Struggling to Study Effectively
Are you feeling overwhelmed with your academic workload, or struggling to study effectively? That’s okay, feeling overwhelmed is such a normal feeling. There are lots of people who want to support you and help you make things more manageable, and lots of ways that you can make this happen.
Who can I reach out to?
As in a lot of cases, your best point of contact if you are overwhelmed with your academic workload or if you are struggling to study is your Year Coordinator and Course Coordinators. They are the best people to help you create a study plan, and also provide guidance around other potential support options such as extra study material or exam tutorials.
Survival Guides Year-by-Year
Listen to this…
This video provides amazing insight into how medical students succeed, which can all be applied to our field of veterinary medicine.
A 2006 study took a class of surgical residents and split them into two groups. Each received the same study materials, but one group was told to use specific study methods. When tested a month later, this group performed significantly better than the other residents. So, what were these methods?
Explore how the brain learns and stores information and how to apply this to your study habits.
Massey’s ‘Center for Learner Success’
Are you wanting to develop and improve your academic writing ability? Or maybe improve your study skills? Massey’s Centre for Learner Success has writing consultants and learning advisors who are qualified and skilled professionals that provide support for all forms of academic writing, such as reports, case studies, confirmation reports, journal article submissions, and dissertations. They also provide study skill development advice on topics such as time management, reading and note taking techniques, and referencing.
CONTACT
Dr. Cherie Todd-Williamson (she/her/ia) at the ‘Center for Learner Success’.
Ph: 06 356 9099 | Ext: 86429 | Work DDI: 06 951 9429
Email: c.todd@massey.ac.nz
Other Resources
Quizlet: The vet school life saver. Make flashcards & use their ‘learn’ function for active studying. Or if that sounds like too much admin, search up Quizlet sets that other people have made and use theirs (try course numbers/names, ie. 2217.311)! Click here.
Download Anki - another popular flashcard application that many students use for spaced repetition revision. Top tip is to watch a Youtube video to help initially get your head around the interface & platform. Click here.
Tactics for dealing with exam stress - click here.
RISE Principles of Study: Retrieval practice, Interleaving, Spacing, Elaboration - click here.
A practical guide to studying things like medicine - click here.
You aren’t alone in this.
“You can only do what you can do with the time and energy you have that day. Remind yourself of this every night when you feel like you could have done more.”
“I refer to my notes every two seconds I swear, so glad I rearranged them… It’s time consuming but worthwhile.”
““Forever looking up withholding periods 😂.”
“Make a summary page that you trust is enough to pass. If it ain’t on your A4 page, accept that you ain’t gonna know it & move on. Sometimes the basics is all we can do and that is perfectly okay ”
“Don’t: Study all the things. You won’t remember it all and you will become overwhelmed quickly if you try. Go big, then, if time, go small. This is veterinary school where we need to know the practical things to do our job in a few short years.
“If you know the basics, you can extrapolate from there.”
“Concerned 2nd year who still can’t distinguish between staph and strep xx.”
“Your classmates are your greatest assets. Share notes and ask mentors for notes and the good karma will go around.”
“Find a study partner! This has been the most life changing aspect of my vet school career.”
“Did I mention you should sleep?”
“You don’t need to study 24/7 to get through the year. Sometimes you need to prioritise your sanity and have fun.”
“Go to lectures as much as you can. Learning objectives are saviours, and get class reps to make a google drive where people add their notes for tests.
“Being organised and up to date, learning outcomes, and flashcards are 100% your biggest allies.”