How do I learn on-the-go?
Above all, residency is about learning. You have a limited number of years to try to learn as much as you can from your preceptors and your rotations. It can get overwhelming!
Please note that most residents recommend that studying for your licensing exam is not really necessary until your last year. Definitely do not worry about licensing exam material in your first year!
As you go through residency, it is unreasonable for you to expect yourself to absorb everything you do like a sponge so we recommend the following:
Take notes on an app
We recommend apps like OneNote or Evernote where notes can be organized by tabs, tags, or folders.
As you work through cases, take a few seconds to jot down notes for your future self. They don’t need to be pretty! Just scribble it down and organize them later.
The goal is not to learn absolutely everything!
Consider the following:
Picture yourself 5 years from now, when you’re practicing independently and you don’t have a preceptor who you can review your case with. A patient comes in and the presentation reminds you about a case you encountered years ago as a resident. You struggle to remember how the patient was worked up: investigations and management. If only you had taken notes!
Here is an example of how one IMG family medicine resident organizes her notes on OneNote:
Reflect on your day
Taking notes through the day can get overwhelming so it may be more
manageable to reflect on your cases at the end of the day.
A reasonable goal is take away 1-2 things per day.
Consider the following:
You just finished a week on a very valuable elective. You know you learned lots.
4 weeks go by and your co-residents ask you if the elective was helpful and you
excitedly recommend it. As you do, you realise that you don’t know if you can
recall what cases you saw and what clinical tips you still remember. If only you
had reflected on your experience!
