Effective Medical Revision Strategies

By Med Qbank Team · Updated December 2025

The Illusion of Competence

Many medical students fall into the trap of "passive revision." This includes re-reading notes, highlighting textbooks, or watching lectures without pausing. These methods create a feeling of familiarity (fluency), but they do not create durable memory traces. To pass UKMLA or finals, you need to switch to Active Recall.

1. Active Recall: The Gold Standard

Active recall involves retrieving information from your brain rather than trying to put it back in. Every time you force yourself to remember a fact, you strengthen the neural pathway associated with it.

  • The "Blurting" Method: Read a topic, close the book, and write down everything you remember. Only then check your notes to see what you missed.
  • Question Banks: Don't use QBanks just to test yourself; use them to learn. Read the explanation even if you got the question right.
  • The Feynman Technique: Try to explain a complex disease (e.g., Heart Failure) to an imaginary 12-year-old. If you stumble, you don't understand it well enough.
Pro Tip: Do not passively read the explanations in Med Qbank. Read the question, look away, and try to articulate why the answer is correct before you click it.

2. Spaced Repetition (SRS)

The "Forgetting Curve" shows that we forget 50% of new information within 24 hours. Spaced repetition hacks this curve by reviewing information at increasing intervals.

Suggested Schedule:

  • 1st Review: Immediately after learning (e.g., same day).
  • 2nd Review: 24 hours later.
  • 3rd Review: 3 days later.
  • 4th Review: 1 week later.
  • 5th Review: 1 month later.

3. Interleaving vs. Blocking

"Blocking" is studying one topic for a long time (e.g., 8 hours of Cardiology). "Interleaving" is mixing topics (e.g., 1 hour Cardio, 1 hour Resp, 1 hour Renal).

Interleaving is harder and feels more frustrating, but studies show it leads to significantly better exam performance. It forces your brain to constantly "reload" context, which mimics the random nature of a real exam.

4. Managing Burnout

Medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. You cannot revise effectively if you are sleep-deprived.

  • Sleep: Memory consolidation happens during REM sleep. Cutting sleep to study more is counter-productive.
  • Pomodoro Technique: Study for 25 minutes, break for 5. This maintains high cognitive load without fatigue.

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