Being a medical student comes with long hours of studying for tough exams. Every medical student knows that med school won’t be easy. But in the end, they are rewarded with careers that they are passionate about and salaries to match. Sometimes, studying for exams may feel impossible but the great thing about med school is that you’re never alone. Instead of feeling lost, students can come together and work in study groups. If working in groups sounds distracting, here are some of the benefits of establishing a study group for medical students.
Expand Your Scope of Learning
When medical students come together to form a study group, each person may be on a different career path. There are many different specialties that a student can choose in medical school. But when you’re starting, every student will need to learn some of the same basics. You can expand your own scope of learning when working with others that have different interests than your own.
A student may be on the path to becoming a surgeon, but when working in a study group they can speak with other students about why they might be interested in anesthesiology. Students can learn about these different tracks and even ask questions that they aren’t as comfortable asking professors, like how much does an anesthesiologist make?
Not only can students learn about different parts of medicine, but they can also pick up new study habits that they may not have tried in the past. These different study habits can end up being very beneficial in the long run. Gaining new perspectives from a study group can help widen the way that a student studies and help them find a field of medicine that they might not have known they were interested in before.
Work on Note Taking
When it comes time to go to residency, many students will have to start taking notes while on the job. They may even have to take notes on behalf of the specialists they are working with. When working in a study group, students have the opportunity to hone in on their note-taking skills. They’ll be able to talk with different people and figure out how to take notes based on their style of speaking and thinking. Not only that but they’ll be able to cut down on extra words and hone in on what they really need to reference later.
You can also compare notes with other students. You may find when comparing notes that you missed some important information in a lecture. Taking notes with others can help you fill in any gaps and allow you to understand the bigger picture of what you’re learning.
Increases Motivation
Medical school can feel impossible sometimes. Between intensive workloads, dense topics, and long hours, it can be hard to stay motivated. When medical students form study groups, they find people that they can rely on and help keep them on track. Working with other people can help keep students motivated. No student wants to be the one that shows up to the study group unprepared.
Not only does it hurt the students’ learning but it can also hurt the learning of the people that they’re studying with. Being able to bring new ideas to your fellow students and discuss new topics is an exciting part of academia. Students that are feeling burnt out can find a whole new motivation for studying when joining a group.
It’s Fun!
One of the best benefits of joining a study group is the potential to make new friends. Working with other students at the end of the day is fun! When studying is over, you may find that you can destress with your study group and enjoy activities with one another. One of the biggest parts of working in medicine is learning how to communicate with other people. Working with a study group is the perfect way to gain these communication skills.
Between all of the work students are doing, they deserve to have a little fun once in a while. And being in a study group can be a great way to meet like-minded students and take a break from time to time.
Conclusion
Medical school is no easy feat, and it’s even harder to get through it alone. Establishing a study group is a great way to interact with other medical students and make the most of your learning experience. Students can even make new friends and learn about different fields of medicine. Group study can really only help students improve and expand their schools and make getting through medical school a little more fun.
