| Introduction
The
prevailing logic on doing well on national standardized
exams is to study for months and sometimes years in
advance. Despite the seemingly heroic efforts put
forth in studying, many students fail, and some fail
multiple times. I don’t know about you but I
would be a little bit bitter if I studied for a year
and still failed my exam. I would think about all
of the social activities, relaxing, and other enjoyable
things I could have done instead of studying.
It
was a scenario similar to this that actually inspired
me to find a better way to prepare for the medical
board exams. In high school and college I always seemed
to be able to do well on exams by using the famous
“cramming” method of studying. I’m
sure you’ve been there. You procrastinate and
procrastinate until the eleventh hour. Then you put
on the after burners. You stay up all night, and you
have spontaneous muscle twitching from the caffeine
in your blood stream. You make statements to your
friends like “I study best under pressure”
or “I only work hard when I need to.”
Preparing
Mentally and Physically to Study - "The Ritual"
What
do most people do before they run five miles? They
warm up and stretch. What do all surgeons do before
an operation? They make marks on the patient’s
body where they are going to cut and visualize how
they will perform the operation. What do most great
free throw shooters do in college and professional
basketball? They do some ritual before shooting. They
dribble the ball three times or they take two steps
backward from the line. No matter what they do, they
do that one thing the same way, every time.
Now
I ask you, what do most people do before they study?
Most people do nothing in particular. They sit at
a desk, couch, or on the floor. They may or may not
have a radio on. In other words there is no warm-up,
no preparation, no ritual. Having a ritual prior to
studying is extremely important.
Doing
something the same way, every time, prior to studying
gives your brain a signal that it is now time to concentrate,
to absorb, and to learn. This is how athletes and
entertainers make themselves “on” prior
to an athletic feat or performance. We can do the
same thing to enhance study sessions.
Enter
the quantity that you would like to order and click
on the "Order Now" button below or
click here to return to your subspecialty
page and order.
"Mastering
the Written Boards" Study and Test Taking System |
