2 answers
Alexa
Student
Hailey, Idaho
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What are the best study tips for medical school Specifically Ultrasound School?
Study tips for medical school
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2 answers
James Hanson
Pediatric Intensive Care Physician; Consultant
266
Answers
Oakland, California
Updated
James’s Answer
Ultrasonography can be a part of the training for many medical specialists (such as mine - pediatric critical care), but is never the focus of learning unless you wish to become an ultrasonographer. The career paths diverge early on. Radiology technologists learn how to obtain the images physicians order, be they x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, or nuclear medicine studies (people do tend to specialize within this group).
As for study habits, start with being a health human. Good studying and good work begin with healthy diet, sleep, and exercise habits. It is generally true that things we don't want to do are put off. But doing one unpleasant but necessary thing early in your day gives you a sense of accomplishment and moves you closer to good grades and test scores (which you need to succeed). Although there are ways to avoid going to lectures, you miss the subtle and not-so-subtle clues a professor is giving when you don't go to lectures in person. Take good notes - even the writing down of learning points helps you retain them later. Many find studying with friends is helpful. You can quiz each other and laugh and enjoy learning instead of feeling like the studying is keeping you from social activities. You don't learn or retain well when you are tired, so all-nighters and such are usually a bad idea. Figure out how you best retain knowledge, and embrace it.
Good luck!
As for study habits, start with being a health human. Good studying and good work begin with healthy diet, sleep, and exercise habits. It is generally true that things we don't want to do are put off. But doing one unpleasant but necessary thing early in your day gives you a sense of accomplishment and moves you closer to good grades and test scores (which you need to succeed). Although there are ways to avoid going to lectures, you miss the subtle and not-so-subtle clues a professor is giving when you don't go to lectures in person. Take good notes - even the writing down of learning points helps you retain them later. Many find studying with friends is helpful. You can quiz each other and laugh and enjoy learning instead of feeling like the studying is keeping you from social activities. You don't learn or retain well when you are tired, so all-nighters and such are usually a bad idea. Figure out how you best retain knowledge, and embrace it.
Good luck!
Téa C.
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
19
Answers
Salt Lake City, Utah
Updated
Téa’s Answer
Hello! You don't have to go to medical school to be an ultrasound technician (aka "diagnostic medical sonographer/ DMS"). If your goal is to be an ultrasound tech, you just need to go to a college that has a DMS program (not all programs are equal, so definitely do your research). I didn't go to medical school, but between that & a sonography program I'd image there are similar study tips.
While there are some things you need to memorize, overall you want to study to actually 'understand' the information you're taught in class, rather than only ever studying to memorize things. The better you can understand the information, the better you can set yourself up for success later on. Memorizing without understanding is like memorizing that you shouldn't touch fire with your hands without knowing why you shouldn't do that; you at least understand that it's hot & can burn you.
You can start by finding out how you learn best, whether that's by listening, reading, and/or getting more hands-on. Repetition is also key to retaining information. Personally, I learn best by getting as hands-on as possible & drawing. So I made flashcards & used a cheap children's doodle board tablet to repeatedly draw organs, diagrams, & medical terms. Having a better understanding of things made it easier to remember the information, too. With a free Kahoot account, I also made lots of practice tests. Both making the practice tests & then actually taking the tests helped. While testing myself, I wrote down any questions I didn't know or got correct just by guessing. For ultrasound specifically, whenever I could I'd scan myself & as many people as possible to get a better feel for things.
While there are some things you need to memorize, overall you want to study to actually 'understand' the information you're taught in class, rather than only ever studying to memorize things. The better you can understand the information, the better you can set yourself up for success later on. Memorizing without understanding is like memorizing that you shouldn't touch fire with your hands without knowing why you shouldn't do that; you at least understand that it's hot & can burn you.
You can start by finding out how you learn best, whether that's by listening, reading, and/or getting more hands-on. Repetition is also key to retaining information. Personally, I learn best by getting as hands-on as possible & drawing. So I made flashcards & used a cheap children's doodle board tablet to repeatedly draw organs, diagrams, & medical terms. Having a better understanding of things made it easier to remember the information, too. With a free Kahoot account, I also made lots of practice tests. Both making the practice tests & then actually taking the tests helped. While testing myself, I wrote down any questions I didn't know or got correct just by guessing. For ultrasound specifically, whenever I could I'd scan myself & as many people as possible to get a better feel for things.