Let Me Tell You About the Great Mistake I Made Last Semester
I studied.
But I did not learn.
I only realized this after the semester ended.
During the semester break, I began thinking deeply about my examination performance. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't up to the standard I knew I was capable of.
Then I asked myself a simple question:
"This wasn't you in secondary school. So what changed?"
Back then, I used to walk into the examination hall, collect my question paper, open it, smile, and start writing.
Everything felt effortless.
Pressure?
I genuinely didn't know what examination pressure felt like.
Then I remembered the one thing I used to do consistently.
I didn't just study.
I learned what I studied.
***
Many people think studying and learning are the same thing.
They're not.
Reading and understanding information are different from being able to reproduce that information effortlessly when you need it.
Study gives you exposure to knowledge.
Learning makes that knowledge available at any instance.
Those two things are different.
***
Think back to nursery school.
How did you learn the alphabet?
How did you learn nursery rhymes?
How did you learn the states and capitals?
It wasn't because someone explained them to you once.
It wasn't because you read them once.
Every single morning, you stood up and repeated them.
Again.
And again.
And again.
"A for Apple."
"B for Ball."
"C for Cat."
Every morning.
Every week.
Every month.
That repetitive, active process is why, today, you can effortlessly say all twenty-six letters of the alphabet without thinking.
That wasn't studying.
That was learning.
***
Medical school made me forget this.
I spent last semester studying.
Reading slides.
Watching videos.
Understanding concepts.
But I wasn't intentionally learning them.
And there's a difference.
Study introduces information.
Learning makes it stay.
***
Then I remembered what I used to do in secondary school.
Whenever I came back from school, I didn't simply continue reading.
I had what I now realize was a recall timetable.
I would sit down and begin talking through every topic I had learned.
Not reading.
Talking.
Explaining.
Reciting.
From memory.
Definitions.
Types.
Functions.
Processes.
Everything.
Whenever I got stuck, I looked back at my notes, corrected myself, and continued.
That was my routine.
Two subjects every day.
By the end of every week, I had actively recalled every subject multiple times.
By the end of every month, I had repeated the same process again and again.
When examinations finally came, I didn't feel like I was trying to remember things for the first time.
I had already repeated them so many times that writing became much easier.
**
That was the mistake I made last semester.
I removed the learning.
I kept the studying.
**
If you're in medical school, understand this:
Studying alone is not enough.
Understanding a topic is important.
But understanding is only the beginning.
You have to repeatedly bring that information back out of your head.
That's learning.
Create a separate recall timetable.
Don't recall immediately after reading.
Recall later.
Stand up.
Explain the topic aloud.
Teach yourself.
Talk through it from memory.
Notice where you get stuck.
Go back.
Correct yourself.
Repeat.
Do that consistently throughout the semester.
Not just during examination week.
Not just when panic sets in.
Throughout the semester.
---
If you're preparing for something like the MB examination, your recall timetable should eventually begin combining multiple subjects together.
You continue studying.
You continue solving past questions.
You continue using flashcards if they help you.
But alongside all of that, make sure you're actively recalling what you've learned.
For me, looking back, that was the missing piece.
I studied.
But I forgot to learn.
I'm not making that mistake again.
Have you ever asked yourself:
Between Sembulingam Physiology and Guyton & Hall Physiology, which textbook is actually better for me?
The truth is...
Both are excellent textbooks.
One is not necessarily "better" than the other.
The real question is:
Which one is better for your school?
Because textbooks don't exist in isolation.
Your lecturers teach from somewhere.
Your lecture slides come from somewhere.
Your past questions follow certain patterns.
So instead of reading two entire textbooks trying to decide which one to focus on...
Let AI compare them for you.
Here's exactly how I would do it.
Step 1: Upload both textbooks to Google Drive
Create a folder called Textbooks.
Upload both textbooks into that folder.
For example:
- Guyton & Hall
- Sembulingam
Step 2: Upload your lecture slides
Create another folder called Lecture Slides.
Upload every lecture slide that has been taught for that course.
Step 3: Upload your past questions
Create another folder called Past Questions.
Upload every past question you have for that course.
The more years, the better.
Step 4: Upload your lecture schedule (optional but helpful)
If you have the lecture timetable or course schedule showing what was taught and in what order, upload it too.
This gives Claude more context.
Step 5: Connect Google Drive to Claude
Connect your Google Drive to Claude AI.
Make sure you're using Claude Sonnet.
Don't use the lower models.
Step 6: Give Claude one job
Now tell Claude to:
- Read every lecture slide.
- Read every past question.
- Read the lecture schedule.
- Read both textbooks.
- Compare them.
- Determine which textbook aligns better with your lecturers' teaching style, lecture slides and examination pattern.
- Explain why.
- End with a clear recommendation.
Claude may take several minutes to complete this because it has a lot to process.
Let it finish.
When it's done, you'll get something far more useful than random opinions online.
You'll know which textbook actually matches your school's curriculum.
Here's the prompt I'd use:
"Go through all the folders in my Google Drive. Read every lecture slide, every past question and the lecture schedule before reading both textbooks. Compare both textbooks against my school's lecture slides, teaching style and examination pattern. Tell me which textbook aligns more closely with what my lecturers actually teach, which one better prepares me for examinations, where each textbook is stronger or weaker, and end with a clear recommendation on which textbook I should prioritize for this particular course. Support every conclusion with examples from the lecture slides and past questions."
You'll be surprised how different the answer can be from what everyone else recommends.
Sometimes the "best" textbook generally isn't the best textbook for your school.
Use AI to compare them once.
Then spend your semester reading the textbook that actually matches how your lecturers teach.
@NeduMedic@Docfrosh That prof.Ntoo wanted to tear my answer sheet last semester for shading when he said stop writing. After wasting 10 minutes of my time in the hall oo guy ๐ญ