Not doing well.......

Very often medical students (from various medical schools) tell me that in spite of working hard they find it difficult to do well. Most of them were high acheivers in school. Well, I don't have a magic formula for sucess, but here are a few things that you might want to look at.

• Language-most medical textbooks and medical journals are written in English. So, it follows that you must have a very good command of the language. Your language abilities should be close to that of a first language speaker/user. Make use of every opportunity to improve your language skills.
• Understand your educational background- most of you (students educated in Asia) probably come from a system which almost entirely emphasises rote learning. The main goal is usually not "to be educated" . The goal is to score a string of A's by any legal means possible! That being the case your previous educational experience does not prepare you for university type learning.
• Exam oriented learning- in medical school you are in effect learning a profession. The end goal is to be competent or rather provide proof of competency. This being the case the "mugging/ cramming" type learning stratergy which worked so well in school may not work here. You have to remember in the 5th year what you learnt in the 1st year!

Next post- more on rote learning