General Exam Study Tips

Review early and continuously:  Do not leave studying for the week before the exam!

• All of the Unit-specific RAMs and slides are posted on One45. Lab materials will be posted in advance of the lab session.
  
  

• Prepare for each lab.
  
  

• During lab, go through the review slides with your tablemates. These slides contain dissection images, quiz-style questions, clinically relevant questions, exam-style questions, and thought questions. Study with these slides after lab. They are posted on One45.
  
  

• Try to answer the Thought Questions listed in your review slides before and during each lab session. These are a great way to start a discussion about the material. The answer key will be posted the Friday prior to the exam.

• To identify a structure in a donor or an image, DON’T PANIC! Find a familiar structure to anchor you. This will help orient you to the area you are observing. The anchoring structure will often lead you to be able to identify surrounding structures and landmarks. Ultimately, it can help you deduce the identity of the structure you are trying to identify. Practice doing this.
  
  

• Spending time in the lab reviewing with different donors is a critical component of your anatomy education. Doing so will allow you to grasp 3D relationships and appreciate the range of variation that is present in the human body. Studying with donors for 2-3 hours each week will help you become familiar with the structures, 3D relationships, and variations.
  
  

• Make use of the donor image resources (like BlueLink, linked in this guide, or Rohan Color Atlas of Anatomy).
  
  

• Integrate the practice of reviewing course content with the donor in lab and with images/illustrations. Structure identification requires familiarity to develop recognition, particularly in an unfamiliar donor.
  
  

• Identify structures in donors and images but make this active by asking yourself about function, innervation, other structures innervated similarly, other structures that function similarly (but are innervated differently), anatomical landmarks, and other content relevant to that structure.
  
  

• Think about dysfunction. USMLE-style questions ask about dysfunction. It sounds gruesome, but as you are studying structures think of injuries (to nerves, tendons, lesions, etc.), think of the effects of those injuries, and predict deficits related to them.
  
  

• Consider studying the donor and structures in the lab with a buddy. Take turns identifying structures for each other, reviewing function/dysfunction, and other information about each structure. Reviewing out loud can make information stick and also show you where your gaps in knowledge are! Quiz each other and ask each other questions!
  
  

• Office hours or PLM sessions can provide guided practice with all the above!
  
  

• Atlases are incredibly beneficial study and reference tools. See the course syllabus for the recommended atlases.
  
  

• The library has a number of plastic models for your reference.

• Re-organize the information we provide. Study actively. Make connections between lesson plans/RAMs. How can you make your notes your own? Always ask yourself "What else do I know?" Elaborate. Put ideas in your own words. 

Utilize multiple study methods: 

• Memorization, active practice, sketching, reorganizing notes, study groups, etc. Relying on a single method is often a mistake. You can discuss tips for studying with your learning specialist, Dr. Garofalo, Dr. Glowacka, your table instructor, and/or PLMs. You will need to be able to apply your knowledge of anatomical details and make logical leaps to answer the exam questions in CA and in clinical practice.

What method should I use to study? 

• You will need to use a variety of study methods - memorization, active practice, sketching, reorganizing notes, etc. You can discuss tips for studying with your learning specialist, Dr. Garofalo, Dr. Glowacka, your table instructor, and/or PLMs.
  
  

• Take time to read the lead and the answer options carefully.
  
  

• We are not trying to trick you with our exam questions, but you must think critically as you nullify answer options to select the option that is most likely correct given the information you have in the question lead and image if there is a visual component.

• You will need to make critical thinking leaps and content connections for many questions to get to the correct answer. Few questions on the CA exams will be based on rote memorization only.
  
  

• Consider developing a Table Group or Class practice question bank using the questions you've developed for lab. Try authoring questions for any LOs no on in the group covered.

• Explore the practice exam questions in the RAMs and review slides. Take advantage of the exam prep resources we make available the week before exams, including the Exam Workshops, the PLM Practice Study Question bank, Open Lab review sessions, and office hours.