How to Absorb ENT Residency Study Resources 3x Faster in 7 Days? 

If you are an ENT resident, you probably know that studying is about 50% memorizing and not just understanding things like your teachers keep telling you. 

Throughout our undergrad and postgraduate degrees, and now in medical school, we've memorized tens of thousands of random facts for exams. If only we had known that there was a better method than just active recall and spaced repetition, it would have been such an easier journey. 

It’s called the Atomic Method, and it helps us memorize a lot faster so we have enough time left in the day for other things in our lives. 

In this blog, We’re going to break down this method into three very simple, step-by-step parts to help you do this too.

Step 1: Understand Active Recall and Spaced Repetition

Before diving into the Atomic Method, let’s talk about the core principles: active recall and spaced repetition. Most people think they know how to use them, but they often get it wrong. 

Let me test you: do you remember exactly what I said three sentences ago? Probably not, because you were passively listening to me. That’s how most people try to memorize things – by rereading or highlighting text. But this doesn’t engage your brain enough for efficient memorization. For exams, you need to reproduce information by actively retrieving it from your brain.

Active recall involves going through a topic, making questions about it, and testing yourself on those questions. This process digs information out of your brain and builds stronger connections to remember it better. For example, if I had a list of treatments for heart attacks in my notes, I’d turn that into a question and do this for basically everything.

However, you can’t just do these questions once. The forgetting curve shows that if we don’t try to remember something, we forget it over time. This brings us to spaced repetition, which helped you learn language as a child by hearing the same word repeatedly over time. With spaced repetition, you do active recall questions at increasing intervals to reset the forgetting curve and retain information longer.

You have two choices: the manual method where you make a page of questions and notes for each lecture, manually checking through them and setting dates for spaced repetition, or the automated method. 

Step 2: Effectively Create Questions and Answers

Now, let’s talk about effectively using active recall and spaced repetition, especially for making your questions and answers. Imagine in your head when I say the words “phone” or “laptop” – you visualize your laptop or phone rather than spelling out the words. This should change how you answer your questions in two ways.

First, use images in your questions. They’re easier for your brain to interpret and remember than words. It makes sense because, back in the tribal days, visualizing and remembering poisonous berries was necessary for survival. If I’m making a question on the causes of a heart attack, I’ll include an image showing the causes so that when I see the question, I’ll immediately visualize the problems.

Second, personalize and simplify your answers. For example, which sentence is easier to follow: “Myocardial infarctions are precipitated by hypercholesterolemia and hypertension” or “The risk of heart attacks can increase with high cholesterol and high blood pressure”? The simpler one, right? Write your notes in simple form, in a way that you’d speak. Also, for your questions, consider how much detail you’re expecting in an answer, similar to how exam questions indicate the number of marks.

This process might seem long, but it can be sped up using AI like ChatGPT. After making some notes and questions, put them into an AI application and ask it to create future questions based on your style. This saves you hours of thinking and ensures consistency.

Step 3: Efficiently Go Through Your Questions

The final part of the Atomic Method is understanding how to go through your questions efficiently and consistently. Let’s revisit some examples: treatments and causes of heart attacks. Sticking with well-known problems like heart attacks is more effective than learning niche content. Prioritize the bigger topics first in your syllabus and make questions for them. This follows the 80/20 principle: 80% of important information is in 20% of the content. As a bonus, try to memorize similar topics consecutively, like heart attacks and heart failure, to reinforce connections.

To regularly do these questions as part of the spaced repetition system, structure your studying to be effortless. Often, we struggle to start studying because it takes effort to learn something new. Warm up your brain by reviewing questions you’ve already seen first. This lowers the activation energy needed to get into the studying mindset, preparing you for deep work on new information.

Wrapping Up 

Memorizing can get boring quickly, so it’s hard to focus for long periods. By adopting the Atomic Method and these tips, you can significantly enhance your learning efficiency, retain more information, and confidently navigate the demands of ENT residency. This structured approach helps you absorb study resources faster, giving you a solid foundation for your medical career.

And, if you need any assistance in your ENT Residency journey, look no further than our ENT Residency Course. With our expertly crafted curriculum and guidance, you'll be well-equipped to excel in your career.