🩺 Scrub In: The Motivated Med Life

When it comes to tests, do you feel you are better at recalling facts and details, or are you stronger at critical thinking, applying concepts to new situations? If you could only have one, which would you prefer?

Realistically, anyone who has spent time in academics knows that to succeed on exams such as the ACT, SAT, GRE, MCAT, NCLEX, LSAT, or medical boards, you need both. Still, I’ve often found myself jealous of people who seem able to memorize information so easily and recall it exactly when needed.

For me, this has been a constant struggle while preparing for Step 1. It’s incredibly frustrating to think I’ve finally mastered a set of information, only to be tested later and realize I understand the concepts, I know what the question is asking, but I can’t pull that one specific fact out of my memory.

Take Pneumocystis jirovecii, for example. In real life, I could look up the treatment in seconds (Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or TMP-SMX, if you’re curious). But on an exam, if I can’t recall that exact fact, I lose points. It doesn’t matter if I know the drug’s mechanism of action. Without the specific name, I’m stuck. That used to infuriate me.

Recently, I had a conversation with an advisor that gave me a new perspective. She reminded me that while Step 1 demands heavy memorization, Step 2 leans much more on critical thinking. She even said she looked forward to seeing how my analytical skills would shine on that exam.

That made me realize something important: constantly resenting how my brain works isn’t helpful. Instead of beating myself up for not being the best at memorization, I can focus on how to leverage the skills I do have. When I shift my perspective this way, I feel more motivated and stronger moving forward.

So while I can’t memorize facts as well as I would like, all hope is not lost. Through school and my current Step 1 preparations, I’ve learned to leverage my conceptual thinking to better incorporate facts and details. Rather than simply memorizing that TMP-SMX is the antibiotic treatment for Pneumocystis jirovecii, I picture a patient with the disease and all the possible presentations that might come with it. It takes longer to think through, but now I have a pathological presentation I can surround with facts and details that make sense, instead of isolated facts I have to memorize in a vacuum.

In the end, success on these exams—and in medicine—comes not from being perfect at one skill, but from learning how to turn your strengths into tools that carry you through your weaknesses.

So whats a skill or strategy you currently have for test taking and how have you learned to leverage it to help you, because or in spite of another area of weakness?