize not every lecture covers all the learning objectives of that particular topic and even the notes on the lecture slides aren’t enough. Your responsibility is to do extra reading or by other means get the information. However a word of caution is to liaise with your lecture or even exercise your active listening skills because they actually tell you what to focus on and what to spend less detail on. 

The key is to be strategic in every area; your time (make sure you make time to get 6hrs sleep at least, for now) , note taking (in and out of class), lectures you attend, activities you spend time on, company you keep, your support system,etc.) 

Another area to be mindful of is how you cope with stress on a daily. For me its starts by starting my day off with the Word and during the day praising God by listening/ singing my favorite gospel songs. Don’t underestimate the effect the smalls things can have on your day, like how you start the day, what you tell yourself during the day, how you approach your workload, or even the absence of breakfast,lunch or dinner. 

Currently I am still realigning my wheel as I go along, its a learning process which means sometimes you have to test things out to see what works and what doesn’t. Talking to persons in higher years and surrounding yourself with people who want the best for you always works in your favor. In fact, they make everything easier. So as I get direction and assistance in this journey, I’ll be sure to continue to let you know what worked and what didn’t.  


Next on the agenda: Taking more effective notes in less time x focusing on understanding

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