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How to Study

Maximise your time with efficient techniques both at work and home

Study at Work

I was never efficient at studying at work but if you can focus your energy here you can have more spare time to yourself outside of work. We spend majority of our time in the operating theatre so naturally this is the best place to look for 'Learning Opportunities.' To maximise this check out the resources below!

“Conversation Starters” in the Operating Theatre: An Education Tool

This resource has been created to maximise learning opportunities at work, whether you are studying for an exam or just looking to get more out of your day. It has specifically been targeted to open and ignite educational conversations in a one-on-one environment with focus being on the Anaesthetic Trainee-Consultant Relationship. The principles can be broadly applied in other situations and scenarios. 

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Examples are given of conversation starters during commonly occurring interactions between the anaesthetic trainee and consultant. It has been produced by Dr Anirudh (Ani) Bhardwaj (FANZCA, Sweet Dreams Anaesthesia Director) and Mr Maurice Hennessy (Retired Learning and Development Facilitator with ANZCA)

Study at Home

Stop procrastinating and study smarter, something I never could do. A great resource if you are looking to optimise studying at home is to visit The Learning Scientists. The following 6 strategies are detailed on their website and below I give examples of how the can be used for the Part 1 Exam with links to the downloadable material created by the The Learning Scientists. are backed by evidence in the field of cognitive psychology.

1

Spaced Practice

Space out your study schedule. Smaller chunks of time is better then long non-stop study. Easier said then done but planning is key and this can be easily don on Mak95. Additionally when you learn a new topic don't review it straight away, come back to it another day, week or month later.  

2

Retrieval Practice

This works best for SAQs. When you have completed a topic look up an SAQ and try to answer it with as much information as you remember and review your answers. The more you do the better you become. The same principle applies to making flashcards.

3

Elaboration

Describe what you have just learned to someone else. Use language that you are comfortable with when explaining. As you get more experienced try to link multiple topics in your description. You will find this becomes easier after going through the curriculum once. 

4

Interleaving

Switch between topics as you study. Maybe you cover cardiac then respiratory then equipment. Then when you come back, do it in a different order. This strengthens your understanding although at first it may seem less efficient over time this is a great strategy.

5

Concrete Examples

As it sounds, look for examples that reinforce the topic you have learned. We are lucky we spend most of our time in theatre so when you read about lung compliance you can see the compliance curve on the ventilator the next day and you can measure static compliance directly.

6

Dual Coding

Try and learn using multiple platforms. If you get a lecture on structure-activity relationships, find some diagrams that complement this as a visual aid. If you can recreate this yourself it's even better or combine it with Elaboration. Kate's Tables are a great example of this strategy. 

Today I am joined by Maurice, now a retired learning and development facilitator with ANZCA. We are releasing our newly created education tool “Conversation Starters in the Operating Theatre” available on the website. We start are conversation today talking about the concept of a ‘curious learner’ (07:56). Then we move on to discuss how we can suspend judgment when it comes to teaching (11:10) and how to make the trainee-supervisor work well with the aid of FAST goals (17:09). Finally, we talk about 6 learning strategies the strategies shared by The Learning Scientists.

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