You’ve got the books and account logins at the ready. You know you need to start studying for the Board exams, but the whole process seems daunting. How do you transfer all the content off the pages and screens and into your brain?
You need some pro tips, and I’ve got good news. The Derm In-Review Advisory Council members are here to save the day. They’re navigating residency and fellowship, and taking the first steps in their careers post-training. They’re in or have recently been in your shoes, and they know what it takes to be successful at studying.
Prior to cracking open that textbook, take their first piece of advice: Before you start studying, know yourself. Here are some questions to help you determine your “successful study style,” as Council Co-Chair Steven Daveluy, MD, FAAD, calls it:
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- Are you most effective early in the morning or later in the day?
- Do you prefer to study in groups or solo?
- What are your preferred learning styles? (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic)
“I’m a kinesthetic learner, so I try my best to type or write things out,” says Kala Hurst, DO, dermatology resident at Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals. “Once I stuck to the methods that made sense to me, the information started sticking a bit more.”
Dr. Daveluy, who is the director of the Wayne State Dermatology Residency Program, recommends consulting with your fellow residents for their tips. “Try some new things that your co-residents do to get out of your comfort zone and see if they could work for you.”
Here are seven additional tips and tricks for making the most of your board studying tools:
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- Annotate in GoodNotes
Jordan Parker, MD, FAAD, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, used GoodNotes on her iPad to directly annotate her review books. Whenever she came across a disease or pathway that was hard to understand, she would add photos, draw out summary tables, and highlight pearls right on the page.
“GoodNotes turned my review book into a personalized study guide,” Dr. Parker says. “Adding pictures and quick tables kept everything visual, organized, and easy to come back to when I was short on time.”
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- Create a Master Set of Notes
Dr. Daveluy recommends creating your own master set of notes that you can review again and again. He advises to start with an available source, such as the Derm In-Review study guide, and then add additional notes from book clubs and lectures as quickly as possible afterwards.
“You’ll likely never get around to reviewing your full notes from the conference or talk again, so put the important things into your study guide,” Dr. Daveluy says. He also recommends making a high-yield version of the notes during your third year. “This allows you to review even more quickly for maximum repetition.”
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- Turn Your Incorrects Into Learnings
Dermatologist and dermatopathologist Kandace Bailey, MD, recommends turning your errors into learning opportunities. She created a review journal from the questions she got wrong or was uncertain about in question banks.
“On Sundays, I’d review my journal and do more of a ‘deep dive’ on those topics,” Dr. Bailey says. “It was nice to have a day where I could just review rather than doing long question banks.”
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- Make Your Own Audio Study Guide
Dr. Hurst recorded herself reading her notes out loud and would listen to the recording while driving or working out. “I like hearing my own notes because I typically make mnemonics along the way that I can hear repeatedly if I record.”
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- Test Yourself
Dr. Daveluy says don’t wait until you think you’re ready. “Questions are king!” he says. “Research proves that we retain information better when we do questions to test our brain. Start doing questions right away.”
Dr. Daveluy says you can start with a few questions a day or week. He recommends the Derm In-Review question bank as these questions and responses can help you solidify your learning.
Courtney Hanna, MD, MPH, chief resident at Boston Medical Center/Boston University, tested herself in a non-traditional way. While listening to the Derm In-Review audio study guide while lifting weights, she would pause between sets to quiz herself on the content she just learned. She also would use time between patients to focus on one small section of content and drill herself. “Something like the basement membrane and which disease corresponds with which level – I would treat it like a game in the few minutes I had throughout the day,” Dr. Hanna says.
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- Take Breaks
One of the most effective study methods is to take time away from studying. Dr. Bailey uses the Pomodoro method, which is a timed way of focused work. “It was perfect for my ever-shortening attention span,” she says.
Dr. Bailey would study for a timed interval, such as 15 or 25 minutes. After each interval, she would take a 5-10 minute break and do something unrelated, such as scroll social media, eat a snack, or do a small household chore. “I would like to give myself a few long break intervals like 15-30 minutes as well to help rest my brain, where I’d take a walk, call family or friends, watch TV, whatever I needed at the moment. These timed study sessions help me stay focused.”
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- Switch It Up
Lastly, if you find yourself in a study funk, consider switching up study locations. “I used to love (and still love) going to coffee shops, breakfast restaurants (because I’m a morning studier), or wherever just to break up the monotony of studying in the same place every day all day,” Dr. Bailey says. “Also, I love people watching.”
Once all the preparation is done and it’s finally testing day, take this final note of advice from Dr. Daveluy: “Use your nondominant hand to brush your teeth and hair. The extra coordination and focus required will wake your brain up early.”
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