Medical Finals are, well, ‘final’.  The very last exams you’ll take as a medical student, and effectively what you’ve been working towards for at least the last five years.  So no pressure then.  When they’re over, and you get your results, you can call yourself ‘Doctor’, register with the GMC, and have the mother of all celebrations before you start thinking about preparing yourself for FY1.  So they’re just a little obstacle in the road to a lifelong professional career.  Promise.

As you have too much to get through, a revision plan is crucial, both so you don’t miss anything out, and also because it’s good to have a reference point to check your progress against.  Don’t panic if you get off track – start with the subjects you’re less confident with so if you need to make up some time somewhere you’re not taking it away from one of your weaker areas.  If you’re that way inclined, make a trip to Paperchase (other stationers are available) and stock up on pads, pens, post-it flags, highlighters and anything else that might make your revision a little bit more bearable (or just treat it as university-endorsed retail therapy).

 

If you have time, the best way I’ve found to start medical exam revision is review all the notes you’ve made on the subjects you’re revising, and condense them.  Then go through them, highlight key points and refine them again, and again, until you have key points on one side of A4.  For final exam revision you can go one step further and use note cards to ‘brain dump’ everything you can remember and then use them as flash cards.

If you travel a lot, think about making your own podcasts.  This is really easy on a Smartphone with a voice recorder, and then you can play them back when you’re driving or going to and from University.  It might seem a really passive way of revising, but if something (anything!) goes in then it’s worth a try.

Once the note writing, annotating, mind map stage of revision is complete spend your time testing your knowledge with as many questions as you can get your hands on.  Revise by specialty or randomly, and check your performance regularly to identify any weaker areas that you perhaps need to go back to your notes on.

 

Rest and relaxation are really important in maintaining focus.  Either schedule study breaks in to your revision plan (which should include all your social commitments, and mornings after said social commitments) or incentivise yourself.  Set yourself (realistic) targets, and reward yourself with trips to the pub, or a takeaway, or even a massage if you’re feeling particularly stressed (and rich!).