Most physicians use multiple study methods to prepare for their medical board exams, and most have a multitude of tricks for remembering what they need to know — from mnemonics and anecdotes to visual memory. Did you know, though, that the very act of testing yourself can improve [...]
Back when I was in medical school, studying for a big exam meant holing myself up in my room for 48 hours straight with no contact with the outside world, eating pizza for breakfast and frozen waffles for dinner, drinking massive quantities of caffeine, taking intermittent breaks to [...]
If you are a physician who has been in practice for over 20 years, you know from personal experience that medical knowledge has increased tremendously in recent times. More-experienced physicians have absorbed this knowledge organically — as new techniques, drugs, and test are developed, they are adopted by [...]
One of the criticisms that has been leveled against the ABIM recertification exam is that some of the topics covered aren't relevant to the practice of general internal medicine. In February 2015, ABIM announced that they would be making adjustments before the fall exam; since then, they have [...]
When you struggle to recall what you have learned for a test, the struggle itself reinforces what you know. The test anxiety you may feel while actively trying to recall what you have learned may cause you to be less confident about how you would perform on a [...]
An interview with psychologist Nate Kornell At the end of a test, the one thing you can say for sure is what you know and what you don’t know — even if you disagree with the test-makers on what was on the test. You might also find out [...]