Customer Reviews

Study Skills and Test-Taking Strategies for Medical Students: Find and Use Your Personal Learning Style (Oklahoma Notes)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I will be starting med school this fall and I'm trying to prepare myself for the overload of information as best as possible. This book was very informative but a bit long (easy to loose focus at times) and I'm not sure how helpful the section on the boards (the USMLE) is since the test has changed from a two day paper-and-pencil exam to an 8 hour computer-based test (Everyone has told me that the First Aid for the USMLE series are the best books for board prep). In the Oklahoma notes, you start out by taking a modified version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (a psychological instrument). The results of this test went a long way towards explaining my personality and what my previous study skills where lacking. I discovered how to study better, take better notes and problem-solve based on my type. Next were different strategies for learning and retaining information for the long haul-from the next exam, to the boards, to residency and beyond. I learned terrific ways of taking notes, annotating text books, pre-reading for class and condensing the large amount of information from lectures and books. The time management sections offered very easy and realistic advise. All in all, I'm glad I bought this book because I learned many new things. However, I would strongly recommend the following book over this one if one had to choose: How to Excel in Medical School. It is easier to follow, a faster read and takes you subject by subject. If you have enough time and money, buy both!

I am a medical student and I thought this book would be useful but I was wrong. I have learned the hard way that you should really look into the credentials of the authors of books like this. Slightly more useful was Success Types in Medical Education which was FREE at this site: [...]. It wasn't fantastic but Success Types was much more balanced in its view of the Myers Briggs types saying that each had its advantages and disadvantages. Shain's book did not account much for the fact the lines can be fuzzy because humans are complex and a reader risks being pulled into the belief that the types they are dominant for define everything we do. All the "advice" I had to learn to do well in college so this didn't really reveal anything new.

I am not going to medical school but I am going to pharmacy school in the fall. The college I will be attending recommended this book. I'm glad they recommended it because now I am prepared with some more useful study skills. Not only does it give advice and tips on study skills and test taking strategies but also about stress management, how to work in a group, who you should study with (depending on your personality type and learning style -which this book tells you), how to defeat negative thoughts, some time management, and more. I am pleased with this book.