How to Take Notes in Medical School

A familiar excitement fills your mind as you begin a new school term. “This semester will be different”, you tell yourself; the one where you stay ahead of lecture material, take elegant notes, and absorb information faster. As the lectures begin, you scramble to get all the information you hear into your notes, and you begin feeling overwhelmed with all the knowledge you are expected to retain.

Does this situation sound familiar? If so, don’t worry – you’re not alone! Many medical students struggle with note-taking and retaining information during lectures. But don’t worry, with these note-taking and study tips for students, you can overcome these obstacles and achieve academic success.

Best way to take notes in medical school

Taking efficient notes is key to managing the demands of medical school. By developing good note-taking habits now, you’ll set yourself up for success throughout your journey to become a doctor. It’s important to consider what note-taking techniques work best for you and make any necessary adjustments. This article will explore various approaches to note-taking for medical students, ways to organize your notes, and tips for using your notes to study effectively.

1. Determine the learning style that works best for you

First, whether you’re trying to learn how to take notes for law school or medical school, or any other academic program, it’s crucial to understand that every student has their own preferred method of learning. The key to success is finding the approach that works best for you.

Visual learners

Some students are visual learners and learn better through reading (and re-reading notes). Writing excellent notes are the obvious study approach in this case.

Audio learners

Other students are audio learners, and may benefit more from listening to a lecturer thoughtfully than from frantically writing down notes. Certain university medical courses offer lecture recordings, which help you listen through a lecture’s material more than once.

Computer vs. paper

Some students prefer taking notes on their computer, which helps you get down information faster; others prefer taking notes on paper, which aids in processing information more deeply.

You should aim to gain the most from a lecture according to the strengths of your own learning style. If you find yourself barely recollecting what a lecturer mentioned, while feeling that your notes are poor quality, reflect on how you could change your response during lectures.

2. Use narratives to enhance note-taking in medical school

A useful way to process new information in a lecture is to construct or imagine a narrative to go along with the facts.

Narrative note examples

For instance, when learning about the mechanisms of cell reproduction, imagine the many steps involved in cells going from replicating their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strands to physically splitting themselves into two halves. Thus, when a teacher gives you new knowledge, such as a certain protein that helps the nucleus divide DNA strands, you can easily orient the information within the narrative of knowledge you already know. Without a way of conceptualizing new information, a lecture could seem like an overwhelming flood of meaningless facts.

As you gain more medical knowledge, you will encounter a variety of narrative systems, ranging from molecular pathways to organ systems to even a patient’s understanding of his/her illness.

A molecular example would be our body’s immunological response to a bacterial infection, which follows a repeatable or predictable series of events, like a sports team running a tactical play.

Another example is that our body breaks down food into nutrients through well-rehearsed molecular mechanisms.

On a human physiological level, blood flows through our body following the laws of fluid physics. In a sense, these formulas tell a story of blood circulation that repeats and varies itself. Similarly, medical researchers have designed mathematical models to tell the narratives of how our kidneys remove waste from the bloodstream in the nephrons, as well as how nerve cells in the brain communicate with one another.

Developing a keen imagination, noticing and reasoning through these patterns will help you take notes faster and process new information effectively.

3. Make a pattern to organize your medical notes

There are a variety of techniques you could explore to help organize your medical school lecture notes as you write them. One helpful approach is to colour-code words. For instance, when learning about human anatomy, you could write new technical terms in blue; anatomical features in red; important details in black, and general info in pencil. Instead of getting confused with your own notes, a colour-coded system helps you recollect your own thoughts and notice important facts faster during revision.

Other ideas include underlining or circling important details. You could even edit your notes as you go through them after the lectures, adding these features as you absorb the content more deeply. Explore different ways of coding your notes to help organize your ideas.

Make the most of your medical school notes with techniques for memorization and retention

Once you have taken notes and revised them after the lectures, you may wonder how you could make the most of them. One approach that some students may find helpful for memorizing notes faster is to distill the key points of every lecture into shorter lecture outlines. You can then memorize these outlines to grasp the crucial ideas from every lecture. Once you have memorized the basics, you could then link up the details with the big ideas. For instance, in neurology lectures, one could first summarize the key parts of the brain and their general functions.

With this framework, one could then go through the notes again and learn the specific proteins and anatomical structures associated with each brain region.

Helpful techniques to re-enforce your network of knowledge include testing yourself with cue cards and utilizing apps that help you focus on studying. Remember: there is no ‘right’ way to take notes. The key is to help yourself learn new knowledge, so explore techniques that work best for you! In our Oxford Summer School courses, you can learn these valuable techniques and improve your note-taking skills, setting you up for success in your medical studies.

Improve your note-taking skills at a Medical Summer School

In conclusion, taking effective notes in medical school is a crucial aspect of your academic success. By finding the right approach to note-taking that works for you, using narratives to process information, summarizing lectures into key points, and testing yourself to reinforce your knowledge, you’ll be well on your way to academic excellence. But why stop there?

Take your medical studies to the next level by attending Oxford Scholastica’s Medical Summer School. With expert tutors and a dynamic learning environment, you’ll have the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the subject, develop critical thinking skills, and gain a competitive edge for your future medical career. Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enhance your medical education and set yourself apart from your peers.

Learn more about our Summer School in Oxford

Key takeaways on how to take medical notes

• Reflect on your own learning style, and develop a strategy of note taking that aligns with your own preferences
• Find a way of weaving facts into narratives when taking notes to process new information faster
• Use patterns such as colour-coding words to organize notes as you write them
• Turn your lecture and medical notes into a strong study tool by linking up the details with the big ideas
• Attend an Oxford Summer School to sharpen your academic note-taking skills