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It really is that time of year again…the stress levels are rising and 5th year exams are approaching. We have about 6 weeks left until our first exam and although that sounds a while away still, there is a lot to cover. On top of this, we are still attending our hospital attachments daily.
I wanted to share with you a few resources that I am using to help me through this revision period this year, hopefully it can help anyone else revising for clinical exams and not sure where to start!
- Brainscape: Imperial Medicine students past and present have made flashcards on this amazing app that is a great revision tool. You can download the cards on your ipads and test yourself on them during journeys/lunch time on attachments.
- DemDx: This has been a fantastic tool for me whilst revising for my specialities exam this year. It helps you organise your thoughts in a logical way and understand how you reach a diagnosis. I use this on the wards when I see a patient to help me understand all the differentials it could be and then understand how I can narrow them down.
- Passmedicine and Pastest: Both are great question banks that you can test your knowledge with.
- Imperial Blackboard resources: Watching lectures back for our pathology exam, our online e-modules and also quizzes that lecturers have put up are all invaluable.
- Imperial online library: It has been such a treat not having to take out all the books I need for revision, but instead I can use the online library imperial has to access textbooks on my ipad!
- Guidelines: Imperial gives us access to BMJ best practice which is a great tool to understand guidelines and management, and on top of this we are going over the online NICE and RCOG etc guidelines so we know the up to date stuff.
What is great this year is that as we have a practical exam (PACES) for Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Psychology- which means that we are practising in groups and this is saving us all from being attached to our computers and textbooks 24/7.
Don’t get me wrong, it is not all heads down and work….we are still getting time to have a recharge in the evenings watching films and hitting the pub. But now that 5th year counts for our rankings when we apply for jobs after graduation, and revising for it will help us be safe doctors, it is getting more serious then ever…
For now, I am home with my family this weekend getting on with revision and enjoying the weather! Medical school is all about time management and “little and often”, and Imperial really do support us to ensure we are (hopefully!) well prepared for these exams and life as a doctor.
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