How good is it to watch online lectures prior to reading the same topic from books in MBBS?

So we have 3 subjects in first year of our MBBS: Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. Ofcourse the new CBME curriculum has also added Community medicine in first year but that is not to be worried about as its exam would be in 3rd year. Managing these 3 subjects is not that easy but trust me, if you approach everything with a plan, it becomes a cakewalk for you. Anatomy is the subject that demands time as well as a good memory to have a good grasp over it. Attend your DH regularly, learn as much as possible in class itself. Have GDs, revisions etc with your friends. Just going through BDC line by line won’t be of any use as you will forget everything quickly. Lend your maximum time to this subject. Remember it is the foundation to the clinical subject of surgery.

Physiology is the subject of interest and logic. How our body works, how everything is regulated in our body and how it adapts to changing environment, all this is answered by this subject. Approach this subject with a clean mind, understand everything step by step. Give atleast 25% of your study time to this subject. If you don’t know the physiology, how will you understand the pathology of a disease. So, do not ignore this subject. Read standard books for this subject.

Biochemistry is the most ignored amongst the three. It is very boring and those metabolic cycles seem to give you a heart attack in your kidney!! But still, there isn’t any option but to read it. Firstly, choose a book from which you are comfortable to study. Then, approach each topic in a stepwise manner. Don’t get zoned out because of its unending topics. Devote atleast 1/5th of your study time to this.

Answering your second question, writing answer in exams is not that much big a deal if you have a basic idea about that topic. Every question is framed in such a way that even if you know a single word about the question, you will get marks if you can expand it. Just like our seniors used to say, if a question comes on median nerve, write everything about brachial plexus, the nervous system, just don’t leave the page blank. Draw diagrams wherever necessary, especially in anatomy exam. Highlight each point, write in a legible handwriting, label everything, use flowcharts for explanation. All this aids in fetching marks.

Last part of your question says how to read a particular book. Well, from my perspective, before starting a particular topic, know the most important topics that are relevant clinically. Don’t just study for the sake of getting marks in your theory exams. Read the whole chapter in one go, try to summarise it by making notes or highlighting important paras. Keep revising them regularly. Remember, you are studying medicine where revision is the only key to retain things for a long time.

source:quora