(c) Mark Gladwin below: chlamydia affects eyes & genitals |
above: salmonella spreads through the blood stream to bone, lungs, & CNS below: Staph form clusters and are catalase positive (c) Mark Gladwin |
After microbiology block I was left to devise my own picture mnemonics. They usually look something like this:
Spironolactone blocks androgen receptors & aldosterone receptors (shoe because Aldo is a shoe store). |
In Goodpasture Syndrome autoAbs attack the kidneys & lungs, resulting in blood in the urine & hemoptysis. |
Sometimes I think of a picture mnemonic that's too complicated to draw out. I just remember those ones as stories, which I pencil into the margins of my notes. For example, to remember the names of the three acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used to treat Alzheimer's (galantamine, rivastigmine, and donepezil), I think to myself: "The gallant knight, Rivastigmine, rescues damsel Donepezil". (It's a weird one, I know, but the word Rivastigmine made me think of Rumpelstiltskin, which reminded me of fairy tales, which made me realize that Donepezil sounds a bit like Rapunzel ...aaand I'm sure that makes no sense to you, but it did to me and now I remember the three drugs!)
A better example is this one thought up by a friend in medical school: To remember three common encapsulated bacteria, remember "Saturday Night Hockey" because hockey players wear helmets (i.e. capsules). The S is Streptococcus pneumoniae, the N is Neisseria meningitidis,and the H is Haemophilus influenzae.
While some people would think picture mnemonics are a ridiculous waste of time, to me they can be pretty helpful ...and also make studying marginally more fun :)
If you're interested, here are other posts I've written about how I study:
On getting organized to study:
- How To Make A Study Schedule
- Printable Minimalist 2015 Monthly Calendars
- How I Organize My Student Agenda
- The Student Organizer Binder
On studying:
- Study Tips, Part 1: Making Study Notes (& a few pages of my medical school study notes)
- Study Tips, Part 2: Quizzing Yourself
- Study Tips, Part 3: Where To Study
- Study Tips, Part 4: Picture Mnemonics
- Study Tips, Part 5: When To Study
- Study Tips, Part 6: Abbreviating Powerpoints Or Textbooks Into Study Notes
- Study Tips, Part 7: Avoiding Distractions
What an interesting way to take notes and study. Love the cartoons! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Glad you think it's interesting rather than crazy :)
DeleteHi, I love picture mnemonics. Would you mind sharing some other ones if you have anymore? They're great! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment :) I actually just drew these ones out for this post (they were the only ones that came to mind at the time!), but in the months to come when I sit down to do more studying, I'll try to write out any that I come across and make a post of them. Thank you for the suggestion!!
DeleteI saw your Alport one on google images and I laughed out loud. It's perfect. Thanks.
ReplyDelete